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selenakBefore I get to the documentary which was shown yesterday here in Munich, a remark on the status of Scientology in Germany, because I keep seeing statements on the internet to the effect it's banned. Which tells you something about the effectiveness of Scientology propaganda. It's not banned in Germany. When I walk from the place where I live to our biggest park within Munich, the Englischer Garten, I pass its Munich office. At the Frankfurt Book Fair each year, they have their stand trying to sell Hubbard's books to the masses and being obnoxious about it. (Last year, for some reason, they hired an actor in Native American costume to hand out the books, don't ask me why.) What Scientology doesn't have in Germany, however, is the status of a religion and a non-profit organization. And thus they have to pay taxes. Lots of them. That's the discrimination they're railing against, and I lost a lot of respect for Steven Spielberg and Dustin Hoffman a couple of years ago when they co-signed a petition comparing the "persecution" of Scientology in Germany to what happened to Jews in the Third Reich. I guess Tom Cruise is worth his money to Scientology, but still, Spielberg and Hoffmann are adults, they should not only have historical awareness (especially Spielberg, given Schindler's List) but do a minimum of research not based on the words of their buddy.
Anyway: on to Going Clear, directed by Alex Gibney, he who previously did documentaries on the likes of the sexual abuses within the Catholic Church, and inspired by Lawrence Wright's book by the same name. I had read Wright's original article in The New Yorker, but given how many people read The New Yorker - or even a book, sad to say - versus how many people watch a movie, it was definitely the right call to transfer this into another medium. Alex Gibney's choice of interviewees for the movie are mostly high ranking former Scientologists, including the former chief enforcer and No.2, Marty Rathbun, plus Paul Haggis whose interview with Wright kicked the whole thing off, but in addition to the interviews, he also got his hands on footage of Scientology videos, including the rally, words used advisedly, where current leader David Miscavige celebrates his triumph after the I.R.S. capitulated and recognized Scientology as a religion - quot Miscavige, "the war is won", and as a punchline some photos of Miscavige palling and goofing around with the IRS officials afterwards. (BTW: the tales of punishment labor camps for supposedly rebellious members etc. weren't new to me, but that the IRS led Scientology off the hook for a milion dollar bill in tax fraud - after Miscavige orchestrated his campaign of countersuits of various IRS officials, then offered to drop the suits in exchange for the acknowledgement as a religion, that was new. Basically, it was Scientology versus the US Government: the government let itself be blackmailed and bribed, Scientology won.
The first part of the movie is also a biography of L.Ron Hubbard going from pulp fiction writer to huckster hitting on a money making racket, with increasingly bizarre personal life in addition to increasingly bizarre "professional" practises; the movie quotes his second wife's descriptions of their life together for the former and two of the early Sea Org (so called because the Scientology elite started out by the fact that the tax bill evading Hubbard spent the last two decades of his life literally on the sea, with three ships at his disposal) the later. There's also some rare tv footage of Hubbard - an enterprising British reporter managed to get him on camera for British tv -, his army record (the opposite of what he claimed it to be), furious early letters to psychologist organzations whom he wanted to recognize his "insights" (and thus a feud was born); I'd say the difference to the depiction to Miscavige later is that Hubbard comes across as a gifted con man who eventually managed to con himself into believing his own racket (you can see why Philip Seymour Hoffman wanted to play him), whereas Miscavige is basically the perfect soulless capitalist manager type freed from any restraints. (Even complaints against the slave labor practices of Scientology, it seems, are in vain in the US because their lawyers have them covered as "religions practice".)
The two female interviewees are Sylvia "Spanky" Taylor, who used to be John Travolta's personal handler and comes across as initially the wide eyed naive type (she started out on one of Hubbard's boat scrubbing floors for the honor of serving the Master), and Sara Goldberg, who managed to make it all the way to Operating Thetan Level 8 before quitting in 2013 after being told to "disconnect" from her son, and comes across as cerebral yet steely. Among the men, not surprisingly Haggis is the one with the most pointed storytelling, but they're all media experienced (not surprising, since one of them is the former Scientology PR in chief person). If there's one thing I would have liked Gibney to press more is the question as to how they handle their own responsibility of first luring and then harrassing others, now that their positions have changed. The question of personal guilt does come up, but perhaps not surprisingly, the two who mainly seem to feel it are the two lowest ranking ex scientologists, Spanky and Haggis, whereas Rathbun's reply basically amounts to "I'm sorry it took me that long to see through it". (Err, after all the awful stuff you've described, "I'm sorry for what I did to others" would perhaps be not inappropriate? Though the lack of it, otoh, makes the statements feel more honest.)
Speaking of Travolta, to no one's surprise the documentary's theory is that all the personal secrets coming out during the endless auditings of celebreties are what's used to keep said celebrities from ever leaving the church. That and the way they're coddled by the sect for towing the line. Cruise comes off worse than Travolta here, what with the general Miscavige fawning and the tale of a girlfriend assigned to him post Kidman breakup who promptly gets fired from what it literally a job for making one vaguely non adoring remark to David Miscavige. (Quotes used for this are from the actress' FBI file.)
Visually, there are few choices I found eye brow raising - using footage of the Cruise and Kidman movies to illustrate the breakdown of their marriage due to Scientology is blurring the fictional (their characters) with the real in a way I wouldn't have done - but generally, it's remarkable how Gibney keeps two hours of talking suspenseful in a chilling way. In conclusion: Scientology: still the creepiest.
Anyway: on to Going Clear, directed by Alex Gibney, he who previously did documentaries on the likes of the sexual abuses within the Catholic Church, and inspired by Lawrence Wright's book by the same name. I had read Wright's original article in The New Yorker, but given how many people read The New Yorker - or even a book, sad to say - versus how many people watch a movie, it was definitely the right call to transfer this into another medium. Alex Gibney's choice of interviewees for the movie are mostly high ranking former Scientologists, including the former chief enforcer and No.2, Marty Rathbun, plus Paul Haggis whose interview with Wright kicked the whole thing off, but in addition to the interviews, he also got his hands on footage of Scientology videos, including the rally, words used advisedly, where current leader David Miscavige celebrates his triumph after the I.R.S. capitulated and recognized Scientology as a religion - quot Miscavige, "the war is won", and as a punchline some photos of Miscavige palling and goofing around with the IRS officials afterwards. (BTW: the tales of punishment labor camps for supposedly rebellious members etc. weren't new to me, but that the IRS led Scientology off the hook for a milion dollar bill in tax fraud - after Miscavige orchestrated his campaign of countersuits of various IRS officials, then offered to drop the suits in exchange for the acknowledgement as a religion, that was new. Basically, it was Scientology versus the US Government: the government let itself be blackmailed and bribed, Scientology won.
The first part of the movie is also a biography of L.Ron Hubbard going from pulp fiction writer to huckster hitting on a money making racket, with increasingly bizarre personal life in addition to increasingly bizarre "professional" practises; the movie quotes his second wife's descriptions of their life together for the former and two of the early Sea Org (so called because the Scientology elite started out by the fact that the tax bill evading Hubbard spent the last two decades of his life literally on the sea, with three ships at his disposal) the later. There's also some rare tv footage of Hubbard - an enterprising British reporter managed to get him on camera for British tv -, his army record (the opposite of what he claimed it to be), furious early letters to psychologist organzations whom he wanted to recognize his "insights" (and thus a feud was born); I'd say the difference to the depiction to Miscavige later is that Hubbard comes across as a gifted con man who eventually managed to con himself into believing his own racket (you can see why Philip Seymour Hoffman wanted to play him), whereas Miscavige is basically the perfect soulless capitalist manager type freed from any restraints. (Even complaints against the slave labor practices of Scientology, it seems, are in vain in the US because their lawyers have them covered as "religions practice".)
The two female interviewees are Sylvia "Spanky" Taylor, who used to be John Travolta's personal handler and comes across as initially the wide eyed naive type (she started out on one of Hubbard's boat scrubbing floors for the honor of serving the Master), and Sara Goldberg, who managed to make it all the way to Operating Thetan Level 8 before quitting in 2013 after being told to "disconnect" from her son, and comes across as cerebral yet steely. Among the men, not surprisingly Haggis is the one with the most pointed storytelling, but they're all media experienced (not surprising, since one of them is the former Scientology PR in chief person). If there's one thing I would have liked Gibney to press more is the question as to how they handle their own responsibility of first luring and then harrassing others, now that their positions have changed. The question of personal guilt does come up, but perhaps not surprisingly, the two who mainly seem to feel it are the two lowest ranking ex scientologists, Spanky and Haggis, whereas Rathbun's reply basically amounts to "I'm sorry it took me that long to see through it". (Err, after all the awful stuff you've described, "I'm sorry for what I did to others" would perhaps be not inappropriate? Though the lack of it, otoh, makes the statements feel more honest.)
Speaking of Travolta, to no one's surprise the documentary's theory is that all the personal secrets coming out during the endless auditings of celebreties are what's used to keep said celebrities from ever leaving the church. That and the way they're coddled by the sect for towing the line. Cruise comes off worse than Travolta here, what with the general Miscavige fawning and the tale of a girlfriend assigned to him post Kidman breakup who promptly gets fired from what it literally a job for making one vaguely non adoring remark to David Miscavige. (Quotes used for this are from the actress' FBI file.)
Visually, there are few choices I found eye brow raising - using footage of the Cruise and Kidman movies to illustrate the breakdown of their marriage due to Scientology is blurring the fictional (their characters) with the real in a way I wouldn't have done - but generally, it's remarkable how Gibney keeps two hours of talking suspenseful in a chilling way. In conclusion: Scientology: still the creepiest.
no subject
Date: 2015-06-28 07:32 am (UTC)Have you read Queer and Pleasant Danger by Kate Bornstein? I've gone through a lot of cult books, and hers is still the one that expresses what it's like to be caught up like that, and how long it takes to deprogram. Though it's a bit dated on the Scientology side, as she left in the '80s, I think, when Hubbard was still alive.
no subject
Date: 2015-06-28 08:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-06-28 02:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-06-28 01:43 pm (UTC)I was suitably impressed by just how much of a cash cow Scientology has been to the upper echelon and how none of those in the ranks seems to recognize that. It's beyond ridiculous. The prison of belief phrase is probably the least dwelt on aspect of the book and documentary, but it's the part that I found most interesting. Why the people who were disillusioned took so long before leaving. That was fascinating because everyone had different reasons, but I think it boiled down to shame for their behaviours, for their naivete, and for their fears. I wish the book and the doc had addressed that in a bit more depth.
no subject
Date: 2015-06-28 02:31 pm (UTC)I read Jenna Miscavige-Hill's book (she was raised inside, her uncle being THAT Miscavige), and Kate Bornstein's book, and they both gave me the impression that the cost of leaving was very high. Because Scientology puts so much pressure for people inside not to talk to people who have left, and have gone after people who have left pretty hard in the past, there can be a certain amount of danger, but more importantly, if you're in long enough to make a life there, leaving is risking losing a lot of hard ties. All of the social connections and relationships you've made since you joined would just be gone, including spouses and kids and whatever.
no subject
Date: 2015-06-28 02:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-06-28 02:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-06-28 02:46 pm (UTC)re: taking to long to leave, like M. said, I think a big reason is probably the emotional dependence on the community fostered by the fact that there aren't any non-Scientology social connections left if you've remained inside for years. You have to have the courage to start completely anew and perhaps lose everyone you love forever.
no subject
Date: 2015-06-28 04:32 pm (UTC)