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Going Clear |OT| Book/Documentary on the Church of Scientology

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B

BertramCooper

Banned
XMu1QeX.jpg
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BOOK:
Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief
by Lawrence Wright
Published: January 17, 2013

Description:
Scientology presents itself as a scientific approach to spiritual enlightenment, but its practices have long been shrouded in mystery. Now Lawrence Wright—armed with his investigative talents, years of archival research, and more than two hundred personal interviews with current and former Scientologists—uncovers the inner workings of the church. We meet founder L. Ron Hubbard, the highly imaginative but mentally troubled science-fiction writer, and his tough, driven successor, David Miscavige. We go inside their specialized cosmology and language. We learn about the church’s legal attacks on the IRS, its vindictive treatment of critics, and its phenomenal wealth. We see the church court celebrities such as Tom Cruise while consigning its clergy to hard labor under billion-year contracts. Through it all, Wright asks what fundamentally comprises a religion, and if Scientology in fact merits this Constitutionally-protected label. Brilliantly researched, compellingly written, Going Clear pulls back the curtain on one of the most secretive organizations at work today.

DOCUMENTARY:
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief
Directed by Alex Gibney
Release Date: March 29, 2015 (HBO)
Trailer

Description:
A devastating two hour documentary based on Lawrence Wright's book of the same name. Scientology is laid bare by a film that skilfully knits together archive footage, testimonials from former high ranking officials and public, and dramatic reconstructions.

Previews:
Washington Post sneak peek
Alex Gibney and Lawrence Wright on the Challenges of Making 'Going Clear'
'Going Clear' Documentary Exposes The Church of Scientology: Sundance Short Cuts
 
B

BertramCooper

Banned
Figured an all-encompassing book and doc thread would be a good idea since the documentary comes out next month.

We've had a few isolated news threads for both, but I think it's a good idea to examine and discuss them as a collective work.

Just finished the book. It's exceptional.
 
B

BertramCooper

Banned
I really hope Tom Cruise is at some point held accountable for the actions of the church.

He was once a patsy of David Miscavige, but he's far beyond that at this point. He's now one of the church's highest-ranked leaders, and is therefore complicit in all the shit they're doing.
 
B

BertramCooper

Banned
FYI: HBO will be showing Going Clear a week from today: March 29 at 8 p.m. EDT

They had originally set it for March 16 but pushed it back for some reason.
 
T

The Albatross

Member
Been listening to Wright's book for the last week and it is really excellent. The definitive exposition on the Church of Scientology and Hubbard. I've been a long time anti-Scientology person, but the question that begs asking with most pop-culture views of Scientology is "Why would anybody be drawn to this madness in the first place?" Wright does a great job of giving explanations why, and how it appeals to people, and why it also took off. He also gives credit to Hubbard, who while a complete madman for most of his life, also managed to create something that became a worldwide phenomenon even after its creators death.

I'm really looking forward to the documentary, but if you're into Scientology related stuff, I'd encourage reading or listening to the book because it's not only excellent SP material, it's also just really good non-fiction.
 
B

BocoDragon

or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
I just finished this book in audio format.

Oh my god.

I knew all the broad details of Scientology and I have for many years now. But seeing it all laid out in order... how troubling and ugly Hubbard was, how he was a confirmed emotional mess and pathological liar, and then became a god-like figure overnight with the implication of a very simple (but reasonably clever) scam.... it is just powerfully bizarre and creepy. It all seems so easy to invent a religion whole cloth and bend others to your will.

And the fact that it went on in its second phase to be this powerful control and harassment machine with a celebrity PR army... Just too weird. It became this creepy engine of money-making and power that offered a new throne for creeps like David Miscavige to work their way up to. A minor revelation of the book is how the paranoid and offensive way that the Church behaves is actually an extension of the psyche of Hubbard himself. It's a little like how Steve Jobs' ethos continues to run Apple after his death - Hubbard's paranoid and machiavellian nature is alive and well in the operating activities of the modern Church.

I would be lying if I said this won't color how I view the nature of other charismatic leader-based institutions: the regime of North Korea, the early ummah nation led by Muhammad, the Catholic church. Call me offensive or glib making these comparisons to now-"normal" institutions: my thinking mind cannot help but see the same psychological processes at work in these movements, even if I can grant that their origins may not have been, to varying degrees, as cynical as Hubbard's evil legacy. When a powerful leader uses a supposed connection to the truth of reality - watch out, we are in brainwashing territory.

I have heard that the HBO documentary has it's own powerful effect, owing to the use of contemporary footage of the history of Scientology. I think we're in for a perverse "treat" on Sunday....
 
D

dLMN8R

Member
I'd heard about this before but just read about it in Entertainment Weekly today

(They gave it an A)

I had no idea it's coming out so soon (tomorrow). Can't wait. Especially since I read that it's more than just testimonial- they have lots of insider video too, even of Tom Cruise.


Has any notable Scientologist spoken publicly about this recently? Like, Elisabeth Moss or anything?
 
I

Into

Member
I read the book and it was really fascinating, not a big reader but once i started it i could not put it down.

Much of it is hard to believe such as
the game of chairs incident
, yet considering the people involved it seems fitting.

Looking greatly forward to it
 
N

Nivash

Member
The Albatross said:
Been listening to Wright's book for the last week and it is really excellent. The definitive exposition on the Church of Scientology and Hubbard. I've been a long time anti-Scientology person, but the question that begs asking with most pop-culture views of Scientology is "Why would anybody be drawn to this madness in the first place?" Wright does a great job of giving explanations why, and how it appeals to people, and why it also took off. He also gives credit to Hubbard, who while a complete madman for most of his life, also managed to create something that became a worldwide phenomenon even after its creators death.

I'm really looking forward to the documentary, but if you're into Scientology related stuff, I'd encourage reading or listening to the book because it's not only excellent SP material, it's also just really good non-fiction.
Click to expand...


BocoDragon said:
I just finished this book in audio format.

Oh my god.

I knew all the broad details of Scientology and I have for many years now. But seeing it all laid out in order... how troubling and ugly Hubbard was, how he was a confirmed emotional mess and pathological liar, and then became a god-like figure overnight with the implication of a very simple (but reasonably clever) scam.... it is just powerfully bizarre and creepy. It all seems so easy to invent a religion whole cloth and bend others to your will.

And the fact that it went on in its second phase to be this powerful control and harassment machine with a celebrity PR army... Just too weird. It became this creepy engine of money-making and power that offered a new throne for creeps like David Miscavige to work their way up to. A minor revelation of the book is how the paranoid and offensive way that the Church behaves is actually an extension of the psyche of Hubbard himself. It's a little like how Steve Jobs' ethos continues to run Apple after his death - Hubbard's paranoid and machiavellian nature is alive and well in the operating activities of the modern Church.

I would be lying if I said this won't color how I view the nature of other charismatic leader-based institutions: the regime of North Korea, the early ummah nation led by Muhammad, the Catholic church. Call me offensive or glib making these comparisons to now-"normal" institutions: my thinking mind cannot help but see the same psychological processes at work in these movements, even if I can grant that their origins may not have been, to varying degrees, as cynical as Hubbard's evil legacy. When a powerful leader uses a supposed connection to the truth of reality - watch out, we are in brainwashing territory.

I have heard that the HBO documentary has it's own powerful effect, owing to the use of contemporary footage of the history of Scientology. I think we're in for a perverse "treat" on Sunday....
Click to expand...

I listened to it last fall, and I agree: Jesus. Or maybe Xenu would be more appropriate. I always assumed Hubbard was cynical conman but that bad? Narcissism of a degree approaching sociopathy and a complete lack of care for the people in his life or his followers. All just tools. Not to mention that he wasn't just a cynical conman: he simultaneously seemed to believe a lot of his own bullshit. I got the impression that he didn't have the best grasp of reality himself a lot of the time, I mean some of the stuff was so absurd. Like those diary excerpts when he tried to turn over a new leaf after wife number what was it again left him? First I felt pity for him. But as his goals grew more and more absurd and distasteful... just wow. And his treatment of his poor son.

And still, despite this, he managed to be so successful. Tells you something about the power of belief. Also makes you think if the other gurus and prophets in other religions might have been cut from similar cloth...

I greatly recommend the book to anyone who want to understand Scientology. Focusing on Hubbard and adding a bit Miscavige was a masterstroke: the church is a one-man show, no better way to understand it but to understand the man.
 
B

BertramCooper

Banned
I hope the film doesn't focus too much on Hubbard. No more than half of it. Hubbard's story is fascinating, but most of it is not entirely surprising. And he's dead and long gone, obviously.

Miscavige should be the film's primary focus.
 
M

mre

Golden Domers are chickenshit!!
Does the book talk about Hubbard's spin with Alastair Crowley and his efforts at summoning the Whore of Babylon?
 
D

daycru

Member
Tonight is the home run trot for the anti-Scientology movement. The idea that a major media outlet would produce an exposé on this scale was unthinkable a decade ago. A lot of people lost their families, friends, careers, and fortunes to make tonight happen. Going Clear is a celebration for all of those people. It is an immensely rewarding thought. Tonight, Going Clear will shake up the world.
 
E

Emarv

Member
Read the book last summer. It really is the definitive Scientology book. So much incredible information for someone like me whose extremely interested in the church.

Very excited for the documentary tonight. I know there's no way it'll be as thorough as the book, but the more exposure, the better.
 
B

BertramCooper

Banned
DECK'ARD said:
Hah, they're rattled.
Click to expand...

I love how they never show an ounce of restraint in any of their attacks.

They don't insidiously sow a select handful of seeds of doubt. They just fucking smear everyone.

It's such a boneheaded PR strategy, and makes them look completely ridiculous.
 
N

Nivash

Member
BertramCooper said:
I love how they never show an ounce of restraint in any of their attacks.

They don't insidiously sow a select handful of seeds of doubt. They just fucking smear everyone.

It's such a boneheaded PR strategy, and makes them look completely ridiculous.
Click to expand...

The problem is that it works rather well. It's not intended for us non-believers: it's intended for people already in their camp and as a deterrent for their perceived enemies. The overkill tactic is great for indoctrination because it doesn't leave the audience with any room for doubt. It gives an overwhelming impression for those that don't have access to any dissenting voices anyway.

And as a deterrent? Even better. If the cost for anyone to criticize you, no matter how little, is persecution, harassment and the threat of financial ruin through endless lawsuits you raise the bar considerably for anyone to try. It's the same principle behind military defense for small nations: you don't have to win, just make it enough of a bother for the other guy that he doesn't think it's worth the effort.
 
D

daycru

Member
BertramCooper said:
I love how they never show an ounce of restraint in any of their attacks.

They don't insidiously sow a select handful of seeds of doubt. They just fucking smear everyone.

It's such a boneheaded PR strategy, and makes them look completely ridiculous.
Click to expand...

Scientology is a fundamentalist religion. LRH wrote to always attack, never defend. Thus, attacks that only make them look worse and end up actually promoting the film.
 
B

BocoDragon

or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
I've gone down a rabbit hole of obsession over Scientology after reading the book and anticipating tonight's doc.

Listening to the words of defectors on podcasts like Surviving Scientology, it seems like the internal culture of Scientology is like an overworked, beauracratic, corporate nightmare. There's very little contemplation on Hubbard's theology at that point, and it's all about financial performance, working insane hours, and being trapped by business logic into being a slave. The Sea Org is portrayed by Scientology as a monastic order, but it's really a beuracracy from hell.

Going back and watching The Master this week (like I said, I'm obsessed) and you get a much different image. While that movie is a fictionalized story only based on Hubbard, I think it gets the general tone accurate. In that era, Scientology was a cult with aggressive business tendencies. But I think it evolved into something quite different.. Now it is a scam business (like a MLM scheme) with cult tendencies.

It feels like a wierd occurrence (Hubbard as snake oil prophet) got twisted into something even weirder (a corporation that traps you and manages every aspect of your life in search of its own profits)
 
X

Xe4

Banned
I've never read this book, but hope to. Lawrence Wright is a fantastic non-fiction author. He wrote the most clear and concise history of Al-Queda ever in the Looming Tower, and I would not be surprised to see him do the same for Scientology.
 
X

xbhaskarx

Member
Just about to start watching this..

When the filmmakers interview David Miscavige about the disappearance of his wife, he better turn off his mic before going to the bathroom. #burp
 
S

SPEA

Member
Just finished. I enjoyed it. Didn't tell me anything I didn't know all already but hopefully it creates awareness of the crazy shit the CoS has done.
 
B

BertramCooper

Banned
It probably goes without saying, but anyone who enjoyed the doc absolutely needs to read the book.

The doc is excellent, but it only scratches the surface of the church's depravity.
 
ComputerBlue

ComputerBlue

Member
Damn, I only subscribe to HBO during GoT season since in Canada you have to get it as a part of a package I don't want. If I had known about this sooner I would have subbed now instead of a week or two from now.

Hopefully they show it again over the next couple months.

My brother was a Scientologist for about 20 years. He hasn't been involved in over 5+ years now but it definitely didn't do him any good, I've always had a lot of interest in it for that reason.
 
V

Vyer

Member
Haggis' talking about his response to the 'secret' is hilarious.

And then when you hear the story, you have the same response....
 
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