GOING CLEAR: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE PRISON OF BELIEF (TV)
Summary
This documentary film, based on the book by Lawrence Wright, traces the history and impact of the infamous "Church" of Scientology. Various ex-members open the program by commenting on their reasons for joining Scientology, believing that it was a "spiritual adventure" that would lead to "superpowers" and a joyful, peaceful world. Wright discusses his interest in many religions and the "crushing certainty" of the faithful, and actor Jason Beghe recalls his first "transcendent experience" upon signing up. Former high-ranking member Spanky Taylor discusses signing a "billion-year" contract to join the Sea Organization branch of the Church, and Wright provides background on Scientology's inventor, Lafayette Ronald Hubbard, usually called "LRH." Hubbard wrote pulp fiction for "Astounding Science Fiction" magazine before enlisting in the Navy, though he greatly exaggerated his wartime accomplishments and was eventually relieved of duty because of his incompetence. He became involved in the Ordo Templi Orientis black magic cult and strong-armed one Sara Northrup into marrying him, and she later stated that he was physically and emotionally abusive towards her. Believing that religion was "the only way to make any money," he published a book about "Dianetics," ideas for processing and rejecting one's harmful memories with the use of "e-meters," polygraph-like devices that "un-brainwash" the user as they describe their memories and apparent past lives.
Northrup felt that Hubbard was stealing from people as he traveled and lectured for money, explaining that he became increasingly "paranoid and terrifying" as he denounced psychiatry and modern medicine as fraudulent. Hubbard eventually kidnapped their young child and falsely told Northup that he had killed her, and the couple finally divorced. In need of money, Hubbard "repackaged" Dianetics into Scientology and created a series of courses and "levels" for which participants were required to pay more and more money. When the government denied Hubbard's request for tax-exempt status, he fled the country rather than face evasion charges. Former member Hana Eltringham Whitfield discusses her "ecstatic" reaction to joining the "Sea Org," and she and several others boarded a rundown ship with Hubbard and sailed around the Mediterranean, doing manual labor and listening, "spellbound," to Hubbard's proclamations about the cosmos. Workers were severely punished – even pushed overboard – for small infractions, and Hubbard ended up sneaking back into Florida when he could no longer find places to dock. He eventually ended up in Los Angeles, where he established the Celebrity Centre and recruited high-profile figures, including popular actor John Travolta, to promote the Church.
Filmmaker Paul Haggis explains that he was shocked when, upon ascending to the level of "Operating Thetan-3," he received handwritten secret materials detailing outrageous science-fiction claims about the history of the Earth and the myth of creation, involving a tyrannical overlord named Xenu and the presence of thetans, or alien spirits, that inhabit the bodies of current-day members. Whitfield explains that she suffered great depression and self-loathing before finally leaving the Church in 1984, and Wright theorizes that Hubbard, who requested psychiatric help from the V.A., was attempting to "diagnose" himself and believed a "body thetan" was inside of him. He died in 1986, and equally paranoid and power-hungry young "lieutenant" David Miscavige quickly took over. The Church began increasing its attacks against dissenters, who were deemed "fair game," framing people, breaking into private property and actively harassing anyone who spoke out against the Church's practices. Former spokesman Mike Rinder admits that he frequently lied to the press about the accuracy of the claims, and Taylor describes how, after being separated from her child and sent to the "Rehabilitation Project Force" prison labor camp while pregnant, she eventually escaped with the help of a friend and left the Church in 1987. When Travolta refused to be videotaped during auditing sessions and showed signs of dissent, Miscavige ordered a "black PR package" to be compiled from his many "confessions" to be used as blackmail against him, likely leading to the persistent tabloid rumors of his alleged homosexuality, with the result that he became the Church's "captive." Former executive member Marty Rathbun talks about the Church's astronomical IRS bill, stemming from Hubbard's longtime refusal to pay taxes, and explains that Miscavige devised an elaborate smear campaign against the IRS itself in which Church members sued many individual agents. Finally, in 1993, the IRS caved to the pressure and forgave the bill, granting Scientology official church status, and Miscavige threw a jubilant "The War Is Over" celebration. Members were then pressured to give enormous donations to combat future "attacks," and the tax-exempt status combined with extremely low Sea Org "salaries" allowed the Church to amass a fortune.
FBI investigations and personal lawsuits against Church members were largely dismissed under the First Amendment, and Miscavige commissioned an anthem of sorts, "We Stand Tall," to emphasize the "persecuted underdog" mentality. Popular actor Tom Cruise eventually became the new celebrity face of the Church, and when his marriage to actor Nicole Kidman seemed to threaten his involvement, Miscavige ordered Rathbun to break the two up and turn their adopted children against "Suppressive Person" Kidman. After the divorce, Cruise was awarded a "Freedom Medal of Valor," and actor Nazanin Boniadi, after a "humanitarian" makeover, was essentially hired to be his new girlfriend. When the relationship soured, Boniadi was punished and all evidence of the liaison was destroyed. At the same time, Miscavige forced Sea Org workers to live in decrepit trailers known as "The Hole," where they were often physically beaten and forced to play bizarre versions of Musical Chairs to test their loyalty. Rathbun finally left in 2004 and fellow executive Tom de Vocht in 2005, though several members' ex-wives firmly told reporter Anderson Cooper in a television interview that the claims of violence were fabricated. Rinder explains that he left in 2007 after having a "moment of clarity" about his many public lies as spokesman, and Beghe, feeling that he was "going insane," gave a long Internet interview about his decision to leave and teamed up with Rathbun to help other escapees.
Haggis began to read dissenting views on the Church and, after learning of members' homophobic treatment of his daughters, wrote an open letter in 2009 about his "really stupid" long-term membership and his decision to leave, which attracted worldwide attention. Several ex-members, including Rinder, talking about the painful experience of having their family members "disconnect" from them upon their departure, in accordance with the Church's strict rules about aggressively shunning any dissenting opinions and "rumormongering." The interviewees, labelled "squirrels" upon departing, explain how they were "hounded and hunted" at their homes and in their personal lives after breaking with the Church, and Monique Rathbun, afraid for her son's safety, explains why she chose to sue Miscavige for harassment, knowing that he would be unwilling to openly testify. The Church's membership has dropped, though their financial value continues to grow thanks to certain real-estate investments, and Miscavige now refuses to give interviews, no longer interested in giving the much-maligned Church a "public face." The Church would suffer a significant blow if the tax-exempt status is revoked or if a prominent member, such as Cruise, publicly disavows it, but so far neither possibility seems likely. The ex-members agree that they are deeply ashamed of their longtime obliviousness, but now wish to fight back by speaking out publicly, despite the risks to their personal safety.
Details
- NETWORK: HBO
- DATE: 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 2:00:03
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 123153
- GENRE: Documentaries
- SUBJECT HEADING: Documentaries; Education/Information; Scientology; Cults
- SERIES RUN: HBO - TV, 2015
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Chris Wilson … Executive Producer
- Sheila Nevins … Executive Producer
- Arthur Portnoy … Executive Producer
- Sara Bernstein … Supervising Producer
- Kristen Vaurio … Producer
- Matt Slater … Producer
- Alex Gibney … Producer, Director, Writer
- Lawrence Wright … Producer, Based on the book by
- Lisa Starace … Senior Visual Effects Producer
- Melissa Fornabaio … Visual Effects Producer
- Jacqui Lewis … Associate Producer
- Lauren Wolf … Associate Producer
- Joey Handy … Digital Intermediate Producer
- Christina Delerme … Digital Intermediate Producer
- Will Bates … Music by
- Alex Gibney … Narrator
- Sherry Stringfield … Voice, Sara Northrup
- Marina Zenovich … Voice, Auditor
- Jason Beghe … Interviewee
- Paul Haggis … Interviewee
- Spanky Taylor … Interviewee
- Lawrence Wright … Interviewee
- Mike Rinder … Interviewee
- Hana Eltringham Whitfield … Interviewee
- Tom de Vocht … Interviewee
- Marty Rathbun … Interviewee
- Sara Lister … Interviewee
- Monique Rathbun … Interviewee
- Nazanin Boniadi
- Anderson Cooper
- Tom Cruise
- L. Ron Hubbard
- Nicole Kidman
- David Miscavige
- John Travolta
- Sara Northrup