scientology & celebrities

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXf3pWVJOkA

DANNY MASTERSON TELLS US ABOUT HIS LIFE IN THE CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY

he swears a lot

and he makes it sound all so simple...

i just need to read that fuckin book
and decide for myself

Which book, Dianetics?

yes, but I was joking. that's what dude prescribes. I already read Going Clear, oh man.

i just got three of my associates to read going clear this week

i'm a shrink btw

I finally was old enough to read Dianetics, which is an unbelievably not-easy book to read because it was written by somebody with a much bigger vocabulary than most of us

In Scientology, there's no belief system or anyone who's worshipped or whatnot; it's all sort of like college of the mind

a college where one is compelled to join a fraternity and the initiation/hazing never ends

scientologist as bro; just the kind of guy you'd like to share a few double-IPAs with while he audits your "fucking personality"

it's full of so much bullshit. he needs to check his scientology privilege.

that said, i'm kinda curious about whether he's lying about the ugly side of things, or whether the church accommodates certain wealthy influential scientologists and gives them a kind of privileged view of how it all works. and then it's just the less well off who are slaving away or being isolated from their families?

is it part of their strategy to court the rich and troubled with a laissez-faire version?

they definitely court celebrities, as per Going Clear and Paul Haggis; not sure if the rich famous & troubled get off easier in the long run

I grew up just sort of like, "Oh, if you're thirsty, drink water. That's a logical fucking decision, right?"

What are the things that you wish you could clear up -- the most annoying things that people approach you about?
Nothing really. I've never been given a hard time my entire life about my belief system or my philosophy in life

It's like what I said earlier: "Oh my god, I'm so thirsty." "OK cool, go drink water. That's your solution."

No. I mean, most of the courses cost 20, 50 bucks. If you can't afford to go sit in a room and have someone who's trained in that course give you the lessons and help you study and learn it, then I don't know what to say. I mean, it's cheaper than college.

it's good all these scientology spokescelebs are insane. imagine if they had an actually intelligent, thoughtful one who could convince ppl that scientology wasn't just a con for morons

They almost got Spielberg...

For some reason I hear ^^ that in my mind as being spoken wearily by a middle-aged cop in a rumpled suit. He sits on a straight backed chair in a dimly lit, dusty room, his legs splayed apart. He leans forward, forearms on knees, a cup of cold coffee forgotten in his hand. As he speaks he shakes his head slowly and he looks down at his scuffed brown shoes.

it's good all these scientology spokescelebs are insane. imagine if they had an actually intelligent, thoughtful one who could convince ppl that scientology wasn't just a con for morons

are you calling tom cruise intelligent and thoughtful?

or is this another point...?

i think you are either reading something into my comment that wasn't intended, or just misreading the syntax?

loool at "college of the mind," nothing like those other colleges

ah sorry mordy, my bad, i thought you were being sarcastic - like implying that cruise was that person.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zllYkNu1sl4

stoked for the madness

i am truly looking forward to this.

interesting to see if it actually prompts any action - the trailer seems to be going for that angle, assuming the euro one i watched is the same as that one linked above, which is blocked for me.

i wish i had read the book more recently.

As long as the information in the movie is based on the same as the hyper-vetted book, I don't see why it would prompt any legal action, for the same reason: if they sued, they'd have to introduce all sorts of crazy stuff into evidence they'd rather just keep hidden/made up.

they sure have an ugly building. aren't religions supposed to make good buildings or something.

Lord Elron was more into boats, tbh.

love the scientology building so much

thetans in the architecture

SF scientology building is kinda cool (the old Transamerica building)

Guess they like the style; the one in Madrid is very similar.

i.e. wedge-shaped, ship-like. Flatiron building better watch out.

As long as the information in the movie is based on the same as the hyper-vetted book, I don't see why it would prompt any legal action, for the same reason: if they sued, they'd have to introduce all sorts of crazy stuff into evidence they'd rather just keep hidden/made up.

I meant to wonder if this doc will cause backlash against scientology, rather than a legal action by the "church". The trailer I saw (which I think is the same one linked here but can't tell) had all these snippet quotes of "this will blow the whole thing open" etc. I guess to me it seems like scientology already won the big battles in the 80s and 90s - I am psyched for this doc but I don't expect it to do any actual damage. The book was incredibly neutral, it just told stories and indicted that way, which was highly effective. I guess I don't expect the doc to do anything more than reach a bigger audience.

the big jump from New Yorker subscribers to HBO subscribers

prob will be bigger globally - the book also was banned in the uk - even if the doc doesn't come out here a lot of people will still watch it.

Can the doc legally include all that crazy Tom Cruise stuff (like his Mission Impossible theme infomercial)?

god i hope so

http://i.imgur.com/0Eq72g8.png

sunday sunday sunday

mistah wright!

What did you all think?

Having read the book, I guess it was a bit underwhelming. Mainly because the book is just so exhaustively detailed.

I thought the doc explained the e-meter more clearly, and some of the personalities came across nicely. Also, lol at that awful song.

I loved it. I never read the book but I knew a lot of the details. I didnt know about the machinations behind getting tax exempt status though, thats mindblowing.

Insane. If only the IRS could have held their nerve.

I dug it. I havent read the book & most of my knowledge is Hubbard/Parsons occult & early dianetics, so I found this v interesting + fking nuts

Hubbard footage (the color interview footage) STUFF OF NIGHTMARES
his mouth/teeth/lips so creepy
everything about him tbh

looooling at the meeting footage. william gibson retweeted someone saying that some of it looked like a bioshock level lol

cavidge is a weird one
reminds me of the pastor from True Blood

i actually went back and looked at the handshakes between cruise and miscavige a couple of times. creepy out.

The musical chairs story is some truly evil shit, again I think the book got across the horror of that even more than the doc, though I liked the way the doc did it. It might just be a case of the shock value being diminished entirely by knowing the big revelations.

L Ron's mouth and teeth :(

Guess my favourite part of the book didn't get in:

http://i62.tinypic.com/312e0kx.jpg

oh man, guess I have no reason to watch this now. :\

http://www.bustle.com/articles/72106-where-is-shelly-miscavige-wife-of-scientology-leader-david-miscavige-she-hasnt-been-seen-in-7