List of Scientology references in popular culture

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The following lists specific Scientology references in popular culture along with other cultic references that fans suggest may be, wholely or in part, veiled references to Scientology.

Contents

[edit] Specific references to Scientology

[edit] In film

  • In the 1980 film spoof Airplane!, one of the many religious zealots to solicit money from (and subsequently get assaulted by) Robert Stack's "Rex Kramer" character as he walks through Chicago's O'Hare Airport is promoting Scientology.

[edit] Films especially about Scientology

  • In 2001, Scientology critic Bob Minton financed a feature-length satire of Scientology entitled The Profit [2]. In the film, Scientology terms such as "Auditing" and "Scientology" itself were renamed, but the filmmakers stated that they used Scientology and its founder, L. Ron Hubbard, specifically as role models for the settings, plot, and characters in the film. The film was screened theatrically only once, in Clearwater, Florida. After Minton began working for Scientology starting in 2002, The Profit was suppressed and has not been screened in public since its initial premiere. It has not been released on video.
  • In the summer of 2006, 18-year-old filmmaker Brett Hanover directed a low-budget feature-length film entitled The Bridge, a fictionalized story of involvement and disillusionment with Scientology. Unlike The Profit, the film did not shy away from using the name "Scientology" and explicitly used Scientology terms throughout its storyline, going so far as including actual clips from official Scientology promotional and training materials. Rather than release the film theatrically, Hanover premiered The Bridge on the Internet, and made it available for free downloading and viewing at several popular Web video sites, including Google Video and the Internet Archive, where, following Hanover's withdrawal of it, it is no longer available for the stated reasons of "issues with the item's content". On October 5, 2006, Hanover asked the film to be withdrawn from circulation, as he would no longer support it and cited "copyright issues"[3]

[edit] In television

  • In 2006, on "Nip/Tuck", the characters Kimber and Matt join the Church, making them the first Scientologist regular characters on a prime-time TV show. [4]
  • In the "The Parking Garage" episode of the TV series Seinfeld, the characters of Jerry Seinfeld, Cosmo Kramer, and George Costanza are thrown out of a woman's car after Costanza makes a seemingly critical remark about L. Ron Hubbard. The woman had been giving the characters a ride around the parking garage in order to assist them in locating their lost car when the incident occurred; interestingly, they were thrown out right in front of the very car for which they had spent the episode searching.
  • In the South Park episode Trapped in the Closet, Stan becomes a Scientologist after being recruited to take a personality test and then becomes their leader after followers start believing he carries Hubbard's thetan. This episode is controversial for a few reasons. It calls Scientology a "worldwide global scam", and makes fun of Tom Cruise's ordeal with the media calling his sexual bent into question. Soul singer and voice of 'Chef,' Isaac Hayes, quit the show over its treatment of 'religion.' The episode depicts Tom Cruise as denying being 'in the closet' amid several blatant pokes at his sexual orientation. To avoid legal issues all names in the credits are Mr or Mrs Smith.

[edit] In books

  • William S. Burroughs, who briefly dabbled with Scientology, wrote extensively about it during the late 1960s, weaving some of its jargon into his fictional works, as well as authoring non-fiction essays about it. In the end, however, he abandoned Scientology and publicly eschewed it in an editorial for the Los Angeles Free Press in 1970. [5]

[edit] In music and albums

  • Many of Chick Corea's songs contain explicit references to Scientology and various works by Hubbard. For example, "What Games Shall We Play Today?" refers to the philosophical concept in Scientology that life consists of "games" in which the objective is to extract joy and satisfaction for oneself. His 2004 album To the Stars is a tone poem based on Hubbard's science fiction novel of the same name. His latest album, The Ultimate Adventure, is also based on a Hubbard novel.
  • Frank Zappa's 1978 concept album/rock opera Joe's Garage lampoons Scientology in the song "A Token of My Extreme." Zappa uses terminology such as "L. Ron Hoover" and "Appliantology," telling the main character 'Joe' that he "must go into the closet" to pursue his latent appliance fetishism.
  • Gary Numan had popular songs laced with Scientology references in the 1980s such as "Me, I Disconnect from you", "Praying to the Aliens", and "Only a Downstat", influenced directly by Burroughs' Scientology-based writings. [6] [7]
  • On Tool's album Ænima, in the song "Ænema" the lyrics include "Fuck L. Ron Hubbard and fuck all his clones." Some fans suggest that the song "Eulogy" (from the same album) is about L. Ron Hubbard as well (with other alternatives being Bill Hicks and Jesus Christ), but the band members remain characteristically ambiguous as to the original meaning.

[edit] In role-playing games

  • The d20 Modern role playing game supplement "Menace Manual" depicts the "Neo-Scientologists", the result of a fictional major schism of Scientology. The book describes basic Scientology doctrines like Reactive and Analytical minds and the concept of "Clear", as well as the idea of developing psychic powers at levels above Clear (these cultists exist in the game as foes for the player characters). The only substantial change is replacing the story of Xenu with a grey alien mastermind who actually controls the cult and has a master plan to brainwash humans into being alien minions.

[edit] Suggested veiled references to Scientology

[edit] In film

  • Alex Cox's film Repo Man features a character telling another character to read 'Dioretix - The Science Of Matter Over Mind' [8].
  • Steven Soderbergh's Schizopolis (1996) parodies cults in the guise of a self-help corporation called Eventualism. Soderbergh acknowledged that he used imagery reminiscent of Scientology in the film, stating "I don't find Scientology any stranger than I find any other religion" and "They happen to be--along with the Mormons, I think--the only religion that advertises on television. If you're going to have one of those guys, you've got to use that imagery, because we all know it."[1]
  • The 1999 satirical film Bowfinger includes an organisation called "Mindhead" that some have speculated was a thinly-veiled parody of the Scientology movement. Steve Martin, however, writer and star of the film, denied that characterization, stating "I don't view it as Scientology. I view it as a pastiche of things I've seen through the years."[2]
  • In 2000, Icon Productions, Mel Gibson's production company, made a movie titled Bless the Child, a pro-Catholic movie which "Citizen Culture Magazine's" editor-in-chief Jonathon Scott Feit and the Journal of Media and Religion claimed portrayed "Scientology's seedy internal operations". [9] In the film, "The New Dawn" – a fictionalized cult that mimics Scientology's symbols and rhetoric – is revealed to be a Satanic cult led by charismatic self-help guru and former child star Eric Stark.

[edit] In television

  • In The Simpsons episode titled "The Joy of Sect," originally aired on February 8, 1998, the family joins a cult called Movementarianism. Fans suggest that the episode parodied a number of alleged cults including Scientology; possible Scientology references include the use of an orientation movie, the extremely litigous nature of the Movementarians, Homer signing a trillion-year contract, and a reddish-haired guru.[3]
  • The "Millennium (TV series)" episode "Jose Chung's Doomsday Defense" (aired Nov. 21, 1997) focuses on an end-of-the-millennium cult, "Selfosophy", which is modelled in various particulars on Scientology. The founder was a bad genre pulp novelist who turned to writing self-help books, which then spawned a profitable "religion" which particularly proliferated in Southern California. Like dianetics, selfosophy is based on learning about yourself, and eliminating negative thoughts (often with the reminder "don't be dark!"). There is a secret progression through the religious levels. Like the Scientologists, the Selfosophists are litigious in their pursuit of ex-members and critics. Selfosophy boasts of its celebrity adherents, who might be intended to refer to John Travolta or possibly Tom Cruise. The Selfosophists also have a machine, the Onan-o-graph, like the Scientologists' E-meter.
  • The TV series The 4400 contains a cult-of-personality organization that promises special powers to people following its course of study, courts celebrities, advances them more quickly than ordinary adherents, encourages its members to disassociate from people opposed to the organization, uses technological devices during therapy-like sessions, and confiscates psychiatric drugs from its members. Also, one former member of the organization accuses it of bankrupting him through payments for endless courses and ejecting him once he no longer had any money to pay.
  • On the TV series South Park, the episode "Super Best Friends" featured a cult called "Blainetology" (after David Blaine) that closely resembled Scientology (including a controversial struggle to be legally recognized as a religion, and recruiters claiming that the beliefs of the cult could be practiced alongside any other religion) came to the town.
  • The South Park episode "The Return of Chef," marking the character's final episode (in response to the aforementioned departure of Isaac Hayes), finds Chef joining an organization known as the "Super Adventure Club," whose recruiting techniques and history are a direct spoof of Scientology.
  • In the "Religion" episode of Upright Citizens Brigade, one of the religions being presented is Psychotonomy. The presenter tries to change a left-handed man to being right-handed by offering and denying him cookies, but is soon confronted by a former church member. The caucasian man says that Psychotonomy promised to make him black. Another disgruntled ex-member stands up and says that Psychotonomy promised to make her tall. Someone calls the whole thing a scam, and the presenter quickly loses his temper and vows to sue everyone present.
  • Wild Palms is regarded as containing veiled criticism of Scientology. Senator Anton Kreutzer, leader of a pseudo-fascist organisation called the Fathers, is the founder of a cult, Synthiotics. He lives on a yacht and likes to wear naval uniforms, details which are reminiscent of the Sea Org and the time Hubbard spent cruising the Mediterranean as "Commodore" of a Scientology fleet. Kreutzer's business interests include drug rehabilitation (a possible allusion to Scientology's Narconon).
  • In Mind of Mencia, there is a skit called the "Royal Religious Rumble" in which various gods and prophets compete in a battle royal style wrestling match to determine which religion would rule the world for 1000 years. The match would be commentated by Mencia and Edge. The match comes down to Jesus Christ and Moses as the final two participants. As Moses prepares to win the Rumble, he is taken out by Tom Cruise, who is the special referee. Cruise summons the spirit of L. Ron Hubbard to pin Jesus & Moses, making Scientology the supreme religion. Edge then entered the ring, taking out Hubbard, and delivering a spear to Cruise. He allowed Mencia to pin Cruise, making him "God."
  • In the second episode of season 4 of Nip/Tuck, main character Kimber Henry is revealed having joined Scientology, and is seen persuading Matt McNamara to join too. Though the Scientology "tech" and details are portrayed in a simplified way, the show is incorporating the Scientology storyline as a serious subplot, rather than a parody or a one-time jab.

[edit] In books

  • Norman Spinrad's novel The Mind Game (1980) is a story about a film director whose wife becomes involved in a religion/cult called "Transformationalism" created by a science fiction author. The cult maintains a Celebrity Center, and the Transformational enlightenment uses a process similar to auditing.
  • Neal Stephenson's cyberpunk novel Snow Crash (1992) includes a major character called L. Bob Rife, who is intent on brainwashing the world's population with an ancient Sumerian mind virus, and who has an ocean-going rag-tag fleet centered around a surplus aircraft carrier.
  • K.A. Applegate's Animorphs series has a fictional counselling group known as "The Sharing", which is designed as a front for an alien invasion, and operates very much like scientology, at least in terms of recruitments.

[edit] In computer and video games

  • In the LucasArts adventure game Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge, the Phat City Public Library features a book titled "Dynanetics by L. Ron Gilbert", to which Guybrush Threepwood, the main protagonist of the game, quips, "Who does this guy think he is, anyway?" The book is an obvious spoof of both Scientology and the Monkey Island series creator Ron Gilbert. Simarly, in the LucasArts adventure game "Sam and Max Hit the Road", a minor character is shown reading a book called "Dialenics" by Elrod Hubbel. When asked about it by the protagonist, Sam, the character responds, "It's changing my life."
  • The computer role-playing game Ultima VII: The Black Gate also contains references to Scientology with its own religion called "The Fellowship." Early on in the game, players are given the option to join the Fellowship and, in order to do so, subjected to a personality test by the leader, Batlin. Of course, any answer to any of the questions posed is interpreted as some character flaw; there are no "correct" answers that do not ultimately lead to the conclusion that the player character needs the Fellowship. The Fellowship also believes in basic tenets, the "Triad of Inner Strength" ("Strive for Unity", "Trust Thy Brother", and "Worthiness Precedes Reward"), which are actually intended to create blind loyalty to the Fellowship. In the end, the Fellowship is shown to be one of the ploys of the Guardian (a powerful, evil red alien creature) to corrupt and destroy Britannia, with Batlin being in on the plan.
  • The computer role-playing game Fallout 2 has a religion named "The Hubologists". Much of the Hubologist teachings are similar to Scientology's teachings, and the name of its founder, Jackson Hubbell, is a direct allusion to Hubbard. By and large, actions that hurt the Hubologists are considered good things for the world of Fallout, and those that aid them are considered bad things for the world of Fallout. Being "scanned" and cleansed by Hubologists (a jab at the belief in Thetans and Xenu) increases the luck of the protagonist but negatively affects his karma.
  • The multi-platform video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas mentions a cult called the Epsilon Program that heavily parodies Scientology's symbols and activities.
  • The popular computer real-time strategy game WarCraft III contains several quotes refering to scientology, all of which are given by the characters involved in the fictional "Cult of the Damned". References include Kel'Thuzad, the founder of the cult, saying things like "10000 gold in child-care and they call it a cult" (a poke at scientology's many financial contributions), as well as the Undead Acolyte saying "Do you want to know the secret to eternal happiness? Page 246."(a direct dianetics reference).

[edit] In role-playing games

  • The publishers of the science fiction/fantasy role-playing game Shadowrun released The Universal Brotherhood (pub. 1990) that parodies Scientology's symbols and activities. The cover art depicts a large billboard with an erupting volcano a la Dianetics and betrays the plot, a cult of insect worshippers seeking to resurrect an insect kingdom on Earth.

[edit] Other

  • Band The Network parodies Scientology with the pseudo-cult "The Church of Lushotology" which claims that to live a totally toxic life is the best way to live. It parodies Scientology in its rating system (the final level is called 'Unclear') and its "founder" the fictional "R. Hal Nardubb"

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.wsws.org/arts/1996/dec1996/sode-d02.shtml accessed 2006-10-18
  2. ^ http://www.compleatsteve.com/actor/bowfinger_2.htm
  3. ^ [1]

[edit] External Links

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