I’ve read the Wikipedia articles on Scientology’s connection to celebrities and why it is that Scientologists target celebrities to become [del]victims[/del] members of its greedy cult.
How is it that so many celebrities get roped into Scientology in the first place? Do Scientologists go after just any up-and-coming celebrity who looks like a promising star, in hopes of dragging them into the fray, or do they make sure the person’s name has become established and they’re not just a one-shot flash-in-the-pan one-hit wonder before attempting to recruit them? Are they more persistent going after celebrities versus everyday folks, and if so, how do they get past the celebrity’s agents and other members of their entourage? Do they target people who, in their minds, seem like potential candidates? I imagine a lot of reasonably intelligent celebrities (or their agents) would tell these guys to get bent.
Since it would seem that a big-name celebrity himself/herself would have to willingly join the cult and be convinced of its tenets to adhere to it, and allow the Scieno representative clearance past his security, why is it that so many of them are drawn into this craptrap? Does fame, repeated public exposure and spending time in the limelight cause one to lose his/her common sense and rational thinking and disconnect from reality? Do celebrities really believe in thetans and all that other bullshit that Scientology tries to promote? Has any celebrity drawn into Scientology ever come to his senses and successfully ceded from the cult and publically denounced his or her ties to Hubbard’s regime?
If you look at their history of celebrities, they are usually drawn in when they are just starting out. Struggling artists. John Travolta is a prime example. It is an essential part of their doctrine to actively seek out people who are seeking positions of power or influence. They figured out long ago that a movie star has far more appeal (and cash) than a Nobel Prize winner.
I imagine they probably use the celebrities they already have to recruit other celebrities. In Hollywood it’s all about who you know and if you’re just a moderately successful actor and Tom Cruise asks you to come hang out with him, you’re probably not going to say no.
And even if you do think that Scientology is a load of bull, you’ll probably be willing to sit through his spiel, because, again, he’s Tom Cruise. Some celebrities are weak-willed enough to fall for it and I imagine others get involved simply because they see it as a good way to advance their careers.
Supposedly, this is rather close to what Scarlet Johansson told Tom Cruise when he tried to initiate her into the cult.
Actors fall for cults for the same reason that most of them are leftists. They feel like a major reason they are where they are is luck since it plays a major role in who makes it and who doesn’t and they project their experiences onto everyone else. They embrace all kinds of flaky causes in a quest to be taken seriously or to justify their wealth and position in the world. They are also very emotional and not very rational.
They make their living by playing make believe so it isn’t that far a leap to play make believe in their real life as well by pretending that there are such things as Thetans, or that they lived a past life, or that they will save the world if they can only get everyone to just give up driving their cars, or stop vaccinating their children, or stop building nuclear power plants. None of this is rational but it is many of them think.
Am I the only one that thinks the general outcome of up and coming actors advancing their careers through favours from nice Scientologists seems to play out suspiciously similar to the Hollywood representation of a down-on-his luck schlep asking for favours from the Mob?
Most actors are notoriously insecure people. They get into acting largely because of their insecurities: it lets them be the center of attention (in a good way) and it lets them “act out” and be other people and associate with other people like them. Most actors are needy people who are seeking answers, and this seems true whether the actor has great or minor talent, is dummer than a rock or brilliant even for “regular” (non Celebrity-Jeopardy) standards and whether they’re a star whose movies have grossed billions or whether they’re starring in BYE BYE BIRDIE at the Grandpa Jones Community College in Frog Eye, Arkansas.
In other words they’re the kind of people that [del]cults prey upon[/del] seek spiritual truth in unconventional places. And being more narcissistic than the average population (at least according to Drew Pinsky’s recent book), they share it. Great symbiosis for the [del]cult[/del] unconventional truth source and the celebrity.
They also lack something most Nobel prize winners have in abundance: the ability for deep analysis. Acting is based on emotion, not thought. Religion is based on emotion, not thought.
For some, the auditing process is a form of interrogation leading to blackmail. In this, the subject is told that they cannot progress in their journey along the bridge or whatever they call it unless they confess their deepest feelings, any illegal or immoral actions in their past, etc.
So it’s easy to see that people for whom public image is everything, when someone is hanging every sin in your past over you, the motivation to toe the line and cough up the tithe is very strong. Add to that the litigious nature of the church (heh) if you do get out of line, and you’re pretty well stuck.
For others, it’s a form of mafia, in that there are many highly placed church (heh) members in the entertainment industry. Some of the early ones probably fell into the prior category, but now have a vested interest in promoting the careers of their brethren, and ensuring that those who stray are shunned.
