Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood And Scientology

The Church Of Scientology claims to offer a path of self-betterment and spiritual enlightenment through a precise protocol that heals the body and spirit. In reality, Scientology is an opportunistic organization that methodically targets, recruits, and exploits people, particularly highly vulnerable individuals. The Church of Scientology reaches out to these potential members through a robust collection of programs designed to help the general population. Though these programs have been defended as social programs that have little to no religious content, they are “front” programs for things such as drug abuse, self-help programs, psychiatry and mental health initiatives, and educational outreach. These front programs are touted as “salves for people’s emotional wounds,” but these same persons are recruited for the churches financial gain (Spohrer pg. 108). WikiLeaks has reported dozens of front companies attached to Scientology with topics ranging anywhere from office management to homeschool training programs. Three of the more well-known organizations are Narconon, Citizens Commission on Human Rights, and Practice Manage Consulting. Each one of these has its own way of preying on weakness and gaining both money and membership.

Neal Gabler’s 1998 book, Life the Movie: How Entertainment Conquered Reality, brings up controversial questions about the necessity or unnecessary want of entertainment. Scholars may claim that entertainment breaks family bonds, undermines community, and decreases people’s integrity. Certainly, entertainment in the 21st century in the form of movies, video games, and social media are more widespread than ever. However, not all forms of enjoyment are obscene; sports, television shows, and fan conventions can promote social involvement, reduce stress, and improve collaboration skills.

It’s not unknown that The Church of Scientology has been a contentious subject of conversation for decades. The controversial religion was originally discovered by a gentleman named L. Ron Hubbard in 1954 through the establishment of ideas in which he believed would act as an antidote to mental health concerns called Dianetics. After an unsuccessful attempt resulting in bankruptcy, Hubbard branched his ideas into the basis of a new found religion called Scientology ("The Beliefs and Teachings of Scientology”). To Hubbard’s advantage, Scientology expeditiously accelerated in growth, becoming one of the fastest expanding religions in the 20th century. Scientology pledged a “light at the end of the tunnel” to those wandering through dark times, and created a pathway to a faultless understanding of one’s true spiritual fulfillment through a system of self-knowledge in relation to one’s own life, community, and mankind. Due to the Scientology’s controversial beliefs, abnormal practices, and aberrant church-member relationships, the religion poses as a superlative model of church rebelling against society’s social norms.

Recently Leah Remini came out with some pretty wild claims about Scientology and Tom Cruise. It turns out Cruise is not very happy about what Remini had to say in her recent interview and book. US Magazine shared that a source close to Tom Cruise is now speaking out about it and Cruise is not happy. Leah left Scientology and since then she has been revealing a lot about the organization and the people who are part of it.

Unlike Christian Science, “in Scientology there is no belief in the Holy Bible, God, or Jesus Christ.” (“The Differences Between Scientology and Christian Science”). Christian Science and Scientology are not the same in anyway yet people still confuse the two.

According to Remini, people want to join the Church of Scientology because they think that they are “helping mankind.” However, she said

Katie Holmes is actually going to speak out about Scientology for the very first time tonight on 20/20. US Magazine shared the news that since her divorce from Tom Cruise, Holmes will finally be sharing. When the two split, Tom and Katie were very quiet about what happened and never shared if Scientology could have been part of the problem in their relationship. Holmes will be talking about Leah Remini on this special where Leah will talk about leaving Scientology and how it affected her life. Katie has never said a spoke out about Leah in the press before. This show will not focus on Holmes, but it will be interesting to see what she has to say after all these years.

He upheld himself by doing odd occupations including, dining areas and stacking trucks while going to open calls for stage and film parts (Newsmakers). In 1994, and 1997 Cruise had won 2 golden globes. Cruise was aired on the Ophra Winfrey show on May 23, 2005. In which he professed his love for actress Katie Holmes by parading through the set even jumping on the couch. Cruise was married three times earlier to actress Mimi Rogers, and Nicole Kidman and around 2006 he was married to his longtime girlfriend Katie Holmes with whom he has a daughter with(international). Also in 2005 Cruises personal life was plastered all over the tabloids, because his Scientology religion belief. Cruise and fellow members say prescription drugs for mental illness is dangerous and only enriches doctors and drug companies. Cruise is a scientologist among others supports, and learns about the crooked talk toward mental health physicians (Bentayou). Cruises background and personal life is very consistent and interesting.

This satirical genius has evolved from hilarious adventures of four Colorado kids into an episode a week of pure cultural parody with race, politics, religion, and pop culture. The series has never really had much trouble with writing episodes because they leave pop culture do all the writing for them (Harris). They simply put a humorous twist by making fun of a mistake or ridiculous subject that is popular in the media or politics at the time. The most talked about religious bashing from the series came on November 15th, 2005: the Scientologist lampoon, “Trapped in the Closet”. The episode featured Tom Cruise and John Travolta locking themselves in a closet after the suspected prophet of Scientology was not impressed with Tom’s theatrical work which lead into a mockery of the religion and angered scientologists and, more specifically, Cruise.

The church of Scientology has been the subject of controversy since its inception. Its methods and beliefs have attracted the attention of scholars from around the world. The church has been under government investigation and has endured a countless amount of lawsuits (Reitman 14). It is also a hot topic by the media with several endorsements by some of the most recognized Hollywood celebrities. However, the main topic of debate regarding the Church of Scientology is its status as a religion. Some members claim that the church has helped them overcome their struggles and that they are happier people, while others condemn it as a dangerous cult (Sweeney). The church of Scientology is a religious group whose purpose is to retain their

The incident allegedly occurred when Remini and her husband, Angelo Pagan, visited Cruise and his wife Katie Holmes at their Los Angeles home. According to Remini, the "Mission: Impossible" actor decided to bake cookies for his guests, but lashed out at his assistants when he couldn't find the ingredients in his home's kitchen to make cookies even though a tub of pre-made cookie dough was sitting right on the table in front of him.

One of the most prominent figures in this documentary was Paul Haggis. Paul is a writer and filmmaker whose former membership with the Church gives him distinct credibility (Science of Persuasion YouTube Video). His experiences grab the audience’s attention, seeing as he was a scientologist for three years. Paul spoke out about his experiences with Scientology, calling it a “cult” and mentioning many disturbing aspects about the church

Mike Rinder’s (2016) blog points out an interesting and ironic piece about David Miscavige. L. Ron Hubbard wrote about persons that members of the church should look out for. Rinder shows how Hubbard’s writings from the 1950s eerily describes Miscavige’s current behavior and

Many people have heard of the revolutionary new religious practice called Scientology. However, the majority of people who have heard of it, have little knowledge of the principles and practices behind the religion. In fact, there is a dark side behind Scientology, and much speculation that the religion is a brainwashing cult. Many people are opposed to the religion because of its secretiveness, its extreme methods of teaching and its alleged use of mind control.

Cruise is an outspoken advocate for the Church of Scientology and its associated social programs, and credits it with helping him overcome dyslexia. In the 2000s, his criticisms of psychiatry and anti-depressant drugs, particularly therapy for 9/11 rescue workers, and efforts to promote Scientology as a religion in Europe, sparked controversies, as did a leaked video interview of him promoting