You guys seemed to like the
post on Hugh Hefner, so number two in the series is on the man challenging Michael Jackson for the title of Freakiest Celebrity- Mr. Tom Cruise, and his bride-to-be Ms. Katie Holmes.
This post ended up being much longer and less light-hearted then I anticipated. In particular, I was shocked by what I found out about Scientology. If you've got a couple of minutes to spare, it's really quite fascinating.
So Susanne, What is Scientology?
As always,
Wikipedia has a great overview of the topic.
Scientology is a 'religion' invented by a college drop-out and science fiction writer, L. Ron Hubbard in 1952. Let me repeat. A
science fiction writer.
It's almost too easy to make fun of isn't it?
This Hubbard guy is just what I would imagine Wilbur Mercer from
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? would look like, so I suppose he's a good choice to be a religious cult leader.
According to Wikipedia, Scientology has received a lot of negative criticism, and is commonly seen as a cult and a pseudoreligion.
While the Church of Scientology claims about ten million members worldwide, other reports suggest the real figure is less than half a million.
The 'religion' doesn't claim a god [well, perhaps Hubbard], but is rather based around self-improvement techniques and topics such as ethics, spirituality, relationships and existentialism.
Scientologists believe in past lives, the afterlife and that "Psychiatry and psychology are evil and abusive." Hmm.
It gets weirder.
Scientologists use a process called 'auditing' to, allegedly, 'rehabilitate the human spirit'.
This process involves a Scientology counsellor asking a person questions, usually while the person is holding onto an 'e-meter'- a "device that measures very small changes in electrical resistance". It's similar to a lie detector.
It looks like this:
The process is supposed to help the person unburden themselves from whatever is stopping them meeting their goals.
While scientologists have claimed the auditing process improves IQ, enhances memory and has other benefits, other studies have found 'auditing' is a form of hypnosis, and some ex-members claim the information they provided in these sessions has been used against them.
In terms of babies, Hubbard believes not only in the now-infamous 'silent birth', but also that breastfeeding should be avoided, and that "babies should not be bathed after birth, but should be wrapped up tightly and left alone for a day or so." Poor Suri!
Hubbard also believes that aliens sometimes brainwash and control people here on earth.
I am not making this up.
Interestingly, the term 'Scientology' was originally a synonym for 'pseudoscience'.
You've got to be kidding, right?
Nope.
While it is considered a religion in America, Australia, Thailand, Taiwan and Spain, much of Europe considers Scientology to be a cult.
Criticisms of Scientology include that it is a cult of personality, it brainwashes people and encourages members to cut off ties with those critical of the Church.
Also, a girl called
Lisa McPherson (pictured above) died while under the 'care' of Scientologists. Taken to a hospital after a minor car crash, she seemed mentally unstable and psychological care was recommended. However, she instead went to a special Scientology Hotel for "rest and relaxation", where she died three weeks later, underweight, dehydrated and covered with insect bites, possibly due to being left in a dark room with a large cockroach population. Wow.
There's more about scientology-related deaths
here.
See what I mean? What was originally meant to be a light-hearted criticism of Tom Cruise's weird behaviour is actually really depressing me.
Also,
L. Ron Hubbard may have started the religion for profit. He is quoted as saying: "Writing for a penny a word is ridiculous. If a man really wants to make a million dollars, the best way would be to start his own religion." There is also evidence he saw Scientology as a business more than a religion.
This is qualified by the fact that Scientologists pay members commission for bringing in new recruits, and that Scientology missions pay the Church about 10% of their income.
As for Hubbard himself, while an
official Scientology website claims he is "universal[ly] acclaim[ed]" and that "millions of people around the world...consider they have no greater friend", (odd considering he's dead), Hubbard's son, the imaginatively names
L. Ron Hubbard Jr. has claimed that "99% of what my father ever wrote or said about himself is totally untrue."
Furthermore, Jr. also claims that he was the result of a failed abortion, that at six years old he saw Hubbard Sr. perform an abortion on his mother with a coat hanger, and that his half brother Quentin Hubbard was murdered by agents of his father.
Source.
Quentin Hubbard.
This
Quentin Hubbard was initially groomed by Hubbard to take over the running of the organisation. "However, Quentin was too timid and polite to take control of such an organization, had little interest in Scientology and his homosexuality caused him a great deal of personal torment due to the widespread homophobia of the era and his father's creation of a new religion that officially categorized homosexuals as "sexual pervert[s]" and "quite ill physically"."
He committed suicide in 1976 at the age of 22, although some claim he was murdered by Scientologists.
What about Scientology and Celebrities? What's going on there?
In terms of Scientology and celebrities, it is claimed that celebrities get extra-special treatment compared to non-celebrities. For instance, it is claimed that money from not-for-profit scientologist organisations went to providing special facilities for Scientologist celebrities.
Famous Scientologists include Ethan Suplee and Jason Lee* from Mallrats, Giovanni and Marissa Ribisi, Danny Masterson (a.k.a. Hyde from That 70's Show), Kate Cebrano, Nancy Cartwright (a.k.a. Bart Simpson), John Travolta, Kirstie Alley, Jenna Elfman, Beck, Isaac Hayes, and of course Tom Cruise and the now-converted Katie Holmes.
I've always liked
Katie Holmes. My favourite roles of hers are as Tobey Maguire's crush Libbets Casey in
The Ice Storm, ("Libbets? Her name is Libbets?) and as Claire in
Go:
So it's kind of sad to see where she's at now.
Apparently Katie started dating
Tom Cruise only weeks after breaking up with former fiancee Chris Klein, in early 2005. Since then, as we all know, she has become engaged to Cruise on top of the Eiffel Tower, and bore his first biological child, Suri.
From the start the relationship has been
perceived negatively by the media. Many claimed it was merely a publicity stunt to promote both actor's upcoming films. It was also noted that "Cruise had been extremely private about his personal life and the flaunting of his new relationship was a marked contrast from his past behaviour."
Shortly after she began dating Cruise, Holmes fired her long-time manager an agent and acquired a new best-friend and 'minder', Scientologist Jessica Rodriguez. The press has often suggested she has been coerced or brainwashed into Scientology. Rodriguez apparently chaperones Holmes constantly, and has quite a big input in her interviews. For instance, during an interview for W Magazine, "Ms Rodriguez helpfully supplemented Holme's declarations of love for the diminutive actor ("You adore him", she prompted on one occasion)."
Source.
Indeed, Robert Haskell's
brilliantly ironic article on Holmes is fascinating reading. During the interview, when Holmes is asked about the "widespread disbelief" in their union, largely due to the "televised hyperboling of their happiness" Rodriguez interjects and suggests that when you're in love, "You just want to share it with the world". When Haskell suggests many couples, such as Angelina and Brad tend to keep their time together as private as possible, Rodriguez says it's a "shame" they don't go public. Katie agrees: "Yeah. I mean, I'm just so happy.", "And I love celebrating our happiness. I can't keep it in."
Brainwashed hey?
Judging by my rather biased visual evidence, she really does seem under his influence.
This is Katie before Cruise/Scientology:
And after:
You decide.
I hate the way he always seems to be dragging her somewhere, holding her hand tightly so she can't slip away:
Or displaying her triumphantly like some kind of trophy he's won:
Or even making her wear his-and-her matching outfits:
So is the relationship a scam? It's hard to say, but the pictures of them kissing gross me out: (You have been warned)
What makes Tom Cruise such a freak, Susanne?
It's mainly the Scientology. Tom Cruise had a big stoush with Brooke Shields in 2005 when he criticised her for taking anti-depressant medication after the birth of her daughter in 2003. Ironically enough, both Holmes and Shields gave birth to a daughter on the same day- April 18, 2006.
Cruise has also successfully sued against people who have claimed he is homosexual.
Other weird behaviour of Tom's includes buying a sonogram machine for monitoring the baby and joking about eating the placenta after the birth.
Verdict...
In my opinion, it's hard to say if Holmes is genuine in love with Cruise or has been somehow coerced. He was her childhood crush, and
she dreamt of marrying him when she grew up. With that being the case, she may well be seeing this as some kind of fairy tale or dream come true. On the other hand, even with the media hyperbole surrounding the couple, she does seem heavily under his influence, to the point where she has denounced her former religion, cut off ties with former staff, and has
turned down the role of a drug addict on Tom's advice.
It will be interesting to see what turns the saga takes in the future.
Following the public backlash against the 'TomKat' relationship and his Scientologist agenda, Cruise recently
demoted his Scientologist-publicist-sister in favour of veteran publicist Paul Bloch.
Even so, his behaviour seems to be getting increasingly odder.
I'm sure it'll all fall apart at some point. If nothing else, surely Cruise's falling popularity will take it's toll.
I give them two years, max.
Then maybe someday in the future, we can get the tell-all expose from Holmes and find out what really happened.
As for Scientology, I had always thought of it as a big joke and really easy fodder for making Tom Cruise look bad.
Researching this post, however, I found the reality to be a lot darker.
Celebrities such as Cruise, as well as Michael Jackson, are often publicised negatively as markers against which we, the public, can feel comparatively normal.
To us they are characters, acting in wacky ways for our enjoyment.
However, Cruise's links with Scientology aren't a joke, even if that is how they are commonly conceived. The media does play its role in portraying Scientology negatively, but it also needs to go further in taking seriously the fact that it is a
religious cult.
Free Katie!
*Completely unrelated to Scientology- Jason Lee has a son called Pilot Inspektor Riesgraf Lee. What the?
