Going Clear - Scientology and the Prison of Belief

Going Clear - Scientology and the Prison of Belief - I'm on a documentary kick lately.

This is how a documentary should be made. I reviewed "Citizenfour" earlier. I had high expectations for that one, and was somewhat disappointed. This is one I had low expectations for and became more and more fascinated and immersed in it, the further along into the story it got. I thought this was going to just be another hatchet job on somebody's religion, belief system, etc...... An easy target, who cares.

Sure, the stakes aren't as high as they are in Citizenfour, but goddamn this is a compelling story. I knew a bit about L. Ron Hubbard already, and was actually an occasional fan of his science fiction writing. I did not know as in depth as they got on him here. Also knew very little about the modern day inner workings of the "Church" and it's present ruler/demagogue, David Miscavige. The fact they are losing followers at an alarming pace, but amassing wealth at an even more alarming pace. The hooks they have in Cruise and Travolta and others.

The best part was the many interviews and ultimately confessions made by many of the former high ranking members of Scientology, who became disillusioned more and more as time went by. Matter of fact re-tellings by guys who specialized in interrogating and extorting members and former members of the church. You could see that they were smart people, who are now plainly embarrassed they fell for a lot of the garbage that was thrown at them through the years.

A must see, and an easy, compelling watch

9/10


<img src="http://www.movie-list.com/img/posters/big/zoom/goingclear.jpg">

 

I watched it over the weekend. very well done.

 

Will def check it out... These motherfuckers make my blood boil

 

Yeah, you'll get your pound of flesh out of this one.

 

Enjoyed this a lot.

It seems like the church and their ideologies have transformed quite a bit for the worse since Hubbard passed away.

Seeing David Miscavige address the church at those banquets, his mannerisms and the way he addressed the audience were eerily similar to the way Hitler gave speeches.

I thought the part about Nazanin Boniadi and Tom Cruise was fascinating. She was extremely sexy in Homeland.[h=1][/h]

 

:truce:

 

I downloaded it the other day but haven't got around to watching it yet. Will probably check it out on the weekend.