Scientology and Me

HOME

TheInfoList

Click Here for Items Related To - Scientology and Me

OR:

Scientology and Me on: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Amazon]

''Scientology and Me'' is a television documentary first broadcast on 14 May 2007 as part of the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

's '' Panorama'' series. In it, reporter John Sweeney visited the United States to investigate whether the Church of Scientology was becoming more mainstream. The programme gained particular controversy before and during filming due to unresolved differences on content and approach between Sweeney's production team and

Scientology Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices invented by American author L. Ron Hubbard, and an associated movement. It has been variously defined as a cult, a Scientology as a business, business, or a new religious movement. The most recent ...

members. Tommy Davis, the international spokesperson for Scientology, did not want the BBC to interview any detractors or perceived enemies of the church or include them in the documentary, and attempted to censor any references to Scientology as a " cult." The scale of the controversy intensified when the Church of Scientology released a 40-second clip of video footage showing a screaming argument between John Sweeney and Church spokesman Tommy Davis over the way in which Sweeney was interviewing critics of Scientology. In the clip, Sweeney yells: "You were not there at the beginning of that interview! You were not there! You did not hear or record all the interview! You are quoting the second half of the interview, not the first half! You cannot assert what you're saying!" at Davis in reference to an interview Sweeney recorded with Scientology critic

Shawn Lonsdale Shawn Lonsdale (May 21, 1969 – February 16, 2008) was a videographer and prominent critic of the Church of Scientology. He resided in Clearwater, Florida, and regularly videotaped members of Scientology coming and going from church activities in ...

. Despite the Church of Scientology's lobbying British MPs to have the documentary scrapped, its first airing went ahead on 14 May. With a peak of 4.9 million viewers in the UK, the episode garnered the highest ratings for ''Panorama'' since September the previous year.

Content

The documentary was intended as an investigation of the claims of both critics of the Church of Scientology and the Church itself to see if the Church "still deserved its sinister reputation." In the introduction, Sweeney outlines his investigation into the reputation of the Church of Scientology, its affiliated celebrities and its current activities. He begins with an edited version of a statement issued during the 1994 Los Angeles Superior Court case ''Church of Scientology of California vs Gerald Armstrong'', in which Judge John Breckenridge describes the Church of Scientology as " hizophrenic, bizarre, ... paranoid ... an organization that harasses its enemies ... and abuses the trust of its members." Sweeney notes that the case has been derided by the Church of Scientology as it believes it was based upon discredited evidence. In describing the affiliated celebrity members of Scientology, the documentary refers to them as an "all-star cast list." John Travolta is seen crediting the longevity of his career and demise of other people's careers as due to the influence or lack of influence of

Dianetics Dianetics (from Greek ''dia'', meaning "through", and ''nous'', meaning " mind") is a set of pseudoscientific ideas and practices regarding the metaphysical relationship between the mind and body created by science fiction writer L. Ron Hub ...

. The documentary moves onto an interview in which Sweeney talks with a mother, known as "Sharon," who had been " disconnected" from her daughter after her daughter had taken a weekend away with other Scientologists and had read several books which she claimed had changed her life. Sweeney then explains the concept of a "disconnection" within the context of Scientology doctrine. "To the church, Sharon was a negative influence. Her daughter wrote to her cutting all ties. It's what Scientology call a 'disconnect.' They say they bring families together and a disconnect is a rare last resort and a human right."

Reactions

Outburst controversy

On 10 May 2007, four days before the documentary's first networked airing, video footage filmed by the Church of Scientology was released on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

and

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

showing Sweeney's outburst towards Scientology representative Tommy Davis. The Church of Scientology also presented the BBC with a set of 154 breaches of BBC guidelines which they claimed Sweeney and his team broke, though Sandy Smith, the programme's producer, responded that " e head of current affairs,

George Entwistle George Edward Entwistle (born 8 July 1962) was Director-General of the BBC during 2012, succeeding Mark Thompson. After a career in magazine journalism, he joined BBC Television in 1989, becoming a producer with a primary focus in factual and ...

, has viewed all footage complained of and, with the exception of the point when Sweeney shouts, he found nothing that stood outside BBC guidelines." The BBC responded to the clip by releasing on its website the video Sweeney shot to give some context to the argument before the documentary was aired. Since a description of Sweeney losing his temper was included in TV guide listings for the documentary, the BBC already knew about Sweeney's outburst before the YouTube clip was uploaded. Scientologists also later complained of

bigotry Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, rel ...

towards the Church in comments made by Sweeney during interviews with Scientology members. Sweeney's outburst toward Tommy Davis prompted John Travolta to lobby British MPs in an attempt to stop the documentary from being aired. – John Travolta sending 100,000 copies of Sweeney shouting at Tommy Davis to MPs. Both Sweeney and Sandy Smith apologised for his (Sweeney's) behaviour. Sweeney stated that it was a by-product of the "hijacking of the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

" by the Scientology exhibition '' Psychiatry: An Industry of Death''which was where the outburst occurredas well as attempts to control his mind. Sweeney said of the incident: "I apologised almost immediately, Tommy carried on as if nothing had happened but meanwhile Scientology had rushed off copies of me losing it to my boss, my boss's boss and my boss's boss's boss, the Director-General of the BBC." Later, he added: "I look like an exploding tomato and shout like a jet engine and every time I see it, it makes me cringe." At the time the Church of Scientology posted its own material regarding the matter on the Internet, one of its spokesmen denied Sweeney's statement regarding a quick apology.

Anti-documentary activity by Scientology

Sweeney said of fair gaming: "While making our BBC Panorama film "Scientology and Me" I have been shouted at, spied on, had my hotel invaded at midnight, denounced as a 'bigot' by star Scientologists and been chased round the streets of Los Angeles by sinister strangers." Sweeney also claimed that his family and neighbours had been harassed by unidentified strangers back in the UK, including an intruder at his wedding who fled when confronted. Former high-ranking Scientologist and spokesperson

Mike Rinder Michael John Rinder (; born 10 April 1955) is an Australian-American former senior executive of the Church of Scientology International (CSI) and the Sea Organization based in the United States. From 1982 to 2007, Rinder served on the board of ...

claimed

David Miscavige David Miscavige (; born April 30, 1960) is the leader of the Church of Scientology and, according to the organization, "Captain of the Sea Org". His official title within the organization is Chairman of the Board of the Religious Technology Cen ...

was unhappy with the church's handling of the documentary, and punished Rinder by exiling him to the United Kingdom to dig ditches. As a result, he left the church in 2007. In 2009, he has subsequently spoken out against the church, and now said he lied to Sweeney during the interviewing to defend the church. The Church also created a documentary regarding the BBC's activities called 'Panorama Exposed', showcasing many of the Panorama team's alleged violations of BBC and government broadcast codes. On 28 September 2010, Rinder and Amy Scobee were featured on '' The Secrets of Scientology'', a follow-up to the 2007 broadcast. Rinder revealed that Sweeney was correct: Scientology was following Sweeney's activities for the 2007 report.

References

External links