Image via Complex Original
Last Friday, director M. Night Shyamalan’s latest dud, After Earth, hit theaters to scathing reviews and a poor box office total, despite some gaudy special effects and the presence of Will Smith. However, the film still managed to cause a stir in the media. Casual moviegoers and reviewers from across the country noticed that After Earth contains many of the themes and teachings found in the controversial Church of Scientology.
The movie’s conflicts with fear, emotion, and trauma echo many of the philosophies of the church’s founder, L. Ron Hubbard, and his beliefs that one must vanquish these thoughts in order to achieve enlightenment and defeat the evil alien spirits dwelling within us (seriously). And while Will Smith hasn’t come out publicly as a member of the church, he has donated money to the movement in the past, so it’s not unfathomable to think that he might have influenced the script in some way.
With Scientology being such a hot topic in Hollywood, it’s no surprise that the religion's themes and teachings have appeared in other films over the past few decades. To illuminate you on exactly how this enigmatic religion has been given the undercover cinematic treatment, take a look at 5 movies influenced by Scientology.
Related: 10 Kinda Nice Things Critics Have Actually Said About After Earth
Related: The 50 Best Sci-Fi Movies
Phenomenon (1996)
Director: Jon Turteltaub
Phenomenon came out at the peak of John Travolta’s ‘90s comeback; it was also one of the star’s first films that caused rumblings that perhaps his projects were somehow influenced by his admiration for Scientology. Travolta plays a man named George Malley, who develops strange mental abilities after being subjected to strange lights in the sky on his 37th birthday. These abilities include telekinesis, advanced intelligence, and the power to formulate ideas and concepts beyond the comprehension of a normal individual.
His character’s powers of the mind closely mimic those spoken of in the religion. In Scientology, this stage of mental prowess is known as The Clear, or an individual untethered by unwanted emotions or trauma. Hubbard theorized that these people are able to think clearly and absorb new information as well as remember everything from their past perfectly.
There are many instances like this throughout the film where Travolta’s character is depicted as the type of ideal human that Scientology teaches about. However, there are also countless allusions to the New Testament and the life of Jesus Christ. It's not definitive, but we find it hard to believe that the folks involved in the film didn't notice the similarities.
Battlefield Earth (2000)
Director: Roger Christian
On the surface, Battlefield Earth looks like just another Star Trek or Star Wars clone, but it's actually based on one of L. Ron Hubbard's most popular books and is part of the backbone of the Church of Scientology. The movie features many of the religon's teachings, with the most obvious one being Hubbard's views on psychiatrists. Hubbard had a strong distrust of anyone who could use their influence over another person’s mind. He believed that these psychiatrists could bend the will of people and control their thoughts, whether through hypnotic therapies or dangerous drugs.
It only makes sense, then, that the main race of villains in Battlefield Earth happen to be called Psychlos, with the main one, Terl, being infamously played by John Travolta. In the movie, these Psychlos have oppressed humanity and turned them into slaves, but they themselves are also ruled by a group known as the Catrists. The Catrists use mind control to impose their will on the Psychlos, as well as anyone else in their way, under the guise of being mental health experts.
Obviously this all builds on Hubbard’s feelings towards psychiatrists (Psychlos and Catrists even sound like psychiatrists when put together) and how he felt like they could destroy the will of a person, while claiming they are there to help.
Battlefield Earth is still the most highly-publicized Scientology film ever produced, and it's still the only way for the average person to get a glimpse at some of the religion's most cherished ideas. It's also hailed as one of the worst movies of all time by almost anyone who has seen it, so, you know, watch with caution.
Knowing (2009)
Director: Alex Proyas
Knowing is an interesting case because while it’s supposed ties to the themes of Scientology were never openly discussed in the press, keen observers across the net have picked up on some of the religion’s elements throughout the film. First off, the term Scientology itself loosely translates to “knowing, in the fullest meaning of the word,” and the plot shares many details with the religion’s creation myth, including the influence aliens have in our lives.
There are other bits of evidence throughout the movie, like the appearance of symbols and images similar to those used in Scientology, as well as the fact that one of the main characters was born the same year that the movement started. It must be noted, of course, that the movie’s star, Nicolas Cage, isn’t reported to be a Scientologist, but he was married to Lisa Marie Presley, a devout follower.
Again, though, this is all left to interpretation because Knowing also features allusions to Christianity and Islam. But remember, no matter how strange all these theories may seem to you, none of them come close to matching the mania that is Nic Cage himself.
The Master (2012)
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
It’s ironic that the most impactful Scientology movie of the last decade is actually a criticism of the movement itself. In Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master, Philip Seymour Hoffman plays the enigmatic Lancaster Dodd, a writer turned philosopher who dreams up a new belief system known simply as The Cause. The power of his words and teachings leads him to accumulate a large group of followers, all of whom show complete devotion to his works.
While the movie never uses the name L. Ron Hubbard or the term Scientology, The Master is very obviously based on the movement and its mysterious founder. We see Dodd implement many techniques that are based on actual Scientology practices, most notably in the scene where Dodd attempts to expel Freddie’s (Joaquin Phoenix) past traumas through an exercise called Processing. This is actually partly based off of the real religion’s practice known as Auditing, which seeks to clear one’s mind and have them conquer traumas from their past. That’s just one of the many allusions to Scientology that the movie features, but it is no doubt the most memorable and effective.
Scientology is a naturally enigmatic movement, but Anderson shines a light directly on the practices so people can try to understand exactly what it is that makes it such a controversial subject. While the other movies on this list bury the ideals of the religion under the surface, The Master puts it on display for everyone to see.
Oblivion (2013)
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Just weeks before After Earth hit theaters and began drawing connections to Scientology, the church's poster-boy Tom Cruise’s Oblivion was released and also raised the eyebrows of a few commentators. Some noted that alien conflicts with Earth, mind-wiping, and the lack of identity are all common themes in the Church of Scientology, especially when you go back to L. Ron Hubbard’s distrust of the psychology field, which he felt was a means of mind control under the guise of helping people.
It's easy to see how some people could draw a parallel between the movie and Scientology, but on the other hand, aren’t just these conventional sci-fi beats too? The problem is that Hubbard was a science-fiction writer before he became the head of a religion, so much of his philosophy has its roots in the genre. Plus, the movie stars Tom Cruise, and people will try to find a Scientology connection with anything he does.
The evidence is clearly there for both sides, and we’re not going to say one way or another whether this was all intentional or happenstance. But we’re sure the debate will continue.