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 "chizophrenic, 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. 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."
Read more about this topic: Scientology And Me
Famous quotes containing the word content:
“People disparage knowing and the intellectual life, and urge doing. I am content with knowing, if only I could know.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“First it must be known that only a spoken word or a conventional sign is an equivocal or univocal term; therefore a mental content or concept is, strictly speaking, neither equivocal nor univocal.”
—William of Occam (c. 1285–1349)
“To me style is just the outside of content, and content the inside of style, like the outside and the inside of the human body—both go together, they can’t be separated.”
—Jean-Luc Godard (b. 1930)