Going Clear (book)

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Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief
Going Clear.jpg
Hardcover, US first edition, Knopf, 2013
Author Lawrence Wright
Cover artist Peter Mendelsund
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Subject Scientology
Genre Non-fiction
Publisher Alfred A. Knopf (US)
Publication date
January 17, 2013
Media typePrint (Hardcover)
Pages448
ISBN 978-0-307-70066-7

Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief is a 2013 non-fiction book about Scientology written by Lawrence Wright.

Contents

The book contains interviews with current and former Scientologists, the histories of founder L. Ron Hubbard and current leader David Miscavige, and analysis of the relationships of Tom Cruise and John Travolta to the organization. In an interview with The New York Times Wright said that "There are a lot of people out there who were very high up in the church and know a lot about it who have become outspoken... I'm very lucky to come along at a time when a lot of these people are ready to talk". [1] Wright also disclosed that he had received "innumerable" letters threatening legal action from lawyers representing Scientology and celebrities who belong to it. [1] Wright spoke to two hundred current and former Scientologists for the book. [1]

The title of the book, Going Clear, is in reference to a stage of spiritual development in Scientology. In Scientology parlance, "Clear" means a state of having freed oneself from "subconscious memories of past trauma". Scientologists go through therapy sessions called "auditing" as part of the process of becoming Clear. [2]

Wright had previously written a profile of former Scientologist Paul Haggis for The New Yorker . [3] [4]

Reception

Lawrence Wright signing a copy of Going Clear Lawrence Wright signing Going Clear.jpg
Lawrence Wright signing a copy of Going Clear

The New York Times published Michael Kinsley's review of the book, where he wrote: "That crunching sound you hear is Lawrence Wright bending over backward to be fair to Scientology. Every deceptive comparison with ... other religions is given a respectful hearing. Every ludicrous bit of church dogma is served up deadpan. This makes the book's indictment that much more powerful." [5]

Clark Collis reviewed the book for Entertainment Weekly , writing:

Lawrence Wright, who won a Pulitzer for 2006's The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 , interviewed roughly 200 current and former Scientologists for the book, which began as a 2011 New Yorker article written with Haggis' cooperation. You can feel the heft of the research as he details Hubbard's establishment of the church in the '50s, its globe-spanning infiltration of government agencies in the '70s, and the more recent alleged physical abuse suffered by some members (the Church of Scientology denies many of the claims...) Going Clear is peppered with examples of the church lavishly accommodating its A-list members, particularly Tom Cruise, if not always dealing so well with its famous congregants' quips. [6]

Karen Swartz reviewed the book for Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions , writing that Wright achieves his goal for the book, providing “a rich history that engages current questions,” while allowing for a “more nuanced discourse” of the meaning of religion, while perpetuating a “heavily Protestant understanding.” She also commented that the author recognized the lack of information provided by the Church of Scientology and encouraged readers to research further. [7]

Joshi Herrmann of the Evening Standard wrote, "the revelations in Going Clear depict a frightening organisation, capable of imprisoning people often without keeping them imprisoned." [8]

Transworld Publishers, who were to publish the book in the United Kingdom on the same day other publishers around the world released the book, cancelled at the last moment. The book was published in the UK three years later by Silvertail Books, the same publisher for John Sweeney's book The Church of Fear: Inside the Weird World of Scientology. Sweeney speculated that the reason Transworld backed out of their contract for Wright's book was the litigious nature of the Church of Scientology combined with the strong libel laws in England. According to Sweeney, "You don't need capital to publish a book on Scientology – you need courage." [9] [10]

The Church of Scientology denied the contents of the book, putting out an official statement and publishing a website. [11] [12]

Wright's German publisher, Random House Publishing Group, provided the web addresses of the Church of Scientology's published responses in a disclaimer in the front of the German edition, and a disclaimer that none of the stories contained in the book concern the German branch of the church. [13]

Awards and honors

The book was a finalist for the National Book Award for Nonfiction, [14] [15] and was shortlisted for the 2013 National Book Critics Circle Award. [16] It won the nonfiction Carr P. Collins prize of the Texas Institute of Letters. [17]

Film adaptation

The book was adapted into a documentary film by HBO, directed by Alex Gibney, and premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2015. It had been stated by HBO documentary films chief Sheila Nevins that HBO had 160 lawyers review the film out of concerns about litigation by the Church of Scientology. [18] This was later called hyperbole by Gibney, though the film was scrutinized by HBO's lawyers. [19]

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Miscavige</span> Leader of the Church of Scientology (born 1960)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Haggis</span> Canadian screenwriter, producer, and director

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lawrence Wright</span> American writer and journalist (born 1947)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Beghe</span> American film and television actor (born 1960)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Sweeney (journalist)</span> British investigative journalist and writer

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tommy Davis (Scientology)</span> American financial executive

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scientology in the United Kingdom</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Hole (Scientology)</span> Scientology prison

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a place of confinement and humiliation where Scientology's management culture—always demanding—grew extreme. Inside, a who's who of Scientology leadership went at each other with brutal tongue lashings, and even hands and fists. They intimidated each other into crawling on their knees and standing in trash cans and confessing to things they hadn't done. They lived in degrading conditions, eating and sleeping in cramped spaces designed for office use.

Michele Diane "Shelly" Miscavige is a member of the Church of Scientology's Sea Org who married Scientology leader David Miscavige. She was last seen in public in August 2007. Since her disappearance, she has been the subject of speculation and inquiries regarding her whereabouts and wellbeing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Ortega</span> American author and journalist monitoring Scientology

Anthony "Tony" Ortega is an American journalist and editor who is best known for his coverage of the Church of Scientology and his blog The Underground Bunker. He was executive editor of Raw Story from 2013 until 2015. Previously, he had been a journalist at the New Times LA, the editor-in-chief of the Broward-Palm Beach New Times from 2005 to 2007, and the editor-in-chief of The Village Voice from 2007 to 2012. In 2015, he was executive editor of the YouTube channel TheLipTV. He is author of the non-fiction book The Unbreakable Miss Lovely: How the Church of Scientology tried to destroy Paulette Cooper, about journalist Paulette Cooper and the Church of Scientology's attempts to silence her after her own book was published.

<i>Going Clear</i> (film) 2015 film by Alex Gibney

Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief is a 2015 documentary film about Scientology. Directed by Alex Gibney and produced by HBO, it is based on Lawrence Wright's book Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood and the Prison of Belief (2013). The film premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. It received widespread praise from critics and was nominated for seven Emmy Awards, winning three, including Best Documentary. It also received a 2015 Peabody Award and won the award for Best Documentary Screenplay from the Writers Guild of America.

<i>My Scientology Movie</i> 2015 film

My Scientology Movie is a 2015 British documentary film about Scientology directed by John Dower, and written by and starring Louis Theroux. The film takes an unconventional approach to the subject matter, featuring young actors "auditioning" for parts playing high-profile Scientologists in scenes recreating accounts from ex-members about incidents involving senior church management. The Church of Scientology responded by putting the filmmakers under surveillance and denouncing the film.

This is a bibliography of books critical of Scientology and the Church of Scientology, sorted by alphabetical order of titles.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Mcgrath, Charles (January 3, 2013). "Scientology Fascinates the Author Lawrence Wright". The New York Times .
  2. ↑ NPR Staff (February 6, 2013). "Hollywood Hot Shots, Scientology and a Story Worth the Risk in 'Going Clear'". Morning Edition . NPR . Retrieved October 23, 2013.
  3. ↑ Wright, Lawrence (February 14, 2011). "The Apostate: Paul Haggis vs. the Church of Scientology". The New Yorker .
  4. ↑ Thornton, Kim (November 17, 2012). "Lawrence Wright's Book on Church of Scientology Coming in January". Knopf Publishers.
  5. ↑ Kinsley, Michael (January 17, 2013). "Eyes Wide Shut : 'Going Clear,' Lawrence Wright's Book on Scientology". The New York Times . Archived from the original on February 1, 2013.
  6. ↑ Collis, Clark (January 25 – February 1, 2013). "Going Clear". Entertainment Weekly . New York: Time Inc. p. 120.
  7. ↑ Swartz, Karen (2013). "Contemporary Esotericism". Nova Religio . 17 (4): 125–127. doi:10.1525/nr.2014.17.4.125.
  8. ↑ Herrmann, Joshi (March 25, 2016). "Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood and the Prison of belief - review". Evening Standard .
  9. ↑ Sweeney, John (January 7, 2013). "Scientologists believe the Holocaust was planned and carried out by psychiatrists". The Independent . Archived from the original on January 8, 2013.
  10. ↑ "Silvertail to publish Wright's Scientology exposé". The Bookseller . March 3, 2016.
  11. ↑ Dickson, Caitlin (January 23, 2013). "Scientology vs. Lawrence Wright". The Daily Beast . Retrieved October 23, 2013.
  12. ↑ Westcott, Lucy (January 27, 2013). "Scientology author talks of church's presence in D.C." Washington Examiner . Retrieved October 23, 2013.
  13. ↑ "2013 National Book Award Finalists Announced". Publishers Weekly . October 16, 2013. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
  14. ↑ "2013 National Book Awards". National Book Foundation . Retrieved October 21, 2013.
  15. ↑ "Announcing the National Book Critics Awards Finalists for Publishing Year 2013". National Book Critics Circle. January 14, 2014. Archived from the original on January 15, 2014. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
  16. ↑ Galehouse, Maggie (April 13, 2014). "Winners of Texas Institute of Letters competitions". Houston Chronicle . Retrieved October 21, 2015.
  17. ↑ Gray, Sarah (November 24, 2014). ""We have probably 160 lawyers": HBO readies documentary on Church of Scientology". Salon.com . Retrieved November 24, 2014.
  18. ↑ Stelter, Brian (March 15, 2015). "Scientology mounts media offensive against upcoming HBO documentary". CNN Business . Retrieved March 17, 2015.
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