SCIENTOLOGY & SCOUTING
A great night's television for documentary lovers, beginning with Panorama (BBC1, 9.30pm) and their investigation into Scientology. BBC journalist John Sweeney travelled to America to investigate this brainchild of pulp science-fiction author L. Ron Hubbard.
Since its founding in 1952, Scientology has often come under fire for its cult-like activities. The documentary was rife with tales of "disconnected" families; parents whose children joined the movement and were never heard from again. The BBC interviewed people with such stories, with one mother giving a tearful interview about losing contact with her daughter. In a bizarre "coincidence", three hours later her daughter returned for the first time in two years. The mother, fearful of losing contact again, pulled out of the programme, so her interview wasn't shown...
One man who bad-mouthed Scientology became "Fair Game", a policy exacted by Hubbard in the 60s whereby opposers to Scientology can be “tricked, sued or lied to and destroyed”. This tends to mean Scientologists will dig for dirt on the opposer in an effort to discredit their views. Imagine one local man's horror when posters telling townfolk about some sexual misdemeanours from his past began to appear on shop windows.
John Sweeney's attempt to investigate Scientology was usurped at every corner, beginning with Scientology's insistence Panorama never call their "religion" a "cult". Seriously, don't mention the c-word around these guys, particularly senior Scientologist Tommy Davis, who becomes prone to belittling you inches from your face and storming off in a huff.
Mr Davis became a particular boogieman figure for 30 minutes, as he constantly seemed to be leaping from cars to try and discredit Sweeney's work and have the production team followed by cars with blacked-out windows.
Pathetically, the Scientologist's obvious fear of the BBC's investigation was their own undoing. The documentary was tainted by Tommy Davis' odd behaviour every step of the way, with all positive comments on Scientology completely undone by the spectre of Davis' bullying.
The centrepiece of the documentary was the much-publicized moment when John Sweeney lost his cool. After being shown a distasteful exhibition called "Psychiatry: Industry Of Death" (twisting the holocaust to preach against psychiatry), Sweeney finally "lost it" when approached by Tommy Davis again.
It came as Mr Davis launched into another tirade against the BBC's investigation, in particular an "impartial interview" with a critic. Sweeney couldn't keep his stiff upper-lip anymore, bellowing: ""You were not there at the beginning of the interview! You were not there! You did not hear or record all the interview!"
Later, Sweeny said: “For an hour and a half they showed me these appalling images. I felt as though I was being brainwashed and that if I didn’t fight it they would have taken over my mind. I’ve reported in Bosnia and I’ve never felt like this, but I am sorry. The moment I lost it I knew I was in the wrong.”
Scientologists have since posted his outburt on YouTube in an attempt to discredit Panorama (see their version of events on the embedded video above). They've also spent $30,000 sending 100,000 DVDs to M.P's, peers, religious leaders and "influential figures" with their own "findings". Famous Scientologist John Travolta has even sent an official letter of complain to the BBC. For them, Sweeney's rant is the icing on the cake, but it's only brought bigger ratings for Panorama.
"It became clear to us that his story was preconceived and pre-written," said Mike Rinder, the church's international external affairs director. "He wouldn't let the facts get in the way, so we decided to do a John Sweeney on John Sweeney."
Amongst other things, their DVD accuses Sweeney of “stunt journalism” and of shouting “are you a brainwashing cult?” to Travolta at a film premiere.
Panorama deny all the claims made on this DVD and say that over their six month investigation into whether Scientology is a legitimate religion, team members became concerned they were being spied upon. On 13 occasions they suspected they were being trailed by unknown men, including one who turned up at Sweeney’s wedding!
Of course, the documentary mentioned the main laughing point of Scientology: the assertion by L. Ron Hubbard that 75 million years ago a galactic warlord called Xenu collected 13.5 trillion beings from an overcrowded corner of the universe, dumped them inside Earth volcanoes and killed them with nuclear bombs. Their tortured souls have now attached to human beings and are at the root of most of the planet's problems.
Interestingly, this outlandish claim was denied by the celebrities interviewed. Unfortunately, these interviews couldn't be shown (Sweeney mentioned the c-word again...d'oh!), but it's intriguing to hear that even diehard followers like Kirstie Alley and Juliette Lewis got embarassed about talk of intergalactic warlords and alien spirits. Maybe there's hope yet...?
Sandy Smith, Panorama’s editor, said: “Access to the church came with conditions that weren’t acceptable to Panorama, such as not using the word ‘cult’, not conducting anonymous interviews and not interviewing 'haters’. In Britain the Charity Commission doesn’t consider them a religion and the Church of England has been extremely critical."
Indeed, it's difficult to imagine a documentary into the Church Of England forcing the Archbishop Of Canterbury to start leaping out of cars wearing shades and acting like a c*nt.
Thankfully, that's a c-word that's allowed...
Immediately following Panorama's investigation into Scientology, a documentary into another global following, created by the author of a book, aired on BBC4. Thankfully, the author was Lord Baden-Powell and the book was Scouting For Boys...
Ian Hislop's Scouting For Boys (BBC4, 10.00pm) was an enlightening look into the Edwardian war hero whose exploits during the Boar War led to him founding a national (and eventually global) movement involving young boys, knots, tents, woggles and badges.
Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, 1st Bardon Baden-Powell OM, GCMG, GCVO, KCB (or B.P to his mates) founded the scouting movement soon after becoming a national hero. During the Second Boar War in South Africa, B.P successfully defended the city of Mafeking for 217 days in 1899. He achieved his aim through subtefuge; having men pretend to unspool barbed-wire and planting fake mines. He also found a valuable resource with a group of young boys, who would cycle to various points around the town delivering messages whilst being shelled!
Arriving home, Baden-Powell became an overnight sensation thanks to his stiff upperlip mentality overseas. He was the most famous man in Britain, with his face stamped on all manner of merchandise, from egg cups to cigarette cases.
Using his newfound fame, respect and admiration, he began to combat his disdain of the nation's youth. Lazy youths walking the streets and watching football instead of playing it? Things had to change. Children were a valuable rescource that were being squandered instead of encouraged to achieve.
He eventually wrote "Scouting For Boys" in 1908, whilst testing his ideas of character-building activities, play and responsibility on Brownsea Island with a group of young boys. His book was an overnight smash-hit and formed the basis for the Scouting movement, which has its centenary this year. Incredibly, Scouting For Boys was the world's fourth best-selling book of the 20th Century!
Ian Hislop's documentary was a good-natured romp through the life of a true English eccentric. B.P's grandson admitted to Hislop that his grandfather was "a bit of a nutcase", compelled to exercise in his underwear as an old man, choosing to sleep on the balcony of his house in mid-winter and obsessed with J.M Barrie's Peter Pan.
With lots of footage from the period, interviews with family and modern Scouts, a look at the original Scouting For Boys manuscript, amusing animations and affectionate ribbing ("scouting for boys", fnarr-fnarr), this was a very entertaining look at someone who created a phenomenon through pure conviction, goodwill and hard work.
These days, as Hislop admitted, Baden-Powell wouldn't get anywhere near a youth organization. Despite marrying tomboy Olave Soames (who was 30 years his junior) in middle age, he was considered to be "asexual" at the time, but suspicions of homosexuality arose thanks to his interest in the physique of young boys.
I don't think B.P was a sexual predator in the slightest (if anything his graphic criticism of "self abuse" is proof he hated the fact all kids become sexual beings.) His love of the eternally-youthful Peter Pan (his own child was named Peter) also points to this. Still, in today's social climate, someone with his characteristics isn't like to be trusted alone in the woods with a group of under-10s...
What really came through in Hislop's hour-long documentary is how similar the worries of 1907 were to 2007. Disaffected teens, working class louts and lazy kids -- ring any bells? The more things change, the more they stay the same...
The scouting movement has now trained an amazing 400,000 children since its inception. That's nearly half a billion people who knew how to track, start a fire, tie complex knots and erect a tent all because an eccentric hero refused to talk down to children and led by example. It might not be "cool" to be in the Scouts today (with their daft hats, silly woggles and tight shorts), but part of me wishes more would follow Baden-Powell's lead again. I'd welcome a bob-a-jobber, although I suspect they'd be haggling for a tenner.
Above everything Scouting For Boys proved that individual determination can change the world. Dib-dib-dib, dob-dob-dob...
A great night's television for documentary lovers, beginning with Panorama (BBC1, 9.30pm) and their investigation into Scientology. BBC journalist John Sweeney travelled to America to investigate this brainchild of pulp science-fiction author L. Ron Hubbard.
Since its founding in 1952, Scientology has often come under fire for its cult-like activities. The documentary was rife with tales of "disconnected" families; parents whose children joined the movement and were never heard from again. The BBC interviewed people with such stories, with one mother giving a tearful interview about losing contact with her daughter. In a bizarre "coincidence", three hours later her daughter returned for the first time in two years. The mother, fearful of losing contact again, pulled out of the programme, so her interview wasn't shown...
One man who bad-mouthed Scientology became "Fair Game", a policy exacted by Hubbard in the 60s whereby opposers to Scientology can be “tricked, sued or lied to and destroyed”. This tends to mean Scientologists will dig for dirt on the opposer in an effort to discredit their views. Imagine one local man's horror when posters telling townfolk about some sexual misdemeanours from his past began to appear on shop windows.
John Sweeney's attempt to investigate Scientology was usurped at every corner, beginning with Scientology's insistence Panorama never call their "religion" a "cult". Seriously, don't mention the c-word around these guys, particularly senior Scientologist Tommy Davis, who becomes prone to belittling you inches from your face and storming off in a huff.
Mr Davis became a particular boogieman figure for 30 minutes, as he constantly seemed to be leaping from cars to try and discredit Sweeney's work and have the production team followed by cars with blacked-out windows.
Pathetically, the Scientologist's obvious fear of the BBC's investigation was their own undoing. The documentary was tainted by Tommy Davis' odd behaviour every step of the way, with all positive comments on Scientology completely undone by the spectre of Davis' bullying.
The centrepiece of the documentary was the much-publicized moment when John Sweeney lost his cool. After being shown a distasteful exhibition called "Psychiatry: Industry Of Death" (twisting the holocaust to preach against psychiatry), Sweeney finally "lost it" when approached by Tommy Davis again.
It came as Mr Davis launched into another tirade against the BBC's investigation, in particular an "impartial interview" with a critic. Sweeney couldn't keep his stiff upper-lip anymore, bellowing: ""You were not there at the beginning of the interview! You were not there! You did not hear or record all the interview!"
Later, Sweeny said: “For an hour and a half they showed me these appalling images. I felt as though I was being brainwashed and that if I didn’t fight it they would have taken over my mind. I’ve reported in Bosnia and I’ve never felt like this, but I am sorry. The moment I lost it I knew I was in the wrong.”
Scientologists have since posted his outburt on YouTube in an attempt to discredit Panorama (see their version of events on the embedded video above). They've also spent $30,000 sending 100,000 DVDs to M.P's, peers, religious leaders and "influential figures" with their own "findings". Famous Scientologist John Travolta has even sent an official letter of complain to the BBC. For them, Sweeney's rant is the icing on the cake, but it's only brought bigger ratings for Panorama.
"It became clear to us that his story was preconceived and pre-written," said Mike Rinder, the church's international external affairs director. "He wouldn't let the facts get in the way, so we decided to do a John Sweeney on John Sweeney."
Amongst other things, their DVD accuses Sweeney of “stunt journalism” and of shouting “are you a brainwashing cult?” to Travolta at a film premiere.
Panorama deny all the claims made on this DVD and say that over their six month investigation into whether Scientology is a legitimate religion, team members became concerned they were being spied upon. On 13 occasions they suspected they were being trailed by unknown men, including one who turned up at Sweeney’s wedding!
Of course, the documentary mentioned the main laughing point of Scientology: the assertion by L. Ron Hubbard that 75 million years ago a galactic warlord called Xenu collected 13.5 trillion beings from an overcrowded corner of the universe, dumped them inside Earth volcanoes and killed them with nuclear bombs. Their tortured souls have now attached to human beings and are at the root of most of the planet's problems.
Interestingly, this outlandish claim was denied by the celebrities interviewed. Unfortunately, these interviews couldn't be shown (Sweeney mentioned the c-word again...d'oh!), but it's intriguing to hear that even diehard followers like Kirstie Alley and Juliette Lewis got embarassed about talk of intergalactic warlords and alien spirits. Maybe there's hope yet...?
Sandy Smith, Panorama’s editor, said: “Access to the church came with conditions that weren’t acceptable to Panorama, such as not using the word ‘cult’, not conducting anonymous interviews and not interviewing 'haters’. In Britain the Charity Commission doesn’t consider them a religion and the Church of England has been extremely critical."
Indeed, it's difficult to imagine a documentary into the Church Of England forcing the Archbishop Of Canterbury to start leaping out of cars wearing shades and acting like a c*nt.
Thankfully, that's a c-word that's allowed...
Immediately following Panorama's investigation into Scientology, a documentary into another global following, created by the author of a book, aired on BBC4. Thankfully, the author was Lord Baden-Powell and the book was Scouting For Boys...
Ian Hislop's Scouting For Boys (BBC4, 10.00pm) was an enlightening look into the Edwardian war hero whose exploits during the Boar War led to him founding a national (and eventually global) movement involving young boys, knots, tents, woggles and badges.
Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, 1st Bardon Baden-Powell OM, GCMG, GCVO, KCB (or B.P to his mates) founded the scouting movement soon after becoming a national hero. During the Second Boar War in South Africa, B.P successfully defended the city of Mafeking for 217 days in 1899. He achieved his aim through subtefuge; having men pretend to unspool barbed-wire and planting fake mines. He also found a valuable resource with a group of young boys, who would cycle to various points around the town delivering messages whilst being shelled!
Arriving home, Baden-Powell became an overnight sensation thanks to his stiff upperlip mentality overseas. He was the most famous man in Britain, with his face stamped on all manner of merchandise, from egg cups to cigarette cases.
Using his newfound fame, respect and admiration, he began to combat his disdain of the nation's youth. Lazy youths walking the streets and watching football instead of playing it? Things had to change. Children were a valuable rescource that were being squandered instead of encouraged to achieve.
He eventually wrote "Scouting For Boys" in 1908, whilst testing his ideas of character-building activities, play and responsibility on Brownsea Island with a group of young boys. His book was an overnight smash-hit and formed the basis for the Scouting movement, which has its centenary this year. Incredibly, Scouting For Boys was the world's fourth best-selling book of the 20th Century!
Ian Hislop's documentary was a good-natured romp through the life of a true English eccentric. B.P's grandson admitted to Hislop that his grandfather was "a bit of a nutcase", compelled to exercise in his underwear as an old man, choosing to sleep on the balcony of his house in mid-winter and obsessed with J.M Barrie's Peter Pan.
With lots of footage from the period, interviews with family and modern Scouts, a look at the original Scouting For Boys manuscript, amusing animations and affectionate ribbing ("scouting for boys", fnarr-fnarr), this was a very entertaining look at someone who created a phenomenon through pure conviction, goodwill and hard work.
These days, as Hislop admitted, Baden-Powell wouldn't get anywhere near a youth organization. Despite marrying tomboy Olave Soames (who was 30 years his junior) in middle age, he was considered to be "asexual" at the time, but suspicions of homosexuality arose thanks to his interest in the physique of young boys.
I don't think B.P was a sexual predator in the slightest (if anything his graphic criticism of "self abuse" is proof he hated the fact all kids become sexual beings.) His love of the eternally-youthful Peter Pan (his own child was named Peter) also points to this. Still, in today's social climate, someone with his characteristics isn't like to be trusted alone in the woods with a group of under-10s...
What really came through in Hislop's hour-long documentary is how similar the worries of 1907 were to 2007. Disaffected teens, working class louts and lazy kids -- ring any bells? The more things change, the more they stay the same...
The scouting movement has now trained an amazing 400,000 children since its inception. That's nearly half a billion people who knew how to track, start a fire, tie complex knots and erect a tent all because an eccentric hero refused to talk down to children and led by example. It might not be "cool" to be in the Scouts today (with their daft hats, silly woggles and tight shorts), but part of me wishes more would follow Baden-Powell's lead again. I'd welcome a bob-a-jobber, although I suspect they'd be haggling for a tenner.
Above everything Scouting For Boys proved that individual determination can change the world. Dib-dib-dib, dob-dob-dob...
