Tom Cruise ...
Posted 33 weeks 4 days ago by... is one strange cat.
Seriously. The video at the above link — the one the Cult of Scientology doesn't want you sub-humans to see — simply should not be missed.
Creepy factor: Off the charts.
Some highlights from the transcript at Us Magazine:
Delusions of grandeur: We are the authorities on getting people off drugs, we are the authorities on the mind, we are the authorities on improving conditions... we can rehabilitate criminals. ...We can bring peace and unite cultures...
Um. Sure, Tom. Why don't you start with the hard conversion cases first — Muslims. Let me know how that works out for you.
Tom on "helping": It is the time now. Now is the time... Being a Scientologist, people are turning to you, so you better know it, you better know it and if you don’t, go and learn it, but don’t pretend you know it. It’s like we’re here to help.
Yes. Only here to help. Just like the aliens in "They Live!" Who's got a pair of magical sunglasses handy? Somebody scream, "It's a cookbook!"
Tom on sacrifice: "Look, I wish the world was a different place. I’d like to go on vacation and go and romp and play and just do that, you know what I mean. That’s what I want it to be. There’s times I’d like to do that, but I can’t because I know I have to do something about it.
Right. Celebrity bazillionaires never take vacations. Thanks for your dedication. I haven't had a proper vacation to "romp and play" for seven years. And I didn't have to join a cult to not do it. Silly me.
Tom on the way to be: "I do what I can, and I do it the way I do everything. [laughs] There’s nothing part-of-the way for me."
And that's the creepy part. In Tom's vision of the world, the earth (at least) is separated into those who believe in his nonsense, and those who don't. And it's clear from the language Tom uses, and the tone of the whole conversation, that he considers non-kooks to be lesser beings. Ignorant animals. Somehow not human. He certainly goes after those of his own "faith" who do not take it as seriously as he does. If he is down on them, what does he think of those who have not taken a generous quaff of the Cristal Kool-Aid?
Indeed, these excerpts barely do this whole thing justice. You have to see Tom's eerie and uncomfortable laughs. The near maniacal look on his face. His seriousness of purpose. His use of pronouns like "it" and "them" — not to mention shorthand like SP and KSW — that lend an air of disconcerting mystery to the whole thing.
CREEP—EEE.














Thoughts
One level too far
Submitted on January 17th, 2008 by JoelI don't agree with Rod Dreher about much, but I appreciate that he's pretty honest commentator:
Here's the thing, though: what if Cruise were a Christian? What if in that video he were advocating not Scientology, but, oh, Episcopalianism with such monomaniacal fervor? I think it must be admitted -- OK, I must admit it -- that I wouldn't be quite as alarmed.
I'm not a Scientologist, but it's a reasonable question. One man's cult is another man's something something. That said, Cruise is pretty offputting in the video. I'm not sure I can watch him in a movie anymore. There's levels of stardom, and he crossed from the good side to the bad side.
Level 1: Actor
Level 2: Actor with familiar face Like this guy.
Level 3: Actor with familiar face that you look forward to seeing. Think Paul Giamatti.
Level 4: Actor who is so famous you can't remember the character name, only by their movie star name. Think Tom Hanks.
So far so good. But then you get:
Level 5: Actor who is so famous that you know entirely too much about their personal life, making it impossible for you to enjoy a movie because all you can think about is how ridiculous they are.
And it's in that final category that we now find Tom Cruise. Sorry.
Re: Tom and Scientology
Submitted on January 17th, 2008 by Jim LakelyWhat is it, really?
It's that he's completely nuts.
On Tom and Scientology
Submitted on January 17th, 2008 by countessKThis must be what the old time witch hunts were like. The pack follows any attack I guess.
Does no-one have the courage to say what most of us (the women, at least)are thinking? This guy sure looks hot. He looks happy. He has lots of money. Something's working for him. What is it, really?
tom cruse
Submitted on January 17th, 2008 by jane MorrisonDoes TOM CRUSE realize befor he died ron hubbard confessed that everything he had written about scientology was fiction? Tom Cruse is a confused nut.
Alien Vs. Predator Vs. Rambo?
Submitted on January 16th, 2008 by The Big KlosowskiMaybe an AVPR, with a bit of Chuck Norris thrown in, and Charles Bronson. That's a movie I'm up for.
On a side note, did you know that Chuck Norris can slam a revolving door? I bet Tom Cruise can't do that...though I do believe Tom's better a burning bridges.
Re: "They Live"
Submitted on January 16th, 2008 by Jim LakelyOne of the finest cinematic moments of Rowdy Roddy Piper's distinguished film career. But you gotta credit the writers with that one.
And where did he get a shotgun that shoots so many shells at one time? Rambo?
The new Rambo, by the way, has the look of an awesomely bad movie spectacle. The only question is whether Stallone plays it for camp, or plays it straight — which would make for even better camp.
RE: Bipartisan agreement
Submitted on January 16th, 2008 by Jim LakelyIf we can't find common ground on this one, my Midwestern friend, we're truly hopeless. :-)
"They live"
Submitted on January 16th, 2008 by JoelOne of the best lines in all of moviedom...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp_K8prLf...
Bipartisan agreement
Submitted on January 16th, 2008 by JoelHow about this Jim? I think we can find common ground on this one, don't you think?