Reaction To South Park's Famous Scientology Episode | "Trapped In The Closet"
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- Опубліковано 27 вер 2022
- I react to the South Park episode that changed everything for Scientology.
#SouthPark #Scientology #TomCruise
Aaron Smith-Levin
Twitter: @GrowingUpInSCN
Instagram: Asmithlevin
FB: "Supporters of Leah Remini" FB Group: bit.ly/2m6Me0n
www.TheAftermathFoundation.org
Facebook: / aftermathfoundation
Twitter: @AftermathFDN
Instagram: TheAftermathFoundation
www.theSPshop.com
i love the "this is what scientoligists actually believe" because without it it totally seems like something matt and tray would make up
Yeah that was crazy. For once someone was being crazier than the originators of South Park, and the show had to admit it.
It would be nice if they did this with Christianity as well.
@@undergrounddojokeyboardcag701 they got Mormonism
@@marquisdesade3025 Right.
But my point is the majority of people who laugh at Scientology and Mormonism are Christians who lack the awareness that their mythological bullshit is just as ridiculous.
@@undergrounddojokeyboardcag701 Yeah, I got it.
They have attacked Catholicism multiple times. Judaism kinda… constantly thru Cartman
I remember seeing magazines talking about Scientology when I was a kid. One day, while at the local pharmacy, I looked at a Scientology magazine and asked my mom "What is Scientology?" My mom said it was "Something stupid."
She was correct.
Great Mom!
The same can be said about a lot of them made up 'morality conventions'.
Smart Mom
Yes it's stupid but I ask you what religion is smart think about every religion is made up b.s
Moms are always correct!
Wild that you can literally learn more about Scientology watching South Park for 20 minutes than you can from being a Scientologist for a decade.
…. For free!
lol!
It's also much cheaper.
And at a fraction of the cost!
Preach!
The entire last part where Stan is screaming "SUE ME, Im not scared of you"...and then every single crew member being named John Smith and Jane Smith in the credits is pure genius 😂
Explain the credits thing? Please?
@@LoserLoiue2009 Scientoligists like to sue and seriously harass people. Can't do that if you don't know their names so thats why all the credits were john and jane smith. Also means the only people they could sue and give shit were the creators so they did their crew a favour there too.
@@LoserLoiue2009 deliberately and obviously false names so nobody can be sued. 😂
@@GreigMcGill rip for the guy actually named John Smith lmao💀
But they were not sued. You can slap someone with Slander/Defamation if it's true.
I am from Germany and when they released this episode, they even got Tom Cruise's real actual German voice actor, the one that always dubs him, to do his voice for South Park. It was hilarious! I also learned a lot from watching this episode back then.
😂 that is hilarious!
That is beautiful
That is amazing! HAHAHA
Wait... There's a certified "Tom Cruise" voice actor?
@@Anne_Onymous Yeah, pretty much. I don't know how it's with other countries, but Germany has its own industry for high quality voice-overs for movies and games and many great actors have their own German voice actor "assigned" to them. Meaning, those voice actors are under contract for decades to voice the same person in pretty much any movie that is released, with only few exceptions. Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis, Angelina Jolie... The voice actor for IanMcKellen died, and The Hobbit wasn't the same without him. When he was still alive, he did an audiobook reading of Lord of the Rings. That was awesome.
The Bruce Willis voice actor is actually so popular, you can hire him for money to give someone a call on their birthday.
It's great. However, most of these voice actors do other smaller actors as well, mostly in smaller productions then. But you can recognize them, which sometimes ruins the immersion for me. I switched to watching the English original movies a long time ago, but some movies I grew up with, I will always watch with German dubbing.
I was a teenager when this first aired and when "THIS IS WHAT SCIENTOLOGISTS ACTUALLY BELIEVE" popped up on the screen it was the hardest I've ever laughed in my entire life
I remember school when this aired, and my school talked about nothing else. This episode was just so good.
It is perfectly timed too
I laughed my ass off, it's still out there somewhere.
Hard to believe anyone not brain injured cold believe this crap, but then again, look how many Qanon Trump cultists there are.
Me too !! It was sooo funny 🤣
I was the editor on this SP episode. Trey had me overlay “this is what Scientologists actually believe” over the Xenu history because he was worried people would think SP made it up. We also changed the credits to John and Jane Smith because the church was threatening to sue the crew individually. They were panicked. There’s also a rumor that Tom refused to do a promo tour for new Mission Impossible movie unless paramount (owns CC) pulled the episode off air. Paper Tigers!
That's awesome ❤
Why didn't Trey just take all the credit?
Congratulations Mr./Ms Smith.
Scientology is a joke beware they come in Trojan horses. Al anon disguised as alcohol treatment is scientology scam they just ram worthless in proven literature at you over priced garbage
Did the episode get pulled?
Fun fact: Matt and Trey wanted to call Tom Cruise "gay" but were advised by their lawyers to not so it, so they had to find a work around
This alternative was WAYYY better 😂
I’m surprised they didn’t hunt more towards Travolta being gay as it’s been widely known he’s in the closet. Especially with the photos of him kissing his pilot “friend” and the claims from male masseuses.
Classic, when they wanted to publish their 2nd game they were told game stores wouldn't sell it if the title had the word "Butthole" in it, so they came up with "The Fractured But Whole" LOL.
They've also called him a fudge packer in another episode hahaha
This was actually more genius😂
Pro tip, if a Scientologist won’t stop bothering you to take one of their free “tests” or some other harassment, ask them “Where’s Shelly?” They’ll shut up pretty fast.
Why
@@01piercegames17 Shelly is the name of the leader’s wife who has been missing since 2007 and is presumed dead.
Or ask: who is lord Xenu?
In 8th grade I kept seeing their commercials on TV (this was in the early 90s before it was widely known that they’re a cult) so I went to the bookstore and got Dianetics and mailed in the postcard thingy that was inside. For YEARS after, they kept sending me mail, even after I moved. I thought that was super sketch and creepy, especially since I never responded in any way. Needless to say, I never became a Scientologist.
Early 80s I took the test as a lark - made the mistake of giving them my address. they hounded me sending pamphlets almost monthly etc. I moved a year later . Never heard from them again. I knew they were an evil cult even back then. I used to walk by their offices and see the sad, pathetic young people standing on the street handing out promotional crap to passers- by. Truly evil.
I had horrible traumatic experieces with Scientology as a child. My parents got into it in the 1970's and I was subject to terrible inappropriate auditing, and many other experiences I won't get into here. I live in Los Angeles, and my uncle is a life long Scientologist. I've seen and experienced the damage they do. I wanted to chime in here and thank you for the work you do exposing them. As a child I was helpless to the crazy adults in my family, and it feels good to know I was right, that it was f-ed up all along!
Glad you found a way. Seems puzzling to me that what a lay person looks at as a tax loophole could do that kind of damage.
Me too. I attested to Clear at age 12. They were nuts and it was a strange and difficult way to live. Mostly I played along because that was the environment I was put in, but I never really bought into them. I just said and did what I figured they wanted to see and hear. I was also in the Apple School / Ability Plus all of Jr High and High School. This was all in the 70s-80s in the SoCal area.
🤍 If I could tell my little self, or future generations anything- it's to always listen to your gut.
I'm glad you're out of that nightmare and you find the support and treatment you need to heal.
Same again, after I went Clear the Sea Org guys showed up and three of them lied to get me taken off course and then took me to the closed book store and were lying about my mom signing away parental rights and how I was out of ethics for not wanting to join and go to Flag. It was tense. I hated them.
@@pigxstix I feel horrible for all the impressionable minds out there that really don't have any way of removing themselves from something so suppressive until it finally reveals itself. I think this mirrors so many other deceptions that we have going on today.
Thank God they put "THIS IS WHAT SCIENTOLOGISTS ACTUALLY BELIEVE" because I promise you, I would've thought SP made that crap up.
I am a plumber, I did a lot of the plumbing work on the Celebrity Center when it was being remodeled in the late 1980's. All of the laborers were Scientologists who were deemed by the church as " Non Existent" because they had screwed up in some way. They were forced to work to get out of the "non Existent" category. It was really strange, They all ran wherever they went. I was up on a ladder and one of them was running down the corridor, he tripped on an extension cord and plowed face first into the bottom of my ladder, it almost knocked my off. He jumped up bleeding from the face and ran down the hall. I cant describe the strange atmosphere in that place. They were all like automatons with no brain.
Running is not permitted by law on a job site. OSHA etc.
@@wallacegrommet9343like that matters lol
@@wallacegrommet9343become familiar with Scientology. They only care about their rules and regulations, not WOG world.
@@wallacegrommet9343 like Cults care about laws?
Wooo. What if this is how it is at the Vatican?
Funny thing is Tom Cruise being in the closet stirred up a lot more contraversy than the whole Scientology plot did.
Did you know that Isaac Hayes didn't want to leave South Park but he was forced to on the threat of disconnection from his family?
@@jonathanperry8331 k
@@jonathanperry8331 no, never heard that before
Really, those kinds of rumors were very common in Hollywood.
Not that I really care about stupid rumors about strangers. However I used to hear it regularly.
@@AWildBard Scientology is crazier than you could possibly imagine and if you want to know more follow Chris Shelton and growing up in Scientology. I've been trying to figure out what they've been up to for 2 years and it'll blow your mind. Also Leah remini's fair game podcast. There was no way that he could work for that show anymore or he would be excommunicated. Look up Scientology disconnection.
Fun fact: Trey and Matt were actually worried about being sued by Scientology, the only person credited for the episode was John Smith
And Jane Smith
So could I legally take credit for this episode?
That's a joke. It's not a legal defense.
Another fun fact (well, more of a rumor): some Scientologists had gone undercover as animation interns to find dirt on Matt and Trey, to no success.
They weren’t afraid. They took the piss with Mohammed and those people will murder you.
The John/Jane Smith was just a bit.
"DAD! TOM CRUISE WON'T COME OUT OF THE CLOSET!" Is the greatest moment in humor since Monty Python's "Ministry of Silly Walks." No matter how many times I hear it, It's always funny.
Now I’m in the closet
Now I’m in the closet too
What they trying to imply 😂😂
The sequel is when Tom Cruise volunteers at a fudge factory
@@UKKC80s There's a later episode where Tom's working in a fudge factory--as a packer, of course. I honestly doubt the guy's homosexual at all, but it's still hilarious.
@@vgernyc Yup.
The man who consulted on this episode had been at war with Scientology for years. Doing this episode was part of his revenge.
His name is Mark Ebner, who wrote an article about Scientology in a 1996 issue of Spy Magazine, and another in his book, Hollywood Interrupted, with Andrew Breitbart (yes, of Breitbart News).
Based, I respect him a lot for this!
If you notice all the criedts say "john Smith" so they didn't have the names to sue or stock right away without having to sue and get discovery ...Trey and Matt knew they might be sued but didn't want their staff sued
Yup!
Except for some poor guy who really is named "John Smith"! That guy is screwed!
I have the exact same name as a convicted sex predator in my state and am frequently mistaken for him even though we look nothing alike, I'm older, and he's in prison. I think after dealing with this for almost 2 decades that I can speak on the topic.
Funny. Good catch
Brilliant!
@@SnuffitLabs
oh, i don't know,
with a handle like,
Snuff it Labs,
sounds kinda serial killish
As a British guy, hearing Tom Cruise saying "I'll sue you in England" reminds me that, sadly, my country has the worst defamation laws of just about anywhere, they are so skewed in favour of protecting the famous rather than uncovering the truth.
Se lo merecen por anglos
Extremism of any form destroys normalcy: in my country, I despise the ultra woke as much as I do the Qanon Trump cultists.
It's crazy how often you hear of non-british famous people starting lawsuits in Britain
England and Japan both.
@@poke548 lol; L Don Trumpard
I always thought it was a cult but I never knew how crazy these people are.
It’s probably worse than any of us will ever know. Some things are better left unknown and/or forgotten.
Yeah there's an entire documentary on Netflix about it
@@ryandunham1047they prey on weak minded individuals so they deserve to be exposed for the scam. Even the creator of scientology admitted it was all a scam.
I always thought that Matt & Trey were very brave for tackling this evil scourge, whereas no one had done previously.
Scientology tried the ultimate bluff (we are dangerous, don't F with us) and South Park called it. I will always be impressed at how a silly show that has often been criticised for crudeness has still delivered some of the best and most important satire ever.
South Park has nothing to lose. If Scientology was to be the thing that got it cancelled and Comedy Central bankrupt, the story would spread and everyone would know about the scam due to the controversy it caused.
Episodes 200 and 201 are the episodes that make me very proud to be a fan of South Park
@@scottselenak No, it's because Isaac Hayes was a member of Scientology, not Islam. However, Hayes had a stroke at the time that resulted in him losing the ability to speak and having a limited comprehension (he had to relearn to play the piano among other things), and his son claims that the church of Scientology toon advantage of this to quit South Park on his behalf (something his son claims he probably wouldn't have done). Just in case you needed any more evidence on how much of a scummy cult Scientology is.
Absolutely spot on! I don't agree with all that _South Park_ spits out, but their poignant satire game is second to none in today's culture.
I was stopped by them once in the early 90s at a local faire----I had never heard of them and they described themselves as a new kind of self-help support group. They were high-pressure and wouldn't take no for an answer and handed me the e-meter cans and asked me to think of something that stressed me out, and then they got all alarmed and animated and said "wow!---whatever you were thinking of produced some of the highest readings we've ever seen to that question and shows some real distress----what were you thinking about??"---and I told them I was thinking about how I didn't want to participate in their nonsense and just wanted to leave, haha.
Lol. Im sure they were baffled by your responce.
LOL, that is pure gold 😂
They have a storage facility looking church in Cambridge, Ontario. I drove by it for years. I never once saw a vehicle parked there. Multiple in person attempts via front lobby, never anyone to assist. All doors adjacent from entrance lobby were locked. Lights never turned off, displays and advertising in lobby ran 24/7.
I purposely educated my self on them ever since.
Great answer! Bet they didn’t know how to respond to that one!
HA HA HA, absolutely brilliant; I would love to have seen their faces.😄😁😆😅🤣😂
I'm happy I was never indoctrinated as a child, I can't imagine how hard it must be to escape if I was.
An old friend was walking past a dianetics shop, one of the drones asked if she wanted a personality test, she stopped, looked at him and said “oh you poor man, what HAVE they done to your aura”
South Park is the only reason my family was able to avoid being recurited by Scientology.
We were approached in LA and my Mom and her bf fell for it immediately. My sister hates authority so she just stayed away. I wasn't gonna let my Mom be trapped in there so I went in thinking it wouldn't be a big deal. I took the test and realized it was exactly what South Park had said and walked away with my sister. My Mom on the other hand was left alone and questioned after her test. She was told she was so insanely miserable and she agreed and broke down. By the time we got to her she was so out of it that it basically ruined the rest of our trip. I talked her through all of it and told her about South Park's take on it. She always hated South Park but after hearing what was stated in the show and seeing how it played out, she was able to calm down and recovered within a few days. Had it not been for this show, I think I would have ended up the same way. Trapped in a Fruity Little Club that would break me down worse than I could imagine. By the way watch the Return of Chef where they rip on Scientology again by creating the Super Adventure Club, an organization that travels the world molesting and raping kids.
I'm glad you guys are okay!! I hope your mom is alright, it seems like she wanted to fill a void she didn't know she had.
I hope he reacts to that episode too, it's great!
@They put the Pan in PANIC it was many years ago. We made it out safe and she recovered within a few days once I explained their manipulation tactics. I'm just glad I went in with the knowledge I gained from South Park.
Yer mom is not a smart woman. You know that, right?
Wait you weren’t even living in LA you were just visiting and your mom was almost recruited into a cult ?
@Stephen Padlock pretty much. We're from San Jose in Northern California. We had someone stop us in Hollywood and tell us to go. My Mom was naive and didnt take my warnings seriously. Her bf was interested and so we went inside. It only took 15-25 minutes for them to break her. I'd never seen anything like it before. I was 16 or 17 at the time.
Well done John Smith. Absolute genius to put together this episode all by himself.
John is my favorite filmmaker. Him and Alan Smithee.
don't forget jane doe lol.
The doctor made this episode
Hey, don't forget that Jane helped :D
I would have used the name Joseph Smith so I could have possibly started a cult clash! 😂 Mormons v Scientologist! 😂
People think south park is a silly cartoon for teens but Matt and Trey are absolute legends for the satirical episodes they create! I love that they exposed Scientology like this. 👏👏👏
_South Park_ is not for children.
Trey and Matt have broken so many boundaries, so incredibly successfully, that I consider them to be American Icons. They don't receive nearly as much credit as they deserve. They are geniuses, showing America & the World what the freedom of speech truly is. Been a fan since Season One, loved their humor and art and fearlessness! They always play around with every religion's oddities, but always toss in a bit of respect here and there. Not with Scientology. That video was excellent. Thanks.
I dunno if they are geniuses. They very well could be. I'd be curious to see what their IQs are. They do have the biggest balls of anyone ever. They don't care about being sued or anything whatsoever.
Not to mention the takedown of Islam's violence threats on episodes 200 and 201. I respect the creators of South Park a lot, because of their comedic integrity.
Trey and Matt are literally comedic geniuses.
Correct
So is L. Ron Hubbard. 😂
You mean John and Jane Smith
This episode was a big deal in the wider American culture at the time too.
Because of the way Isaac Hays left the show, it blew up. People decried Hays as a hypocrite of the worst kind because he had no problem mocking other religions repeatedly through the years, but the moment South Park mocks _his_ religion, he throws a public temper tantrum and leaves the show.
It wasn’t until years later that I realized that it’s probably likely that the big wigs at Scientology HQ probably forced him to quit the show. They could have been threatening to release some kind of dirt on him (true or not) and if he didn’t leave the show he definitely would have had to leave the Church and be shunned by any family and friends still in it.
That’s a lot to ask of, frankly, an old man that probably only wanted his family by his side.
There’s also rumors that Hayes’ statement leaving the show was made by his Scientologist “entourage” (some say watchers) _after_ Hayes suffered a stroke and was incapable of advocating for himself.
I think it was the stroke thing because I'd heard he'd originally been fine with it
@@herseem You're both right.
Issac Hayes had suffered a stroke shortly after the episode aired, I think during the break between seasons. As $cientology does, they took over making decisions for him, and one of the decisions they made was to quit South Park.
Another decision they made was to do the Purification Rundown, complete with overdoses of Niacin and hours on the treadmill, along with stopping all the doctor prescribed medications. The results of doing this with a recovering stroke patient were predictable. RIP Chef.
I agree. I think after Isaac Hayes was no longer of use to Scientology, they found a way to get rid of him.
@@Annonymous0283745 I loved the character Chef on South Park.
@@Annonymous0283745 Geez, I didn’t know they made him do the Purif Rundown after his stroke. Wtf? Were they actively _trying_ to kill him? Or just that deluded?
I guess that’s the age old question when it comes to powerful cult members of all sorts: true believer or grifter?
This is absolutely priceless. And the fact that they went and investigated everyone on set, makes it even more perfect!
I took that test years ago. They said I couldn't POSSIBLY score what I scored WITHOUT being a Scientologist. I was asked to take it by a Scientologist family who advertised for a Nanny. I didn't take the job
I didn't know much about Scientology until one day a few years ago, I was watching 60 Minutes and Tara Brown went over to look for Shelly Miscavige. Then I found all these docos on UA-cam about ex Scientlogists relaying their stories. I went down a huge rabbit hole of Scientology stories. Some of these stories are horrific. I'm so glad there are people such as yourself speaking up to try and end this cult once and for all.
Watch "scientology and the Aftermath" with Leah Remini -you can go all the way almost to the bottom of the rabbit hole. As he explained in the beginning he was in episode 6 or 7.
@@emostorm7 I'll definitely watch it thanks!
I love Tara Brown!
@@Bunny_Mellon_B same!
I find scientologists don't know or choose to not talk about its origin. For instance the Babylon working, the human sacrifice and the attempt to channel fallen angels. The fact that they worked for the papacy.
I took a personality test at a Scientology Center and randomly answered the questions. I talked to one of the people and they asked me to leave... They were genuinely mad at me after I talked to one of them for 10 minutes and said that I thought my mental health issues were because insurgents had been shooting at me the previous 16 months...
🤣🤣🤣🤣
Except you were the insurgent.
@@NoOneGetzOutAlive and you know this how?
@@NoOneGetzOutAlive Well for better or worse monopoly of power and just wearing the right clothes differentiates a soldier from an insurgent. You might think you were being witty or I don't shocking to suggest the people in uniform are guerillas, but you kind of can't make sense if you don't understand how to tell the two apart.
Philsophically or moral justification are separate from definitional identification. I might have been on the wrong side of the conflict. Which given the lies that lead us there I probably was, but I was still the invader being fought by insurgents... Don't be stupid if you want to jab at imperialism do it with logical argumentation.
@@ididthisonpulpous6526 did you say you were an invader? An invader is an insurgent because an insurgent is a rebel against those currently in power in a given area, and also, like, fuck you. Like, I dislike you less because you openly admitted to the possibility of being on the wrong side of the conflict. But like, still.
The IRS needs to investigate these clowns
Along with all other religions
Oh trust me they did and they still do, but cults have an awesome ability to generate money that translates to taxes income and the IRS is all for that it lives for that if it was for the IRS the whole world could be in the most ridiculous and dangerous cult ever they aren't here for human kind they are here for tax money.
There's a crazy history between the IRS and Scientology: as a good place to start, check out the Wikipedia articles "Tax status of Scientology in the United States" and "Operation Snow White".
And our own government. Im just here to survive lol
At the end Stan says “I don’t care, go ahead and sue me!” Was Matt & Trey basically flipping the bird to the Scientology organization
I feel so awful for the ones in Scientology and my heart goes out to all of the brainwashed people.
... and to not even realize that they're being brainwashed, is so sad!!
God Bless them 🙏
Hahahaha, I started laughing so hard when Stan said, "Dad, Tom Cruise won't come out of the closet"
idk why but, when the police officer was shouting for him to come out was the best, especially the last one “nobodies gonna be mad, everything’s gonna be alright, just come out of the closet” he says it so casually like this happens often
Why should he? It's no one's business but his. I'm sure most people don't go around talking about their sex lives, religion, income, etc. But as far as Scientology goes, I would definitely want to know this about someone because I don't want to be around con artists and scammers.
This episode of South Park ought to be shown all over the world ( every. day. !)
Many people don't understand the idioms involving being "...in the closet" or don't associate that with the longstanding rumors involving certain individual's lifestyle preferences.
He's never gonna get out.
"Tom Cruise, please come OUT OF THE CLOSET" 😂
Had good friends of the family who became members. Went down to Clearwater to visit them, totally unaware. I was about 10. When my parents began to understand what they were talking about, and what they were a part of, they ended that vacation very, very quickly. Like snuck out overnight and drove home to Indiana (16 hours) quick. Was extremely confused at the time; pretty glad that I didn't get talked into anything so dangerously insane. They NEVER spoke to us again, and their children, my friends since about 6 years old, never spoke to or contacted me. EVER.
Saw this thing, and the first thing that came to my mind was "so the grand revelation of the religion founded by a mediocre Science Fiction author, sounds exactly like something written by a mediocre Science Fiction author." HUH.
Just think where you’d be right now if your parents went along with it.
@@earthsucks9555 "There but for the grace of Xenu go I"
But did you ever try contacting them?
@@quentinkaasa47 By the time I was old enough to do so they had pretty much vanished; and I had no one to really contact.
Feelsbadman
This episode of South Park was one of the main catalysts for people starting to investigate scientology and actually learning what they are about and to this day Scientology tries to destroy Trey and Matt but they're really just 2 cool guys who doesn't have any dirt that could be used against them to turn the public on them but even to this day they still follow Trey and Matt. Trey and Matt have said as much in a podcast last year
everyone being followed should have big Aftermath Foundation ads on their vehicles. or 'scientology disconnection policy ruins families' signs.
I'd be a bit less subtle with a 🖕🖕 the cult of scientology sign myself.
Scientology just plain scares me. I think there is something seriously wrong with those people. Certainly, no one should have to "escape from" a religion.
Exactly very scary cult 😮
Do you mean like the people who face the death penalty in countries like Saudi Arabia if they "escape" Islam?
I'm not sure why Scientology is singled out as scary and fraudulent bs. ALL religions are scary fraudulent bs.
Au contrare mine mujer... everybody should 😉
Waiting for the part where it's just a tax shelter.
Nobody should ever be a part of any religion or cult in the first place. Use your brain and think for yourself.
I was recruited into Scientology when I was a freshman in college. These cute young girls and boys started showing up on campus with clipboards full of questions. I decided to try it and agreed to go check it out because of the girl. So you had to answer 100 questions and then they rate your answer to see how "CLEAR" you are. If you're not "CLEAR" you have to keep doing tests until you reach "CLEAR", but it's impossible to reach. I found out pretty quick it was all fake psychology nonsense. After the 2nd session I asked for a refund and I was given some bullshit about how something in my brain was blocking the Scientology ethos. I told them that it was all bullshit and that they conned innocent people. I threatened to call the cops and they had my refund in 1 minute. I never did see that cute girl again.
Matt and Trey have razor sharp perception and an instinct that always points them right at the jugular. Their critiques of any subject they take on are as devastating as they are fair. Greatest satirists of our time.
In the 1970s, "Dianetics" was on the best-seller list. At that time, there was nothing on the cover art indicating that it was a portal to a new religion. I thought the book was pulpy trash.
Fast forward to the 1990s, and I answered a "help wanted" ad for an administrative assistant. It was a panel interview at the nearby branch of Scientology. It was a long and arduous interview. Along the way, they asked me what I knew about L. Ron Hubbard. I told the story, which I don't know is true, of Hubbard being a sci-fi writer and friend of Robert Heinlein. They had a bet about who could create a religion first. Hubbard won.
Then we took a break for lunch, and I was not allowed back into the interview. No BFD. The most annoying thing was that I got a parking ticket for sitting in there longer than the 2-hour limit.
Also bet Isaac Asimov he could start a religion. Asimov thought he was nuts…(authored many science fiction novels such as I, Robot, for example). Lots of similarly nutty followers let Hubbard win the bet.
Hubbard might have won but Heinlein is the better sci-fi writer.
I was stopped in the street and asked to take part in a questionnaire. I knew exactly what was happening and so played along. The questions were as ludacris as shown here. He then proceeded to ask me upstairs to show me stuff. I went along and then of course it was "buy a dianetics book." I suggested he gift me the book as I would read it and he could possibly change my life. Not another single word came out of his mouth. I mentioned gideons bibles. He knew I knew. Awkward elevator ride back to the street for him. To quote Mr. T. "I pitty the fool."
Awesome!!!
To quote "leslie wells" - Awesome!!!
@@BuckyOhYeah You can help me with English... dyslexia right? No lies. I will do what you want.
@@BuckyOhYeah Isn't the literature sold in over 50 languages? We can work it out.
@The Duke He knew, we knew. There was no way at the time to remove the hypnotic glaze from his eyes reflecting off his really badly fitting suite and his poor gaunt face.
I had an experience similar to this. I was 8 or 9 or 10 years old, this was in the late 1970s. I was visiting my grandparents in Coral Gables, Florida. I walked to long, outdoor shopping street called Miracle Mile on my own, because in the ‘70s, children walked all over with no adult supervision. I saw a poster for Dianetics in a window and was fascinated by the image of an erupting volcano. A woman with black shoulder-length hair in and a white blazer came out and invited me in. I don’t remember what she told me I was going to do. But she asked me to wait for her to come back and get me. In retrospect, I guess she was going to have me take a personality test? I don’t remember. I just remember sitting there in the waiting room and suddenly getting scared, because I was told never to go off with an adult that I didn’t know, so I ran out of there. It wasn’t until I was in my 20s that I saw the Dianetics book again, and learned what Scientology was. I’m so glad I was smart enough to get the hell out of there.
My mother used to worry about moonies and other cults back when I was young, in the 70's. My daddy told her to not worry. He said I was too stubborn and hard headed, no cult would have me.
I remember this epic episode. It's hilarious!
Hats off to SouthPark for laying it all out the way they did for the world.
I bet _'the church'_ was absolutely livid at the time, I love it! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
They sure were
I'll bet they are still livid today.
It's South Park they offend everyone with the truth in a comic way
My daughter and I could not stop mimicking John Travolta’s “OH-MAH-GAWWD” part for weeks and even to this day throw it out there for a laugh from time to time! 😂
Vinnie Barbarinooooo.. lol
This is amazing. South park's effect on the world has always been greater than i can ever anticipate.
It's beyond me that normal people can believe what a crazy scammer invented once, willingly giving away your savings and life for bs, which is so obvious.
I encountered Scientology while I was stationed at McDill AFB in Tampa when I was in the Army and went into Clearwater to check the city out. When I was invited to take a personality test, I informed them that I would have to check with my command as I was military intelligence (imagery analyst) and that, as I was under psychiatric care for PTSD, I would like to consult my doctor before getting involved with Scientology. I was uninvited from taking the personality test. While both of my statements of working as military intelligence and seeing a psychiatrist were true, I had been warned by friends that both of these were severe turn-offs to Scientologists and they would leave me alone.
Ellis, I am a retired DoD Civilian Intelligence Analyst, and I will say you were lucky the Scientologists you met were apparent dumbasses because someone with half a brain would have found a way (pretty easily) to use your background info to blackmail you. Glad you got away from them.
I live near Clearwater, they buy buildings and then make them fronts. It’s very sad to walk down the street and see a bunch of empty buildings that are made to look open.
W😢W
Thank you for your service. ;)
I love how they portrayed John Travolta as his Vinnie Barbarino character.
Oh my God !
I was just talking to my cousin about our crazy family and she said, "that's why I like watching stuff about Scientology, it makes me feel better about ours, could always be worse." And this is up there.
Did you know that if you subscribe to a streaming service in Ireland this episode of South Park is "missing"... thank you for finally letting me see it!
I was part of a volunteer cohort for a cyclone recovery in northern Australia and for some reason the Scientologists set up a tent offering auditing in the middle of a town that had been literally flattened. They were there before the Department of Communities were set up and we'd been escorted into town by the army. I still have no idea how they did that. They had a big yellow tent set up in the town square with the slogan: "Scientology - Something Can Be Done." I got annoyed by it, so one day I wandered in there and said to the cheery alien who greeted me, "I saw your sign and I'd like to know what we can do about this bloody scientology thing." You'd think they'd have a better sense of humour given the whacky shit they believe.
@karlmay5306 Not "for some reason" sadly, but for the specific reason that they knew people would be distressed, and therefore vulnerable.
every time travolta says oh my god, i bust up laughing lol
As someone who grew up watching Welcome Back Kotter, for sure.
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There was one episode of "Boston Legal" dealing with them.
I got to take my "free personality test" back in the 90's when I was attending Emerson College in Boston. The Org was right down the street from the college on Beacon Street and the college was famous for graduating people who later worked in Hollywood, like Henry Winkler and Norman Mailer. Kind of like they chose that location on purpose. Anyway I gave fake answers and a fake name because I had a roommate who was a Scholar of Phony Religions who had told me all about Scientology and how hilarious it was and who had prepped me for an encounter with them. In fact he sent a bunch of plants like me in the there just to mess with them. Good Times. 😆
I don't have much sympathy for the adults that are gullible enough to fall for Scientology, but the kids... That's what really angers me, especially with the abuse.
I was sad that the voice actor who played Chef quit the show because he was a Scientologist and then died shortly thereafter.
Plenty of adults fall for dumb religious beliefs....eg someone rising from the dead.... or Naoh's flood. However, for some reason mainstream religious bullshit gets a pass. Only "religions" like Scientology get this sort of treatment, whereas they ALL deserve it.
Matt and Trey said Isaac Hayes cashed his paycheck when they ripped Catholics.
Couldn't figure out why he got so huffy when they did up the Appliantologists.
Usually every messed up group reminds me of Scientology, but this reminds me of that book Animal Farm and how all the animals were to be gaslighted until they had been worked to death.
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There’s a reason such political systems allegorized in Animal Farm are referred to as *Cults* of personality
(Animal Farm was specifically about the Bolsheviks, but the theme of gaslighting leadership applies to all such charismatic and unscrupulous leaders, as the comment above shows.)
@@warlordofbritannia I don't know if you watched the Ricky Gervais show but there was one episode where Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant were talking about animal farm and the whole communist and Marxist themes of the movie when Carl Pilkinkton butted in with "you guys make me sick, it was just a nice childrens movie about some talking animals and you two are making it sinister". I love that show, if you haven't watched it then you really should, it's so funny
Boxer the Horse is my spirit animal ;)
"I will work harder!"
South Park did suffer consequences: They lost the beloved character Chef, voiced by Isaac Hayes, also Scientologist.
It's not true. Matt and Trey apologized for starting that rumour. Isaac Heyes had a stroke and was unable to return to work, other church members and family Members sent a letter to South Park studio on his behalf.
@@Pinko-Diamond all google searches are coming up with him leaving due to pressure from scientology
Scientology would never sue over this because that would lead to discovery, where they would have to show they don't believe this stuff. There's no way they will ever open themselves up to that kind of scrutiny. They just go after small fish that doesn't lead to that type of discovery.
We had to do research projects on World Religions in high school, I drew Scientology. I made the mistake of calling the local church and they wouldn't tell me anything unless I paid them for an Thetan reading, I turned them down and upon further research discovered the cult-like exploitative nature of the group and the stories have only ever gotten worse over the years.
That's hilarious!
The fact that they wanted to make a kid pay just to get info for a school paper..... SCAM ALERT
Tell the IRS then, they are do stupid
What did you say for your project, and what was your final grade for it? Do you remember?
Not a big South Park watcher, but this episode kills me! This episode is what made me realize that my ex-husband almost got wrapped up in this nonsense when he took that famous "personality test". Thankfully, at the time, we had 2 small children and I was the only income, so we had no money for courses. Dodged a bullet there!
females reproducing with mentally ill males. why we are where were at. let him impregnate you again
The 'come out of the closet' phrase is so clever. Just to pxss off TCruise even more, the follow up where TC is a fudge packer is excellent.
Their response to my test in Toronto was “What’s been bothering you?” My reply: “Something is bothering literally everyone on the planet, so your question is total B.S.”. That was moments before I wasted back out onto Yonge St. Done and done!!
It was verbal, not written?
Love South Park. They always nail their Satire.
Modern day Mark Twain.
Thank you for watching and commenting
I’m impressed by how little time they spend on each episode and yet constantly turn out quality
Kind of satirical that you use a capital letter for *satire.
I wonder if they will ever have to do like the Onion and write a legal brief explaining satire to the SCOTUS
I got the free test in my dorm room mail first year. I knew it was crap, but I didn't know it was Scientology. Just for grins re: my psychology class I took the test and sent it in. Then came the invite to come over to their office for the evaluation. First you have to sit through about 2 or 3 hours of sales pitch tapes and then they will finally sit down and talk about the test results. Shock of shocks, you called it on the results. I thanked them for the giggles. I began to leave. They tried to keep up the pitch. The third time they blocked me from leaving I told them that if they did it again I would use any necessary force to defend my person and the police would be involved. I never heard from them again. Dad was pretty horrified when I told him, but I explained that I was on to their crap and wouldn't be seeing them again.
Very interesting and what a fortunate coincidence that it jived with your psych class.
Had a similar experience, except for the attempt to prevent you from leaving. It was entertaining how they trotted out all the movie stars as converts. Until then I hadn't known that Karen Black had succumbed too. It felt to me at the time as if it was a weird sort of self-congratulatory club for want-to-be movie stars.
@@tonycook7679 Yeah, like any club. Want to belong.
at what point did you begin adding in double spaces after your sentence periods?
We're not done with you John.
Fun fact: the church of Scientology actually sued and wanted an investigation on Matt & Trey
Fun real fact!: a editor of this episode said they just threatened to sue but did not! Just scare tactics. 🤪
@@SpykersB Scientologists are a bunch of p-ssies who ain't got the guts
I never watched South Park, but I was definitely aware of it. When they started demanding Tom Cruise to come out of the closet, I almost spit out my coffee I was laughing so hard.
Same here I worked with a guy who relates our work day to various south park episodes and I never got around to checking into the series I would forget about it or something else got in my way until the other day I got a short clip and almost a day of nonstop clips and documentaries had my head spinning 😂
It was interesting hearing "Tom Cruise" at the end yelling, "I'll sue you in England" which was a reference to how much easier it was to prevail on libel claims in the UK than in the US.
This was also why the release of Lawrence Wright's "Going Clear" (a 2013 book) was delayed in the UK until 2016.
The fact that the only thing wrong about the whole alien soul thing is that the founder didn't just close his eyes to write it is so wild
He might as well have!!!
The reason everyone's name says Jane and John Smith is to protect everyone who made the episode from actually being sued
Glad the vid stayed up and I appreciated seeing the clips with your insights for context - If only because when I saw it without context I didn't fully appreciate how much went into the making of the episode. Thanks, A-Aron!
"Trapped in the Closet" ranks as one of the best ever episodes of South Park since it began in 1997. They nearly get all the facts straight. Excellent, masterful parody and satire here.
I loved that episode when it came out. I had already read the OT materials when Project Chanology released them, but the South Park style animations with the rediculous evil Lord Xenu going BUAAHAHAH!!!!! like Orcus on his throne was just the best, along with the 'Tom Cruise in the closet' joke that never got old, and ending with 'GO AHEAD AND SUE ME!!' was just a grinfest, and it was great to hear a reaction (and see the expressions on your face!) from someone who really knew just what this was all about from the inside and the outside was great to see. Thanks for doing this.
I learned about it from Clambake
For people who are not fans of South Park, one of the actors was a scientologist at the time of this episode. He, Isaac Hayes, voiced "Chef" and was forced by scientology to quite after this show was aired. The producers of South park used his exodus to create a whole story arc around the chef character turning into Darth Vader.
Man Aaron is the boss for being willing to sit through this and post his reaction publicly.
It must be difficult.
I can't for the life of me imagine leaving behind the only thing I'd ever known during my formative years. I believe Scientologist's don't agree with formal education either. I suppose that's another tactic to keep Scientologist's reliant on staying in the cult. Much respect Aaron, it must have been a nightmare.
L Ron, as a college drop-out himself, didn't want his cult members to go to college: they were to buy his courses instead. That's not really compatible with earning enough to pay the fees any more, so they have had to let the ban slip, like the other fundamentalist religions that prefer to keep their followers ignorant as well as stupid.
@@nobodynever7884 That was an effective way of stamping out new ideas in a rural society: if nobody would marry their children, their ideas would die out. Once you move to the city, that is much less effective, unless your cult is endogamous (as they tend to be).
Imagine, had Rock Hudson been in Scientology he'd still be in the closet along with Tom Cruise and John Travolta!! 🤣 We love you Aaron!
That's A A Ron.
😂 😂
@@James_Bowie I hope Aaron comes back! Have they kidnapped him?? 😂 😂
Absolutely loved this Aaron. Enjoy watching and learning from you. Be safe out there and keep fighting to good fight. Lots of us love and admire you. 👍🏼❤️
I love that you let the scene finish or the line finish before you react. It makes it a lot easier to get the context of what they’re saying versus your take on it. Also, this had to be triggering in some ways and you being able to laugh and have fun at the absurdity of this episode makes me so genuinely happy.
My university minor was in Religious Studies. I will never forget the last lecture of the RELIG101 class was about smaller religions. The Scientology section ended with the screencap of this episode that says *This is what they actually believe*. I had previously written a paper on religion in media on a different South Park episode, so I knew she was a fan. But that just made her my hero lol
I remember watching this episode and laughing my ass off, especially at the credits at the end. I knew it served a legal purpose, but the fact they did it made me laugh because it was a further mocking of Scientology's litigious history. At least that's how I took it.
Wow nothing gets by you, does it?
@@waytospergtherebro No need to be an ass
That was Matt and Trey basically saying "Good luck figuring out who worked on this episode. Direct your lawsuits at us not our employees."
@@FernandoMartinez-pv1id I know. I realized it immediately. It made me laugh my ass of because it was absolutely the final middle finger of the episode directed at Scientology.
@@VTdarkangel took me 12 years to notice unfortunately............I usually don't read the credits.
Thanks for letting us see most of the wonderful Southpark episode that I'd heard so much about!
Idk if you’ve looked into the Issac Hayes (voice of Chef) stuff that happened after this. He released a statement saying he can’t stand by them after bashing his religion. Parker and Stone in response killed Chef off. It wasn’t until later that the pair found out from Hayes’ son that Hayes had had a stroke and the Scientologists that made up his entourage had written and released the statement leaving the show, something they’d been trying to get him to do. It’s a whole thing and it’s pretty damn sad.
I actually bough the DVD of this episode for fear it would "disappear".....heh..
But really loved watching it with your commentary.....Thanks so much !!
Hope the weather is doing OK where you are. I understand much more South they
are getting blasted !
Thank you for watching and commenting
The storm has passed and everything is good here
Only those of us of a certain age will remember that the Travolta imitation is specifically a send-up of his character on Welcome Back Kotter, a TV show in the 70’s before Saturday Night Fever came out. VERY funny impression!
Thanks for this, A-A-Ron! I hope it stays up, but I’m glad I caught it now in case it doesn’t!
VINNY BARBARINO
I'm sorry if this is wrong - for some reason my brain just projectiled this name out and I'm going with it
@@dontbefatuousjeffrey2494 You are correct! I couldn’t remember last night, but that’s right. Thanks for scratching that itch for me! LOL
Bar-Bar-Bar, Bar-Barbarino
yup
@@DawnDavidson .... signed, Epstein's mother.
The wall behind that guy is made of old pallets !! Disassembled , De-nailed sanded and varnished !! Looks pretty good !!
I think every child subjected to this disgusting cult should sue their parents. I would. If they all did then maybe the cult will eventually dissolve.
Funny story. In 1987 I was in my early 20's living in Virginia Beach; in the Navy, and I was homesick. My D&D partner asked me to come to this address (someone's home) for a group therapy session. Eventually I had some auditing done in Washinton DC and after giving them $1,200.00 I decided this wasn't for me and I dropped off their radar...or so I thought. For years afterwards, my mother would receive mailers and magazines from Scientology. (Being in the military living in VA. I still maintained my parents address in PA.)
Decades go by. I'm married with children and grandchildren. They somehow tracked me down and started calling my phone and my wife's phone. When I would talk to them, they wanted to know why I left. Bear in mind, it is now the late 2010's. I got fed up with one particular call and told them the Jesus would kick Xenu's ass. I haven't heard from them since.
Bahaha. That's awesome
Dude ☠️
BTW, thank you for your service. :)
This episode was my first glimpse of what Scientology is all about. (Back when it aired) I laughed so hard.
My boyfriend at the times friend was dating a Scientologist and they trolled her so hard about Lord Xenu.
I think this episode turned MILLIONS of young people against Scientology.
This is great! I've never seen this! What a great time to show this! I never watched nut a couple episodes when the show first started, but my dons did.
I love this channel. Feels like watching my favorite show with a friend. Great vid Aaron
Fun fact, this was when the character "Chef" quit the show, as the actor that played Chef was a Scientologist.
I did The Test and deliberately put postive for everything, just to see what would happen. Two strange things - Scientologists told me they couldn't help me (but please buy our book) and second, I realised later that I hadn't exaggerated my positivity much at all, I am really more positive than I thought. So they helped.
The questions seem primed to always leave room for bad interpretation though. Take "do you prefer to command people or be told what to do" can be framed as you're a narcissist or that you're non-assertive.
WTF I WAS THIS CLOSE TO BUYING THE 5000 PAGE BOOK, I WENT INTO THE CHURCH CLUELESS OF HOW INSANE THIS IS NOW I SEE
That was a close one 🙏🙏
I appreciate being able to watch the episode with your commentary thanks