What does After Earth have to do with Scientology?
In my opinion, everything.
The promotional material and trailers make it very clear that "survival" is not only a theme in the movie, but also a marketing buzzword. In the book Dianetics, as well as innumerable other works of Scientology literature, LRH emphasizes repeatedly and strongly that "survive" is the highest command of existence and that everything in life is subservient to this command.
In fact, the core of Scientology, the Eight Dynamics, revolve around the concept of survival, as seen in this information and video from the official Scientology website:
http://www.scientology.org/what-is-scientology/basic-principles-of-scientology/eight-dynamics.html
The material/trailers also emphasize a few other concepts, such as:
- Abandoned Earth. In the now-infamous Xenu mythos, Earth is obliterated by atomic weapons detonated in active volcanoes, and billions upon billions of people die. The planet is abandoned, but eventually repopulated after the fall of Xenu's Galactic Confederacy at the hands of the Loyal Officers. In After Earth, Earth has been abandoned for a thousand years, and Cypher Raige and his son Kitai (that's Will Smith and his son Jaden) are the first humans to return since it was abandoned. Note that it does not specify when Earth was abandoned, and I have a feeling that might be a plot twist in the movie.
- Emotion control. In the trailer, Cypher says "Fear is not real. It is a product of thoughts you create. Do not misunderstand me. Danger is very real. But fear is a choice. " This is directly in line with the Dianetics belief that negative emotions are from traumatic experiences in our genetic memory, encoded on our cells in the form of "engrams". Exploring and clearing these engrams form the core of Dianetics therapy, called "auditing". In the process of auditing, you learn to control your emotions and take "cause over life", or direct influence over your problems. The infamous E-meter device measures your "tone", which is a numerical value on this scale: http://www.scientologyhandbook.org/FULL.HTM
- Parental influence. LRH very strongly believed that one can exist in another's internal universe, or "valence", and that one of the most commonly experienced valences is that of the father or mother. The trailer makes it abundantly clear that one of Kitai's challenges will be to gain his father's respect, or overcome his father's influence or something related to that, which is directly parallel to the concept of "existing in another;s valence", which is cited by LRH as a common source of unhappiness.
- Space planes. The shape of Cypher's and Kitai's ship, which is remarkably similar to an airplane, is no coincidence. LRH taught that, in the distant past, interstellar travel was accomplished in ships that looked exactly like DC-8 planes.
- An elite spacefaring superhuman paramilitary organization. This is the Ranger Corps in the movie, the Loyal Officers in the Xenu mythos, and the Sea Organization (or "Sea Org") in real life.
Stuff I found in the trailer:
http://i.imgur.com/G9CQymF.png (Will Smith is wearing the uniform of the Ranger Corps, which bears more than a passing resemblance to...
http://i.imgur.com/TDTUJGW.jpg (...the official Sea Org uniform.)
http://i.imgur.com/DBuFo9K.png (Might be a minor detail, but why exactly would a spacecraft need a tail rudder, unless it's also used for aviation purposes? Remember that LRH frequently said DC-8's were used to transport Xenu's prisoners to Earth in his nuclear holocaust. South Park elaborated on this)
But to me, the killing blow is that, from what I understand, Kitai's goal in the movie is to reach this landmark on the surface of the Earth to get his ship's beacon:
http://i.imgur.com/Z5LPAGz.png
Do you know what's so damning about this?
http://i.imgur.com/3kdCwSJ.jpg http://i.imgur.com/1Waq3K6.jpg
The volcano featured in the background throughout scenes on Earth; It's literally the symbol for Dianetics and has been for almost fifty years.
But why would he do this? Why make a "Scientology movie"?
Because LRH himself tried and failed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolt_in_the_Stars
And because Scientologists literally believe that science fiction stories, what they call "space opera", are repressed memories of events that occurred millions of years ago.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_opera_in_Scientology
I'm not entirely certain of the Smith family's intentions, but I'm fairly confident that After Earth is a major motion picture made to exalt Scientology, its mythology, and its creator. Instead of Scientology's recent tactics of negatively attacking others, they are trying to positively bolster themselves.
But I won't become a Scientologist because of a movie.
Maybe not consciously, no. LRH was a greedy man, but he was not a stupid man. He understood that works of art can imprint concepts and sensibilities onto others, even if it's only in a subtle, indirect manner. That is why he attempted to make Revolt in the Stars into a movie, but ultimately failed. The next attempt was Battlefield Earth, and we all know how that went. But with someone as high-voltage as Will Smith, and with much larger financial resources, his dream of a big-budget Scientology movie might finally come true.
I know, right? I'll view the movie and update this accordingly if I find more interesting information. If anyone has any questions about Scientology or wants to discuss what this movie is trying to do after it's released, I'd welcome that. In my opinion, Basically, Scientology isn't some little church, it's the most powerful example in the modern world of a malicious, evil cult.
they think they're saying profound shyt here
