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52-512: Holy Smoke may refer to: Film, TV and media [ edit ] Holy Smoke! , a film directed by Jane Campion, with Kate Winslet and Harvey Keitel Damian Thompson 's conservative Catholic blog for The Daily Telegraph Music [ edit ] Holy Smoke! , comedy album by Richard Pryor 1976 Holy Smoke (Gin Wigmore album) Holy Smoke (Peter Murphy album) "Holy Smoke" (song) ,

104-567: A new age cult in India . Julie Hamilton, Tim Robertson, Daniel Wyllie , and Pam Grier appear in supporting roles. Director Jane Campion wrote the screenplay for the film with her sister, Anna Campion. The film was a co-production between Australia and the United States. The film premiered at the 56th Venice International Film Festival and was shown at the New York Film Festival and

156-562: A stroke and being on the verge of death, and her mother Miriam travels to India in hopes of persuading her to come home, with no success until she suffers a serious asthma attack. Ruth agrees to accompany her to Australia on her return flight. Meanwhile, Miriam has arranged a phony reunion with Gilbert in the Outback , claiming to Ruth that he is recuperating there. Gilbert, as well as Ruth's brothers Robbie—along with his promiscuous wife Yvonne—and Tim—along with his male lover, Yani—all convene at

208-553: A 45% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 82 reviews. The critical consensus on the website reads, "Superb performances hindered by weak script and incoherent story." On Metacritic , it receives an average score of 57 out of 100 based on 30 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". In her review in The New York Times , Janet Maslin said, "As Holy Smoke moves from its early mix of rapture and humor into [the] more serious, confrontational stage, it runs into trouble . . .

260-413: A continuum from implicit approval to active involvement. In the United States, where there are First Amendment protections for religious groups, government officials and agencies frequently "turned a blind eye" to the activities of deprogrammers. In China, government agencies have at times promoted activities resembling deprogramming to enforce official views of "correct" beliefs and behaviors, for example in

312-402: A deprogramming bill or conservatorship legislation. In New York, two bills were actually passed by the legislature (in 1980 and 1981), but both were vetoed by Governor Hugh Carey because of their violation of religious and other constitutional freedoms. In other states the bills failed to pass the legislature. In the United States, from the mid-1970s and throughout the 1980s mind control was

364-473: A family member extracted, but it also clashed with the need for anti-cult organizations to present themselves as "educational" associations (the CFF, for example, received tax-exempt status as an educational trust). This, along with its tenuous legal and moral status, meant that deprogramming tended to be publicly disavowed, while its practice continued clandestinely. Deprogramming became a controversial practice due to

416-441: A family member's connection to an NRM. Patrick's methods involved abduction, physical restraint, detention over days or weeks while maintaining a constant presence with the victim, food and sleep deprivation, prolonged verbal and emotional abuse, and desecration of the symbols of the victim's faith. Deprogrammers justified their actions by applying a theory of " brainwashing " to New Religious Movements. Brainwashing theory denied

468-416: A high success rate, studies show that natural attrition rates are actually higher than those achieved by deprogramming interventions. Professor of psychiatry Saul V. Levine suggests that it is doubtful that deprogramming helps many people and goes on to say that it actually causes harm to the victim by the very nature of deprogramming. For deprogramming to work, the victim must be convinced that they joined

520-529: A lawyer or psychiatrist of their own choosing. Previously, there would be a sanity hearing first, and only then a commitment to an asylum or involuntary therapy. But with deprogramming, judges routinely granted parents legal authority over their adult children without a hearing. Critics contend that deprogramming and exit counseling begin with a false premise . Lawyers for some groups who have lost members due to deprogramming, as well as some civil liberties advocates, sociologists and psychologists, argue that it

572-493: A major Christian counter-cult organization founded in 1973 by a Danish professor of missiology and ecumenical theology , Johannes Aagaard , rejects deprogramming, believing that it is counterproductive, ineffective, and can harm the relationship between a cult member and concerned family members. Deprogrammers have sometimes operated with overt or tacit support of law enforcement and judicial officials. Richardson sees government involvement in deprogramming as existing on

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624-527: A minority of cases and that deprogramming "helped to free many individuals". Carol Giambalvo described the reasoning behind deprogramming thus: It was believed that the hold of the brainwashing over the cognitive processes of a cult member needed to be broken – or "snapped" as some termed it – by means that would shock or frighten the cultist into thinking again. For that reason, in some cases cult leader's pictures were burned or there were highly confrontational interactions between deprogrammers and cultist. What

676-403: A nearby resort. There, they meet with P.J. Waters, a famous American exit counselor who deprograms members of religious cults. Ruth arrives, and goes to visit her father at a farm; there, she is confronted by her family along with P.J., who have staged an intervention . Ruth is defiant and attempts to fight them, but ultimately relents and agrees to accompany P.J. for a treatment session, under

728-401: A permanent alienation of the subject from their family). In exit counseling, these psychological and legal risks are reduced. Although deprogrammers prepare family members (other than the subject) for the process, exit counselors tend to work with such family members directly, expecting those requesting the intervention to contribute to the process. Exit counseling requires that families establish

780-409: A physical altercation in which he punches her, knocking her unconscious. P.J. leaves with an unconscious Ruth in the boot of his car. On the road, he encounters Tim, Robbie, and Yvonne en route to the cabin. P.J. tells them Ruth has fled, and that they should separate and search for her. Yvonne insists she accompany P.J., who reluctantly allows her in the car. As they drive, Yvonne hears Ruth banging on

832-412: A pseudo-legitimacy to the anti-cultists more extreme claims and actions. Although the CFF and CAN were in favor of deprogramming, they distanced themselves from the practice from the late 1970s onwards. Despite this apparent repudiation, however, they continued the practice. CFF and CAN referred thousands of paying clients to activist members who kept lists of deprogrammers. The total number that occurred

884-401: A religious group against their will. They then must renounce responsibility and accept that in some mysterious way that their minds were controlled. He argues that deprogramming destroys a person's identity and is likely to create permanent anxiety about freedom of choice and leave the deprogrammed subject dependent upon the guidance and advice of others. The Dialog Center International (DCI)

936-535: A song by Iron Maiden Holy Smoke (2005) , song on All Hell (Los Campesinos! album) 2024 Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Holy Smoke . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Holy_Smoke&oldid=1236667509 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

988-497: A totalistic environment, and self-hypnosis. Most academic research, however, indicated that the reasons for people joining, remaining in, or leaving NRMs were complex, varied from group to group and individual to individual, and generally reflected the continued presence of a capacity for individual responsibility and choice. The Citizens' Freedom Foundation, which later became known as the Cult Awareness Network , became

1040-494: A widely accepted theory in public opinion, and the vast majority of newspaper and magazine accounts of deprogrammings assumed that recruits' relatives were well justified to seek conservatorships and to hire deprogrammers. One disturbing aspect from a civil rights point of view, was that people hiring deprogrammers would use deception or other ethically questionable methods—including kidnapping —to get their relative into deprogrammers' hands, without allowing them any recourse to

1092-555: Is angered when she finds P.J. has strung her sari up in a tree, and retaliates by forming a "HELP" signal out of stones. Later, P.J. takes Ruth to visit her family, and they all screen a documentary exposing the tactics of cults, including the Manson family , Heaven's Gate , and the Rajneesh . That night, after returning to the cabin, P.J. awakens to find a distressed, naked Ruth has lit the tree and her sari on fire. Ruth propositions P.J., and

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1144-560: Is common to all anecdotal accounts of deprogramming. There are numerous testimonies from people who describe being threatened with a gun, beaten, denied food and sleep, and sexually assaulted. In these accounts, the deprogramming usually begins with the victim being forced into a vehicle and taken to a place where they are isolated from everyone but their captors. Told that they would not be released until they renounce their beliefs, they are then subjected to days and sometimes weeks of verbal, emotional, psychological, and/or physical pressure until

1196-418: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Holy Smoke! Holy Smoke! is a 1999 independent romantic comedy drama film directed by Jane Campion , and starring Kate Winslet and Harvey Keitel . The plot follows an American exit counselor (Keitel) who attempts to deprogram a young Australian woman (Winslet) who has been indoctrinated into

1248-579: Is not the religious groups but rather the deprogrammers who are the ones who deceive and manipulate people. During the 1990s, deprogrammer Rick Ross was sued by Jason Scott , a former member of a Pentecostal group called the Life Tabernacle Church, after an unsuccessful deprogramming attempt. In 1995, the jury awarded Scott US$ 875,000 in compensatory damages and US$ 2,500,000 in punitive damages against Ross, which were later settled for US$ 5,000 and 200 hours of services. More significantly,

1300-399: Is unknown, but in 1980 Ted Patrick claimed to have been hired over 2000 times as a professional abductor. Many other operators emerged both during and after the period in which he was active, many of them trained by him. The practice of deprogramming was an integral part of the anti-cult ideology and economy, and was seen as an effective response to the demand emanating from people who wanted

1352-917: The San Francisco Chronicle said, " Holy Smoke sometimes has the mentality, for better or worse, of an encounter group . It also has a terrific subject and the spirit to bring it off." At the Venice Film Festival , Jane Campion and Kate Winslet won the Elvira Notari Prize. Campion was nominated for the Golden Lion but lost to Zhang Yimou for Not One Less . Exit counseling Methods and practices of deprogramming are varied but have often involved kidnapping and false imprisonment , which have sometimes resulted in criminal convictions. The practice has led to controversies over freedom of religion , civil rights , criminality , and

1404-534: The Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival before being released theatrically. During a trip to India, Ruth Barron has a spiritual awakening and embraces the teachings of a guru named Baba. Back home in the Sydney suburb of Sans Souci , her parents are appalled to learn their daughter now answers to the name Nazni and has no intention of returning. They concoct a tale about her father Gilbert having had

1456-487: The CAN-referred deprogrammers. Proponents of "Exit counseling" distinguish it from coercive forms of deprogramming. The fundamental difference is that involuntary deprogramming involves forced confinement of the individual whereas in exit counseling they are free to leave at any time. The absence of physical coercion is thought to increase the likelihood of establishing a rapport and of not alienating, enraging or terrifying

1508-761: The United States, P.J. responds to Ruth, explaining that he and Carol now have twin sons, though he too confesses a love for her. The film was made on location in Paharganj in Delhi and Pushkar in India and Sydney and Hawker in the Flinders Ranges in South Australia . Interiors were filmed at Fox Studios Australia . Angelo Badalamenti 's soundtrack is performed by artists including Annie Lennox , Alanis Morissette , Burt Bacharach , Neil Diamond and Chloe Goodchild . In

1560-482: The United States, the film was initially given a limited release on 3 December 1999, earning $ 33,307 its opening weekend. The release expanded to a total of 93 cinemas, ultimately grossing $ 1,758,780 at the U.S. box office . The film earned a further $ 1,380,029 during its theatrical release in Australia. The film's worldwide box office gross totaled $ 3,580,723. Holy Smoke! received mixed reviews from critics, holding

1612-516: The bed of the truck. During the drive, Ruth asks them to stop the truck. She gets into the bed with P.J., and comforts him. A year later, Ruth writes to P.J. from Jaipur , where she is now living with her mother, after her father left her for his secretary. Ruth explains to P.J. that she is still seeking spirituality, and has recently completed reading the Bhagavad Gita . She now has a boyfriend, but confesses she still loves P.J. "from afar." Back in

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1664-580: The course of deprogrammings. Carol Giambalvo , who worked for the Cult Awareness Network in the 1980s (later advocating for "voluntary exit counseling" and "thought reform consultation") said that although abductions certainly occurred, the more common practice was to forcefully detain people in their own homes, or in a cabin or motel room. Giambalvo tells of "horror stories" of restraint, beatings, use of handcuffs and weapons, sexual abuse, and even rape, although she claims that these were only used in

1716-473: The demands of their abductors are satisfied. According to sociologist Eileen Barker , "One does not have to rely on the victims for stories of violence: Ted Patrick, one of the most notorious deprogrammers used by CAGs [cult-awareness groups] (who has spent several terms in prison for his exploits) openly boasts about some of the violence he employed." A number of other prominent members of "cult-awareness groups" have been convicted of violent crimes committed in

1768-447: The deprogramming session lasting one more day. Ruth begins to taunt P.J. and emasculates him by making him wear a dress, but relents when he responds by writing the phrase "Be Kind" on her forehead; she is suddenly overcome with guilt and begins crying, confessing that she does not allow anyone to become emotionally close to her. Ruth decides to leave, but P.J., who believes himself to be in love with her, attempts to stop her. The two have

1820-405: The director's abiding fascinations in excitingly unconventional terms. Mainstream audiences may be unwilling to surrender to the pull of a unique journey that strips away its characters' masks and refuses easy solutions, and many men especially will find it too confronting. But others will embrace its thematic and stylistic complexity as qualities all too rare in contemporary cinema." Bob Graham of

1872-530: The film, and indeed Winslet seems to be following Keitel's long-standing career plan, which is to go with intriguing screenplays and directors and let stardom take care of itself . . . A smaller picture like this, shot out of the mainstream, has a better chance of being quirky and original. And quirky it is, even if not successful." In Variety , David Rooney stated, "Original in every sense, this often difficult film about family, relationships, sexual politics, spiritual questing, faith and obsession further explores

1924-624: The group, incarcerated, and put through radical resocialization processes that were supposed to result in their agreeing to leave the group." Law professor Douglas Laycock , author of Religious Liberty: The Free Exercise Clause , wrote: Beginning in the 1970s, many parents responded to the initial conversion with "deprogramming." The essence of deprogramming was to physically abduct the convert, isolate him and physically restrain him, and barrage him with continuous arguments and attacks against his new religion, threatening to hold him forever until he agreed to leave it. Deprogrammers generally operated on

1976-406: The jury also found that the leading anti-cult group known as the Cult Awareness Network (CAN) was a co-conspirator in the crime and fined CAN around US$ 1,000,000 in punitive damages, forcing the group into bankruptcy . This case is often seen as effectively closing the door on the practice of involuntary deprogramming in the United States. Anti-cult groups play a central role in maintaining

2028-461: The lid of the boot, and orders him to stop the car. She lets Ruth out of the boot, and she begins running into the bush, with P.J. pursuing her on foot, proclaiming his love for her. P.J. eventually collapses of exhaustion in the heat, and has a vision of Ruth as the Durga before Yvonne, Tim, and Robbie come to his and Ruth's aid. Ruth departs with Yvonne, Tim, and Robbie, along with P.J., whom they place in

2080-536: The most prominent group in the emerging national anti-cult movement of the 1970s and 80s. The anti-cult movement lobbied for state and national legislative action to legitimize its activities, and although this had very limited success, the movement was nevertheless able to forge alliances with a number of governmental agencies. This was primarily on the back of its propagation of the brainwashing/mind control ideology, which succeeded in turning affiliation with NRMs into an issue of public—rather than private—concern and gave

2132-413: The possibility of authentic spiritual choice for an NRM member, proposing instead that such individuals were subject to systematic mind control programs that overrode their capacity for independent volition. Ted Patrick's theory of brainwashing was that individuals were hypnotized by brainwaves projected from a recruiter's eyes and fingertips, after which the state was maintained by constant indoctrination,

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2184-505: The presumption that the people they were paid to extract from religious organizations were victims of mind control or brainwashing. Since the theory was that such individuals were incapable of rational thought, extreme measures were thought to be justified for their own good, up to and including the use of criminal violence. Ted Patrick was eventually tried and convicted of multiple felonies relating to kidnapping and false imprisonment of deprogramming subjects. Violence of one degree or another

2236-458: The provision that she may return to India once they have finished. Ruth departs with P.J. to a remote cabin where he isolates her and begins to challenge her faith in Baba, exposing that Baba's doctrines have been directly copied from Hinduism . During the first night, Yvonne, who is staying nearby, arrives to bring a change of clothes for Ruth, and performs oral sex on P.J. The following morning, Ruth

2288-464: The screenplay . . . threatens to become heavy-handedly ideological beneath its outward whimsy . . . it turns out to be more fundamentally conventional than might be expected . . . Shot so beautifully by Dion Beebe that it seems bathed in divine light, [the film] has a sensual allure that transcends its deep-seated ponderousness. The richly colored Indian scenes have a hallucinogenic magic, while exquisite desert vistas radiate an attunement with nature. And

2340-498: The steamily claustrophobic look of the intense scenes between Ms. Winslet and Keitel have an eroticism that will not surprise viewers of The Piano ." In his review, Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 2 and a half stars out of 4. He observed, "It's a little surprising, although not boring, when it turns from a mystic travelogue into a feminist parable . . . Winslet and Keitel are both interesting in

2392-597: The subject. Exit counsellors are typically brought in during a "family Intervention ", where they explain their role and seek to change the subject's attitude to their religious group through reasoning and persuasion. Langone, writing in 1993, estimated that deprogramming costs typically rise to at least US$ 10,000, compared to exit counseling which typically costs US$ 2,000 to US$ 4,000, although cases requiring extensive research of little-known groups can cost much more. Deprogramming, especially when it fails, also entails considerable legal risk and psychological risk (for example,

2444-669: The suppression of the Falun Gong movement. This can involve "vigorous, even violent, efforts to dissuade people from participating in groups deemed unacceptable to the government" and have been "given legal sanction by the passage of laws that make illegal the activities or even the beliefs of the unpopular movement or group being targeted". In the United States—in New York, Kansas, Nebraska, Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon and Texas—lawmakers unsuccessfully attempted to legalize involuntary deprogramming, either through

2496-471: The two have sex; Ruth asks P.J. "Don't come, don't come", but P.J. still comes. In the morning, Yvonne, Tim, and Yani arrive to bring Ruth to a party, which P.J. accompanies her on. When they return, a drunken Ruth insults P.J.'s manhood before ordering him to perform oral sex on her. The next morning, P.J's assistant and lover, Carol, arrives from the United States, chastising him for screening her phone calls, and demanding he return home. She ultimately agrees to

2548-401: The underground network of communications, referrals, transportation, and housing necessary for continued deprogramming. The Cult Awareness Network operated a referral scheme ( NARDEC ) in which they would refer people to deprogrammers in return for a "kickback" in the form of a donation or as a commission. Deprogrammers such as Rick Alan Ross , Steven Hassan and Carol Giambalvo were among

2600-552: The use of violence. Proponents of deprogramming present the practice as a necessary counter-measure to the systematic "brainwashing" procedures allegedly employed by religious groups, which they claim deprive the individual of their capacity for free choice. In the United States in the early 1970s, there was an increasing number of New Religious Movements . Ted Patrick , the "father of deprogramming", formed an organization he called "The Citizens' Freedom Foundation" and began offering 'deprogramming' services to people who wanted to break

2652-452: The violent and illegal nature of some of its methods. Various academics have commented on the practice. Sociologist Anson D. Shupe and others wrote that deprogramming is comparable to exorcism in both methodology and manifestation. Professor of Sociology and Judicial Studies James T. Richardson described deprogramming as a "private, self-help process whereby participants in unpopular new religious movements (NRMs) were forcibly removed from

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2704-462: Was often sought was an emotional response to the information, the shock, the fear, and the confrontation. Another associate of Ted Patrick, Sylvia Buford, identified five stages in the deprogramming which would, ideally, bring the subject to a recognition of their condition: According to Giambalvo and others, however, deprogramming frequently failed completely to achieve the desired outcome and often caused significant harm. While some advocates claimed

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