Page 223 - Aesthetic Formations Media, religion, and the Sense

208 Carly Machado

In the 1970s, Claude Vourilhon, a young Frenchman involved in the
worlds of music and motor racing, claimed he had twice encountered
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extraterrestrial beings, which he called Elohim, who were responsible for
creating human life on Earth through “highly developed” biological meth-
ods. Claude Vourilhon’s message revealed that the Elohim had chosen him
as their prophet to spread this truth around the world, simultaneously giv-
ing him the name Raël.
Raël’s prophecy is presented as a message of evolution and development.
Seeking to “free humanity from obscurantism,” the prophet’s greatest rev-
elation is the power of Science as a path toward social and individual
improvement. In the social field, the Raelian message disseminates a high-
tech imaginary in which the implementation of technological and biotech-
nological projects can liberate humanity from the burdens of traditional
life, such as work—to be realized in the future by machines and robots—
and the family—considered unnecessary given the possibilities afforded by
the new reproductive technologies. In the personal field, Raël also adopts
a radical stance against any form of traditionalism. Suggesting a new moral
technology, the Raelian message incites nonconformism and supports all
the more polemical social projects: it is against marriage, supports bisexual
and homosexual relations, is in favor of abortion, radically questions the
option to have children, suggests open relationships based on “free-
love”—in sum, suggests and supports every form of moral action that chal-
lenges the standards of traditional Christian morality. The various Raelian
projects in support of new social, biological, and moral technologies are
seen to be ideally suited to being spread through the mass media, taking
advantage of the “polemical” nature of the movement’s arguments as the
central motif for attracting media interest.
Before becoming the prophet Raël, Vourilhon was involved in various
activities linked to communications media: he was a sports journalist, spe-
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cializing in reports on motor racing, one of his passions. He also worked
as a singer in bars, cabaret performances, and on French radio, another
form of gaining experience of self-publicity and the pursuit of fame. His
earlier relation with the media helped shape his life as the prophet Raël, as
well as the religious movement created by him.

The politics of recognition and authenticity predominant in the
Raelian Movement are permeated with media values, ranging from a
prophet who asserts his recognition within the movement by being
always (and only ever) present on stage, sometimes in person but usually
through video clips of his appearances on mass media channels. These
video clips present Raël around the world, generally in two different
situations: first, taking part in Raelian meetings in distant countries,
imagery that illustrates the expansion of the movement; and, second,