Page 229 - Aesthetic Formations Media, religion, and the Sense

214 Carly Machado

celebrity dreamt of by Raël. Referring to Cruise, Raël praises his attitude
of explicitly declaring his allegiance to Scientology, and the form in which,
through his public image, he publicizes the movement to which he belongs.
Raël dreams and invests much of the Structure’s work in search of the
movement’s own “Tom Cruise.”
One of the strategies of the International Raelian Movement is to award
the title of Honorary Raelian Guides to international celebrities who demon-
strate attitudes considered representative of the movement’s generally polem-
ical values. As mentioned earlier, Honorary Raelian Guides include
Madonna, Eminem, President Hugo Chávez, Bill Gates, Sean Penn, and
others. Being a Guide in the Raelian Movement means taking on responsi-
bilities. For an ordinary member (that is, a nonfamous and therefore non-
Honorary member) of the Raelian Movement becoming a guide means
taking on activities within the structure and gradually, as a result of the evo-
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lution of these responsibilities, raising one’s level in the Raelian hierarchy.
However, the Honorary Guides are not Raelian and have no responsibilities
within the Structure and generally know nothing about Raël’s “Message.”
These celebrities from the artistic, political, or social world are informed
about the “honor” awarded by the movement, but very often make no
response to receiving the title. On other occasions, the personality awarded
the title agrees to take part in a nomination ceremony that normally does not
reach the public domain. Awarding the title of Honorary Guide is a form
encountered by the Raelian Movement of approaching celebrities and gain-
ing some minutes of their attention. Whether the relationship between the
new Guide and the movement later becomes closer is far from certain. So far,
in fact, this has never happened. The most interesting image obtained up to
now has been a photo of Madonna using a necklace with the movement’s
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symbol, published by the French Magazine Public in February 2005 and
widely publicized in the group’s internal media.
The motives for awarding these titles vary: Nicholas Negroponte
received the title for his initiative in creating a computer priced at US$
100, which for the Raelian Movement signifies an important investment
in the technological development of society. The French writer Michel
Houellebecq was named an Honorary Guide after turning the Elohim

into characters in one of his books. He responded while receiving the
award thus: “I am very happy and very proud of this nomination, espe-
cially because I am the first and only French citizen to be given this
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title.” Sean Penn was made a Guide after his manifestations against the
Iraq War, mirroring the Raelian Movement’s values of nonviolence.
Hugo Chávez was deemed worthy of the award for his opposition to the
American government, another frequent rallying point of Raelian ideas.