Page 230 - Aesthetic Formations Media, religion, and the Sense

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The relation between the movement’s follows and the Honorary Guides
follows two trends: the first is discomfort over the fact that non-Raelians
have become Movement Guides. In some more serious cases, the move-
ment’s members question the appropriateness of these nominations. Many
celebrities receiving this title display behavior condemned by the Raelian
Movement, such as the abusive use of drugs, for example, which makes
the nomination incompatible with certain elements of the Raelian life-
style. However, in the official discourse of the movement’s leaders, these
questions are stifled and the admiration for these public personalities
reinforced, repeatedly citing them in the Raelian meetings as examples of
ideal behavior, at least those conducts deemed to be iconic of Raelian
values.
On one hand, the celebration of Honorary Guides confirms the impor-
tance of celebrities in the Raelian Movement’s value system. On the other
hand, it is presented as a form of strategically reinventing culture, incorpo-
rating what is valorized in public space into the movement’s religious
dimension: whether they want to or not, the celebrity becomes a Guide.
The relation between members and Honorary Guides absorbs various
aspects of the Celebrity Culture: being a fan—a status taken from the
media field—blurs with being a “disciple”—a condition belonging to the
religious field. Moreover, the components of scandal and polemic typical
of the celebrity culture analyzed by Marshall are also applicable to the
image of the Honorary Guides, whose value is identified by precisely these
attitudes in the public sphere. As Marshall suggests: “Celebrities are per-
formative texts: They act out” (2006, 11), and these performative acts
intrinsic to the scandals surrounding celebrities reinforce the pertinence of
their celebration in the Raelian ethos.
Conferring the title of Honorary Guide on a celebrity is a ritual action
that blends media objectives with religious objectives to the point of being
indistinguishable. Awarding the title to a celebrity produces effects both
inside and outside the movement: externally, it corresponds to the pursuit
of legitimacy and recognition in public space. Internally, it is defined pri-
marily as a system of religious values on the basis of which particular forms
of behavior can be identified as more or less Raelian; above all, the valori-

zation of public recognition and media projection are configured as a
means of immediate access to a more Raelian life. Thus the more famous
a member of the movement is, the more in accord with Raelian values he
or she will be. In this sense, the everyday practice of the Raelian ethos also
reflects this quest for notoriety, turning the spectacle into a ritual of devel-
opment continually present in the events experienced during the group’s
meetings.