Page 233 - Aesthetic Formations Media, religion, and the Sense

218 Carly Machado

present themselves win a place in the hall of fame, while the sequence of
presentations is closed with the shows of the most famous and eagerly
awaited.
While the shows operate via the logic of the spectacle and fame, the
parties provide a conducive environment for everyone to experience the
lifestyle promulgated by the movement without a stage separating audi-
ence and artists. Generally theme-based, the main function of the parties
is to create a climate for experiences of the morally alternative Raelian
behavior, diluting the right to the performance in everyone and to every-
one—a more “democratized” performance in this context. In the shows,
the Raelian models are displayed for some, while in the parties are experi-
enced by everyone.
Raelian shows and parties operate via what Turner (1987) calls the dou-
ble reflexivity of the performance: the actor may come to know himself
better through acting or enactment—experiencing an individual, or singu-
lar reflexivity—or one set of human beings may come to know themselves
better through observing and/or participating in performances generated
and presented by another set of human beings—figuring a group reflexiv-
ity. In Raelian shows, reflexivity through observation predominates and,
for those on stage, singular reflexivity. In their parties, reflexivity operates
as collective participation in its constitution.
The evening spectacles held during the Seminar are the main environ-
ments for producing the “famous.” The “Raelian show” provides artists
seeking fame in show business with a level of recognition and prominence
far higher than the level obtained in the official media. Its external micro
projection generates an internal macro visibility. Operating on the media
model, the Raelian Movement confirms the claim made by Sodré: “At the
same time, the media is also taken to stage a new doxa (in the ancient
double meaning of ‘opinion’ and ‘celebrity’) on the basis of which the value
of the other is discussed and recognized” (cited in Burity 2003, 82). The
dancer, actor, or singer with some kind of recognition among the general
public—however small—becomes someone “famous” within the move-
ment. Hence, the shows containing presentations of music and dance typ-
ically culminate in the appearance of these Raelian celebrities. I pick out

two of these people from the London group: Robert and Lysa.
Robert is the Guide for the British Isles. An actor and singer in London
musicals, the most famous role of his career was playing Jesus Christ in the
show “Jesus Christ Superstar.” Robert stands out for his double fame: as a
guide and as a “famous” actor. So far, Robert is the nearest to being “Tom
Cruise” of the Raelian Movement. I met Robert in London at a weekend
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of activities run by the movement and was able to see that he interacted
closely with other members of the London group. At the European Seminar,