Est and The Forum in popular culture

Werner Erhard and his self-improvement courses have been referenced in popular culture in various forms of fictional media including literature, film, television and theatre. These courses, known as "est", were delivered by the company Erhard Seminars Training. Under the name "The Forum", they were delivered by Werner Erhard and Associates. Also, the "Landmark Forum," a program created by Erhard's former employees after purchasing his intellectual property, has had an influence on popular culture. Some of these works have taken a comedic tack, parodying Erhard and satirizing the methodology used in these courses.

Other works have taken a more direct approach, and analyzed and questioned Erhard's early life and controversy through fictionalized accounts. Erhard read the science fiction book "", by L. Clark Stevens before developing "est": note the convention of printing "est" in all lower-case stems from the title of this work. Erhard and his techniques are also referenced in the 2001 novel "Pressure Points" by Larry Brooks, and in Gregg Hurwitz's 2004 novel "The Program".

Both "est" and "The Forum" have been depicted more often in film and television than in literary works. The 1977 film "Semi-Tough" satirized Erhard and the "est Training", through the fictional "Bismark Earthwalk Action Training." Bert Convy portrayed the Erhard parody character, and his performance was positively received. "est" students Diana Ross and Joel Schumacher incorporated Werner Erhard's teachings into the 1978 musical film, "The Wiz". The 1990 film "The Spirit of '76" also parodied "est", where Rob Reiner portrayed an abusive trainer for the est-like "Be, Inc. Seminars." Movie critics have also drawn parallels to "est" and Werner Erhard, in reviews of the films "Fight Club" and "Magnolia". Concepts from the Landmark Forum were utilized by the Wachowski brothers in their film "The Matrix Revolutions". Werner Erhard's training programs have been parodied in television. The 1979 episode of "Mork & Mindy", "Mork Goes Erk", and the 2002 episode of "Six Feet Under", "The Plan", are the most notable. In the "Mork & Mindy" episode, the Erhard parody character was played by David Letterman.

Madison, Wisconsin's Broom Street Theatre produced a play about Werner Erhard and "The Forum" in 1995, called "Devil In Paradise, The Fall and Rise of Werner Erhard." This piece dealt with a fictionalized version of controversial issues surrounding Erhard, including his early life before success with the "est Training" and allegations of familial abuse. The play received a positive review in the local paper, "The Capital Times". Representatives of Erhard later contacted "The Capital Times", and the paper issued a correction which highlighted points directly addressed by Erhard's people.

Fiction

Fictional inspiration for est

Werner Erhard drew on non-fiction sources when he developed Erhard Seminars Training, including the self-help course Mind Dynamics, cybernetics, the book "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill, Scientology courses and the writings of its founder L. Ron Hubbard. However, Erhard's self awareness courses were also influenced by a science fiction book he read shortly before forming "est", called: "", by L. Clark Stevens.] [cite news | last = Staff | title = Why you will find yourself at the Forum | work = Daily Telegraph | publisher = News Limited Australia | date = 2006-06-25 | ] cite news | last = Snider | first = Suzanne | title = EST, Werner Erhard, And The Corporatization of Self-Help | work = The Believer | publisher = 2003-2007 The Believer | date = May 2003 | url = http://www.believermag.com/issues/200305/?read=article_snider | ] In his review of the 1999 film adaptation of the book, Roger Ebert likened the character Tyler Durden to Werner Erhard.cite news | last = Ebert | first = Roger | title = Review, Fight Club (film) | work = Chicago Sun-Times | date = October 15, 1999 | url = http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19991015/REVIEWS/910150302 | ] Ebert wrote that Tyler Durden was: ".a bully--Werner Erhard plus S & M, a leather club operator without the decor." "Fight Club" film producer Ross Grayson Bell believes that his "creative synchronicity" with writer Palahniuk was due to their shared experience of attending The Forum. In the 1999 film "Magnolia", Tom Cruise played a motivational guru named Frank T.J. Mackey, who was the author of a self-help book called "Seduce and Destroy". This work was meant to teach men how to get women to sleep with them. The Frank T.J. Mackey character in the film has been likened to: "a sort of pop-TV blend of Werner Erhard and Bob Guccione, strutting around a stage with cocksure arrogance, indoctrinating his acolytes in the arts of machismo and seduction." [cite news | last = Wilmington | first = Michael | title = Magnolia | work = Zap2it.com | publisher = Tribune Media Services, Inc. | date = 2000-01-06 | url = http://movies.zap2it.com/movies/movies/reviews/text/0,1259,---1485,00.html | accessdate = 2007-10-24] The Frank T.J. Mackey character has also been compared to another motivational trainer influenced by Erhard, in "Details Magazine". [cite news | last = Burleigh | first = Nina | title = Death of a Salesman | work = Details Magazine | date = October 2000 | ] In an ironic twist, Tom Cruise has later been referred to as "the new Werner Erhard." [cite news | last = Gregutt | first = Paul | title = A Toast To Prosser: With tours, tasting rooms and B&Bs, a prospering burg beckons | work = The Seattle Times | publisher = The Seattle Times Company | date = 2006-11-12 | url = http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/pacificnw11122006/2003383068_pacificprosser12.html?syndication=rss' | accessdate = 2004-10-24 ]

2000 - present

In her 2006 book "Life Long Learning - Transforming, Learning Discovering Through Living Life in Unlimitless Possibilities", Patti Diamond writes that the Wachowski brothers got the inspiration for the screenplay to "The Matrix Revolutions" while participating in a Landmark Forum "seminar series."cite book | last =Diamond | first =Patti | title =Life Long Learning - Transforming, Learning Discovering Through Living Life in Unlimitless Possibilities | publisher =Lulu | date =2006 | location = Morrisville, North Carolina| pages =Page 33 | id = | isbn = 1411624920] Diamond also analyzes "The Matrix Revolutions" and the messages imparted in the film, in the context of her own personal experiences in the Landmark Forum. She describes a tautology-like exchange between Agent Smith and Neo in the film, where Neo is asked by Smith: "Why do you continue to do this Mr. Anderson?" and Neo responds: "Because I choose to." Diamond uses this example to explain the Landmark Forum's discussion of "choice and decision." Diamond provides further analysis of other Landmark Forum concepts utilized in "The Matrix Revolutions" in her book "Stepping Into Spiritual Oneness: Spiritual Rememberings of the Soul Through Life Experience", including the concept that: "we all choose to BE who we are being in each and every moment of our experience."cite book | last =Diamond | first =Patti | title =Stepping Into Spiritual Oneness: Spiritual Rememberings of the Soul Through Life Experience | publisher =Lulu | date =2006 | location =Morrisville, North Carolina | pages =Page 169 | id = | isbn = 1411651561]

Music

Alameda, California musician and Elvis impersonator "eXtreme Elvis" (EE) attributes the origin of his show to an experience he had at the Landmark Forum. eXtreme Elvis told Glen Silverstone of "East Bay Express": "Before I went to Forum I didn't have the confidence to put myself out there. I couldn't have gotten naked and felt okay with being fat, with just being myself naked in front of people."cite web|url=http://www.eastbayexpress.com/music/disgraceland/Content?oid=282564|title=Disgraceland: (Extreme) Elvis is not the first person to eat his shit onstage, and he won't be the last|work=East Bay Express |date=August 15, 2001|accessdate=2008-04-20|last=Silverstone|first=Glen ] He also compared his performance with the Landmark Forum: "I see a lot of parallels between my show and Landmark. Both have been accused of being abusive and being cults. But Landmark and my show are transforming, revolutionary experiences. People cannot possibly leave without having their lives changed." After completing the Landmark Forum, EE became a graduate instructor for Landmark Education.

Television

"Mork & Mindy"

Parody and satire of "est" and "The Forum" in television has taken a more direct approach than in literature and film. Characters have been shown attending seminars, and having negative outcomes as a result. "Mork & Mindy" dealt with this in a lighter fashion, dealing with a small introduction of individuals to the training in a home environment, in season one, episode seventeen: "Mork Goes Erk." [cite news | last =Staff | title ="Mork & Mindy" Mork Goes Erk (1979) | work =Internet Movie Database | publisher =Amazon.com | date =Original Air Date: 8 February 1979 | url =http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0651213/ | accessdate = 2007-10-29] In the episode, David Letterman portrayed an Erhard-like character by the name of "Ellsworth" offering ERC or Ellsworth Revitalization Conditioning.cite journal | last = Goldman | first = Robert | title = Hegemony and Managed Critique in Prime-Time Television: A Critical Reading of "Mork and Mindy" | journal = Theory & Society
volume = 11 | issue = | pages = 363–388, Part 4. | publisher =Hosted, Lewis & Clark College | date = May 1982 | url = http://www.lclark.edu/~goldman/mandm4.htm | id = | accessdate = 2007-10-29] In a 1982 article in the journal "Theory & Society", Lewis & Clark College sociology professor Robert Goldman compared and contrasted Letterman's "Ellsworth" character and his training program to that of Werner Erhard. Goldman noted that the episode spent time: "lampooning Werner Erhard and "est"-like commercial pop psychologies." However, Goldman went on to note that the inherent problem with "Ellsworth Revitalization Conditioning" was not the training - but Ellsworth himself. Ellsworth is seen not just as a parody of Werner Erhard, but also of consumerism: "As the self-help entrepreneur, Ellsworth is portrayed as a walking collection of lifestyle-status points and sign-values ("I've got my Rolls-Royce!"). Conspicuous consumption and commodity fetishism define his personality." Goldman explained that the "Mork and Mindy" episode succeeded in distinguishing between criticism of the Ellsworth training, and criticism of Ellsworth, citing Ellsworth's character traits of: "tyranny, selfishness, open greed, and flaunting of the accoutrements of his vulgar money-making." In the end of the segment of the episode parodying est, Mork wins out over the Ellsworth philosophy by instead calling to mind universal humanistic moral values. David Letterman received positive praise for his portrayal of "Ellsworth" in the episode.cite news | last = Tobey | first = Matthew | title = Mork & Mindy: Mork Goes Erk | work = Allmovie | publisher = All Media Guide, LLC. | date = | url =http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=1:314015 | accessdate = 2007-10-29] [cite news | last =Liebenson | first =Donald | title = Mork & Mindy - The Complete First Season (1978): Amazon.com essential video | work = Amazon.com | pages =Editorial Reviews | publisher = Amazon.com, Inc. | date = 2004 | url = http://www.amazon.com/Mork-Mindy-Complete-First-Season/dp/B0002I837M| accessdate = 2007-10-29 ] [cite news | last =Staff | title = Mork & Mindy | work = Dallas Morning News | date =November 5, 2004 ]

"Six Feet Under"

"Six Feet Under" Episode 16, of Season 2, "The Plan", featured a seminar-delivery organization called "The Plan", which the character Claire Fisher immediately compared to "est". Actress Alice Krige portrays "Alma" the seminar leader of "The Plan" - who uses jargon related to the "blueprint" for building a house in order to convey concepts about self-improvement. She singles out the character Ruth and berates her for "tiptoeing around her own house like she's afraid of waking someone up." Ruth begins to use jargon from the course in her conversations with family, and complains to her daughter that she cannot yet go to sleep after coming home from her seminar because she must first do "homework" from the course. This homework includes writing a letter to her dead mother forgiving her for "all the terrible things she did to me", and writing a letter to herself, describing how she will "renovate" her life. During the following day of "The Plan", the seminar leader gives the group a new assignment: to go outside to ready banks of phones, and call their family members to inform them of specifically how they wish to "renovate their homes" together. In the seminar, the leader asks everyone to close their eyes and imagine that everyone else is laughing at them for being stupid, and then asks the participants if they get the joke. Everyone does, except Ruth, who rants at the course instructor. After her rant, the leader congratulates her for "knocking down her old house", and proceeds to tell her that now she can rebuild a new house.cite news | last = Staff | coauthors = Television Without Pity | title = Six Feet Under, The Plan, Recap | work = Yahoo! TV | pages = 1-11 | publisher = Yahoo! Inc. | date = March 24, 2002 | url = http://tv.yahoo.com/six-feet-under/show/the-plan/episode/8415/recap | accessdate = 2007-10-28]

Analysis in secondary sources and books on "Six Feet Under" have compared the training in "The Plan" to the current incarnation of Erhard's trainings, Landmark Education. [cite news | last = Venkatasubban | first = Sharmila | title = Article of Faith | work = Pittsburgh City Paper | date = January 1, 2003 | ] "Reading Six Feet Under: TV to Die For" by Akass et al. have compared "The Plan" to est and The Forum.cite book | last = Akass | first = Kim | coauthors = Janet McCabe, Mark Lawson | title = Reading Six Feet Under: TV to Die For | publisher = I.B.Tauris | date = 2005 | pages = 96-97 | id = ISBN 1850438099] Akass cites the episode while analyzing the phenomenon of self-improvement, and notes that: "Repairing her shingles often leaves Ruth in shackles." She writes that: ".the series performs the logic of self-help, both its silly and seductive sides." However, she also points out that Ruth's rant at the end of her seminar is cathartic for Ruth, and she ends her analysis of the episode by asking: "So, what do we make of our times when all this supposed nonsense actually works?"

Theatre

In February 1995, the Broom Street Theatre in Madison, Wisconsin produced a play entitled: "Devil In Paradise, The Fall and Rise of Werner Erhard."cite web | last = Gersmann | first = Joel | title = Devil In Paradise, The Fall and Rise of Werner Erhard | work = Broom Street Theatre | publisher = www.broomstreet.org | url = http://www.broomstreet.org/archives/1995-02.html | accessdate = 2007-10-24] The play was written and directed by Joel Gersmann, and performed with a cast of seven actors. The play was described as "a fascinating character study of the man who founded the wildly successful "human potential movement," as well as the many people who bought into it." The work was a satire of Erhard, which educated the audience about a (fictionalized) rendition of his early life, but the piece was also criticized for its lack of structure. Short scenes and blackouts were described as confusing, and yet Gersmann's script itself was seen as a success.

The production was reviewed in "The Capital Times" in March 1995, and the staff of "The Capital Times" was later contacted by representatives of Werner Erhard, and asked to issue a correction regarding statements made in the review.cite news | last = Chase | first = Michael | title = 'Devil' A Fascinating Portrait | work = The Capital Times | publisher = Capital Newspapers | date = March 7, 1995 | url = http://www.broomstreet.org/reviews/devil.html | accessdate = 2007-10-24] The paper later issued a correction, which emphasized that the play was indeed a fictionalized account, and stated that: "Erhard never admitted abusing his children, and his daughter retracted in July 1992 her earlier allegation of sexual abuse by her father." The correction also noted that Erhard did not leave the United States to avoid any Internal Revenue Service investigation, but rather was contesting certain business deductions and had not been charged with tax evasion. The statement sent by Erhard's representatives concluded by noting: "Erhard denies that the programs he created, est and the Forum, were or are pyramid selling schemes, self-help programs or mind therapy movement."

In 2008, Climate Theater in San Francisco, California showed a play called "The Group", written by Robert Quillen Camp and performed by Ryan Eggensperger.cite web|url=http://www.climatetheater.com/|title=The Group|work=Climate Theater|publisher=www.climatetheater.com|accessdate=2008-06-09] Climate Theater described the play as "Inspired by the largely American tradition of packaging and selling self-empowerment, from EST and the Landmark Forum to Norman Vincent Peale and The Secret". The play's performance ensemble cite "EST and the Landmark Forum" among inspirations for the parody. [cite web|url=http://www.dodeska.com/groupabout.htm|title=THE GROUP May 29 - June 14, 2008|work=Dodeska Performance Ensemble|publisher=www.dodeska.com|accessdate=2008-06-09|date=May 2008] The play is an immersive performance piece, and Robert Quillen Camp explained: "Our aim is to create a fun but ultimate unsettling experience reflecting simultaneous attraction to and repulsion from organizations that promise a better and happier life." [cite web|url=http://www.beyondchron.org/news/index.php?itemid=5722|title=Have a Little est - Have a Little Norman Vincent Peale or Learn The Secret|work=BeyondChron: San Francisco's Alternative Online Daily News|publisher=www.beyondchron.org|accessdate=2008-06-09|date=May 30, 2008|last=Buzzin' Lee Hartgrave] Audience members sit in a circle and wear audio headsets, through which they listen to the charismatic leader's voice and sound effects. [cite web|url=http://www.ebar.com/arts/art_article.php?sec=theatre&article=399|title=Summer stage attractions|work=Bay Area Reporter|date=May 29, 2008|publisher=www.ebar.com|accessdate=2008-06-09|last=Dodds|first=Richard] The production ran from May 29, 2008 to June 14, 2008.

Robert Avila of the "San Francisco Bay Guardian" called "The Group": "in-your-face comedy in a droll send-up of EST-like self-actualization programs," and a spoof of "recent incarnations" including "The Secret" and Landmark Forum.cite web
url=http://www.sfbg.com/entry.php?entry_id=6462&catid=85&l=1|title=Stage listings|work=San Francisco Bay Guardian|publisher=www.sfbg.com|accessdate=2008-06-09|date=June 4, 2008
last=Avila|first=Robert] Avila gave the play a positive review, noting its "inspired writing, sharp humor, and simple yet slick production". In a review of the play for the "San Jose Mercury News", Karen D'Souza wrote: From est to 'The Secret,' this is a playful lampoon of 'healing philosophies'".cite web|url=http://origin.mercurynews.com/arts/ci_9429936|title='The Group,' a witty parody of self-help therapy Ryan Eggensperger is cheesily charismatic as leader in memorable world premiere from Robert Quillen Camp|work=San Jose Mercury News|publisher=origin.mercurynews.com|accessdate=2008-06-09|date=May 30, 2008|last=D'Souza|first=Karen] D'Souza also reviewed the play positively, writing: " Writer-director Robert Quillen Camp slyly pokes fun at reducing the human experience to one-size-fits-all platitudes and besmirching belief systems with "cash-only" workshops." Pat Craig wrote in "Contra Costa Times": "After a lifetime of enduring various human potential programs, from the chanted mantras of transcendental meditation to the institutionalized loathing of est, 'The Group' seems a bit tame for satire to a veteran of the high-profit mind games." [cite web|url=http://www.contracostatimes.com/entertainment/ci_9431597
title=Sly 'Group' creeps up on you|work=Contra Costa Times|publisher=www.contracostatimes.com|accessdate=2008-06-09|date=June 3, 2008|last=Craig|first=Pat] In a review for the "San Francisco Examiner", Leslie Katz described "The Group" as ".one of those parodies that's so good, you almost don't know it's a fake," and commented: "In the end, the show provides excellent therapy. As those who aren't swayed by expensive self-help seminars know, laughter is indeed the best medicine." [cite web|url=http://www.examiner.com/a-1416902~Review__When_positive_thinking_goes_awry.html|title=Review: When positive thinking goes awry|work=San Francisco Examiner|publisher=www.examiner.com|accessdate=2008-06-09|date=May 30, 2008|last=Katz|first=Leslie]

See also

*Human Potential Movement
*Large Group Awareness Training
*Parody religion
*Popular culture
*Religious satire
*Self-help

References

External links

* [http://werner-erhard.com/ Werner Erhard] , Web site of "Friends of Werner Erhard"

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