At first glance you wouldn’t think anything bad about a place called the School of Philosophy and Economic Science. Even less so if it was founded in 1938 and has expanded across dozens of countries. What could possibly be wrong with an organization that offers classes for adults on all kinds of subjects? Well, the thing is that beneath the surface there’s a cult based on Advaita Vedanta, a Hindu religion that led them to embrace repressive values, traditional gender roles and, of course, a harsh sexual morality. Are you wondering who could fall for something like that? Well, let me introduce you to Emily Watson.
Breaking the Waves, leaving it all behind
After appearing in several plays, Watson got her first big leading role in 1996, when Helena Bonham Carter left Breaking the Waves and they didn’t hesitate to call her. It would’ve been cause for celebration anywhere, but not at the School of Philosophy and Economic Science, where she was forced to cut all ties and leave under duress, since nobody wanted her to take part in a film.
“It was a rupture. That’s where I grew up, where my friends were, and I walked away. I was desperately sad, but I also felt like my heart was soaring. An incredible sense of freedom. I knew at that moment that I had to believe in that feeling, because my true inner self sent me down the right path. But that feeling of rupture, when there’s a kind of nuclear explosion and an exposure to light and energy… All of that is in the film. In part it works because of that, because I was a cable being unplugged”, she says. And no, obviously she’s never looked back. She was nominated for Best Actress at the Oscars, how could she?
You might be curious to know what they told her at the school, and it’s worth spelling out because anyone could tell she was in a cult: “I knew I had an affinity with this character. There’s an interesting part to this story: when I told the leaders I was going to make a film and they asked me what it was about, they told me in no uncertain terms that I wasn’t going to make it. They told me to go off and follow that unworthy path”. That’s what she did, and look at her now: Who wants cults when you’ve got success?
