Will Smith's After Earth premiered this last weekend to embarrassing reviews and lackluster profits. Another set of thorns in the side of the M. Night Shyamalan directed flick are suspicions that the story is rooted in Scientology.
While Smith has never officially announced being a part of Scientology, his connections are assumed from numerous reports of large donations to the church. The Huffington Post has published numerous articles on Smith's support of Scientology along with his denial of being part of it.
However, the questions behind his actual ties to the church have not stopped speculation that After Earth, which premiered last week, is a thinly veiled piece of Scientology propaganda. According to Salon, Smith came up with the idea of the movie and was given credit for the story.
In fact, IGN reports that many of the themes of the movie tie into Dianetics, which is a book written by the religion's founder, sci-fi writer L. Ron Hubbard.
Matt Patches, a critic for Vulture breaks down the movie's connections to Scientology thoroughly. The movie's tagline, "Danger is real, fear is a choice," seems to be a reference to the Scientology beliefs regarding emotions. However, the connections he uncovers go beyond theme. Among other overt references, the volcano present in the movie appears to be an homage to Dianetics.
Meanwhile, Gawker refutes the claims that the film is a Scientology Trojan horse. In another point-by-point analysis, they say After Earth pulls from traditional sci-fi fare, not Hubbard's work.
So the ballot is out on whether After Earth is actually Scientology propaganda. But the debates, along with harsh reviews, seems to be impacting ticket sales.