recently i watched 'the master' a film that could also be titled, 'how memes work' and i'd suggest you rent it asap. apart from the acting, script and brilliant links to the birth of scientology and l ron the film shows us how a frail mind can take on anything, it is only belief that drives the engine.
be prepared for a long drawn out story, as freddie, a lost soul stumbles into the lives of 'the cause,' and it's enigmatic leader, lancaster dodd aka, the master.
the film's ambiguous conclusion leaves us wondering at the effectiveness of the process, especially as freddie is worn down by the repetitive processing that eventually brakes his resistance down. his substance abuse and dysfunctional violent temper battle with the program leaving him in a state of limbo but eventually he reaches the fork in the road and by then it's to late, he has been audited.
although the film is not about scientology the similarities are far to obvious to ignore and the real master in this film are the actors who are magnificent, the leads seem to be a study in contrast, one holds himself inwards the other spirals out, and then there's a point in which they intersect. brilliant film, go see it.