Revolt in The Stars - Analysis

Analysis

In The Encyclopedic Sourcebook of UFO Religions, James R. Lewis cites Revolt in the Stars when comparing Hubbard's science fiction works to Scientology. "Scientology in itself would also be an interesting case for studying 'ufological' strands - e.g., the relation between L. Ron Hubbard's science fiction novels and the Whole Track mythology, which is probably most evident in the case of Hubbard's unpublished novel Revolt in the Stars," writes Lewis. Revolt in the Stars is cited in New Religions: A Guide, in a subsection on "Non apocalyptic ufology": "According to Scientology, a fierce intergalactic ruler named 'Xenu' carried the thetans to Earth". The author finds it interesting that L. Ron Hubbard explored the story of the "ancient ruler Xenu" further in the form of Revolt in the Stars.

The Washington Post reported that "The plot of 'Revolt' mirrors a sacred Scientology text called "'OT III'." Former Scientologist Gerry Armstrong said that the screenplay story is identical to the Scientology space opera theology, and in his book Bare-faced Messiah author Russell Miller described Revolt in the Stars as "...a dramatization of high-level Scientology training about events which happened seventy-five million years ago when an evil ruler by the name of Xenu massacred the populations of seventy-six planets, transported their frozen spirits back to earth and exploded them in volcanoes".

Jim Emerson, editor of the Roger Ebert website hosted by The Chicago Sun-Times, compared elements of the Xenu story and Revolt in the Stars to the 2005 film remake War of the Worlds starring Scientologist Tom Cruise. Emerson noted that some critics drew parallels between War of the Worlds and Scientology mythology. In a January 2008 article in Frankfurter Rundschau, Christian Schlüter commented on the screenplay and recounted the Xenu story. Schlüter wrote that the Scientology mythology was appropriate for cinema and fit into the environment of Hollywood.