Enlighten Us

Admittedly, spending 90 minutes in the presence of a charlatan, sociopath and murderer is not an easy watch. But this isn't a review of James Arthur Ray, who is a true and unparalleled exemplar of sleazebagism at its sleazebaggiest. This is a review of the documentary itself, which as others have pointed out quite eloquently, is a brilliant and very nuanced evocation of just how repulsive and predatory the "self-improvement" industry is, and even more fascinating, how utterly gullible, needy, and delusional its benighted victims are, collectively forking over billions of dollars each year to the coffers of soulless amoral con men like Ray. I turned this documentary off more than a couple of times in total disgust - but I kept turning it back on until I watched it to the end. And I ultimately came away from it with great respect for the director, who, as others have pointed out, managed to convict its subject with his own words alone, without one syllable of voice-over narrative. As H. L. Mencken pointed out many years ago, "No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public."