Video blogger and web producer Evan Puschak aka The Nerdwriter took a truly insightful look at the brilliant 2012 P.T. Anderson film The Master and compared that with his own experience with Scientology, particularly around one scene. Within that scene, Puschak made note of how Lancaster Dodd (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), the charismatic leader of the group, utilized intense psychological manipulation on Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix) closely mirrors the widely utilized auditing practice in Scientology.
PT Anderson has always been careful to say that The Master is not an exact retelling of Scientology’s founding similarities in character eeling and technique are hard to deny. For example the processing scene bears an unmistakable resemblance to a vital activity within Scientology called auditing. …In The Master scene, Lancaster Dodd played by Philip Seymour hoffman is the auditor and Freddy played by Joaquin Phoenix is the pre-clear.
