Boycott War of the Worlds / Tom Cruise

Dear Mr. Spielberg,

We protest Tom Cruise’s use of War of the Worlds’ publicity to disparage the psychological and psychiatric communities without regard to the damage this may do to the millions of people who struggle with mental illness.

Brooke Shields wrote a book to educate people about postpartum depression (PPD), prompting a series of attacks from  Cruise.  He has repeatedly blasted Shields in the media, saying that “there is no such thing as a chemical imbalance” and referring to medications including antidepressants and stimulants used to treat ADHD as “mind-altering, antipsychotic drugs.”  He also said:

When you talk about postpartum, you can take people today, women, and what you do is you use vitamins.  There is a hormonal thing that is going on, scientifically, you can prove that.  But when you talk about emotional, chemical imbalances in people, there is no science behind that.  You can use vitamins to help a woman through those things” (Wenn, 2005). 

When Today host Matt Lauer confronted Cruise about his behavior, Cruise refused to explain his stance, relying on vague, deprecating statements such as “Matt. Matt, Matt, you don’t even — you’re glib.  You don’t even know what Ritalin is. If you start talking about chemical imbalance, you have to evaluate and read the research papers on how they came up with these theories, Matt, okay?”

As stated in the American Psychiatric Association’s June 28, 2004 response to Cruise, “Rigorous, published, peer-reviewed research clearly demonstrates that treatment works.”  This research is corroborated by experiences such as Shields’ and the “many women who have told me their stories and thanked me for opening up about a topic that is often not discussed because of fear, shame or lack of support and information” (Shields, 2005). 

For example, a report created for the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research states, “more than 80 studies prove newer antidepressant drugs are more efficacious than placebo [a placebo is essentially a sugar pill] for treating adults with major depression” and “two selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors [antidepressants]…are efficacious for treating adults with dysthymia [; this is demonstrated by studies that show that] response rates for active treatment were 59 percent compared to 37 percent for placebo” (Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, 1999). 

Hundreds of studies have demonstrated the efficacy of antidepressants and stimulants for the treatment of ADHD, particularly when these treatments are combined with psychotherapy (APA, 1994).  In addition, Cruise’s use of the word “antipsychotic” is incorrect.  Antipsychotics are used to treat individuals who are experiencing sensory and ideational phenomena that have no basis in objective reality.  Modern antipsychotics are used to help people who suffer from disorders such as schizophrenia (which is believed by many to be due to a chemical imbalance related to dopamine) live more normal lives; they are also used as mood stabilizers for people who suffer from psychotic symptoms in the manic phase of bipolar I disorder.

While we appreciate that the United States was built on ideologies including religious freedom and freedom of speech, and while we believe that everyone has the right to exercise these principles, it is irresponsible for Cruise to use his fame and power to disseminate misinformation.  Cruise’s statement that “vitamins, exercise and various things” (which seem to include Scientology) are the ONLY appropriate treatments for psychological conditions is ludicrous.  Psychiatry is not a “pseudoscience.”  Pseudosciences claim to be scientific, but they are not based on empirical scientific research or peer review, and they are not open to those who question or oppose their statements – in fact, Scientology is the epitome of a pseudoscience (Operation Clambake, 2005).  Unlike psychiatry, Scientology functions under a cloak of secrecy, going so far as to take legal action against those who try to inform the public about the church’s practices (Miller, 2005).  Frankly, Cruise is welcome to whatever religion he chooses to practice – but when he uses it to defame legitimate sciences that have helped millions of people, he is using his power to harm others.

Given that Mr. Cruise has chosen to use the $128 million War of the Worlds as his platform to espouse his views, we will be boycotting the film to demonstrate our protest of his statements and behavior.

Sincerely,

References:

Agency for Health Care Policy and Research. (1999). Treatment of Depression—Newer Pharmacotherapies. Summary, Evidence Report/Technology Assessment. http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/epcsums/deprsumm.htm

American Psychological Association. (1994).  The efficacy of psychotherapy.  http://www.apa.org/practice/peff.html

Miller, E. (2005).  Sherman, set the Wayback Machine for Scientology.  LawMeme (Yale Law School). http://research.yale.edu/lawmeme/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=350

Operation Clambake. (2005).  http://www.xenu.net/.

Shields, B. (2005),  War of words.  New York Times.  http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/01/opinion/01shields.html

Today Show. (2005).  I’m passionate aqbout life. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8343367/page/3/.  Interview transcript.

Wenn.  (2005). Cruise slams Shields’ drug use.  http://www.hollywood.com/news/detail/article/2440860