The Secret (2006 film)

Synopsis

The Secret, described as a self-help film, uses a documentary format to present a concept titled "law of attraction". As described in the film, the "Law of Attraction" hypothesis posits that feelings and thoughts can attract events, feelings, and experiences, from the workings of the cosmos to interactions among individuals in their physical, emotional, and professional affairs. The film also suggests that there has been a strong tendency by those in positions of power to keep this central principle hidden from the public.

Teachers of the Law of Attraction

The film includes interviews with individuals who describe themselves as professionals and authors in the fields of quantum physics, psychology, metaphysics, coaching, theology, philosophy, finance, feng shui, medicine, and personal development, who are called "secret teachers". Some of them, on their Web sites, promote the film and their connection to it. A few of the persons with only brief appearances do not speak of the "law of attraction" in their interviews, so their support of the concepts is assumed by viewers.

Persons who focus on the law of attraction who are interviewed in the film and have later been featured on prominent American TV shows are John Assaraf, Michael Beckwith, John Demartini, Bob Proctor, Jack Canfield, James Arthur Ray, Joe Vitale, Lisa Nichols, Marie Diamond, and John Gray. Others involved in the film who have spoken of their strong belief in the Law of Attraction, include Esther Hicks and Jerry Hicks (original edition only), Mike Dooley, David Schirmer, and Marci Shimoff. Others interviewed in the film who voice very similar views without using the phrase "law of attraction" include Lee Brower (Board Member of WorldVuer), Hale Dwoskin, Bob Doyle, Cathy Goodman, Morris E. Goodman, John Hagelin, Bill Harris, Ben Johnson, Loral Langemeier, Denis Waitley, Neale Donald Walsch, John Gray and Fred Alan Wolf.

Historical foundations in New Thought ideas

The authors of The Secret cite the New Thought movement which began in the late 18th century as the historical basis for their ideas.

The New Thought book The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace Wattles, the source Rhonda Byrne cites as inspiration for the film, was preceded by numerous other New Thought books, including the 1906 book Thought Vibration or the law of attraction in the Thought World by William Walker Atkinson, editor of New Thought magazine. Other New Thought books Byrne is purported to have read include self-help authors like Prentice Mulford's 19th-century Thoughts Are Things; and Robert Collier's Secret of the Ages from 1926.

The opening sequences of the film portray the alleged history of The Secret — showing:

Portrayal of ideas preceding the New Thought movement

The Secret website cites the Emerald Tablet, said to be written by Hermes Trismegistus (purportedly a "secret teacher"), as... one of the most important historical documents known to mankind". Byrne posits that the earliest trace of "the secret" occurred in the Emerald Tablet, followed much later by the Rosicrucians — a "secret order that espoused many of the ideas of The Secret." Mention is made of Victor Hugo and Ludwig van Beethoven's supposed membership in the order as well as Isaac Newton's purported work in translating the tablet. However, no evidence has been shown to support this claim.

Carolyn Sackariason of the Aspen Times, when commenting about Byrne's intention to share The Secret with the world, identifies the Rosicrucians as keepers of The Secret:

Neither the words "Emerald Tablet" nor "Rosicrucian" are spoken in the film, however, at key transition points the screen image rapidly zooms in on the word "Rosicrucian".

During these transitions a page is seen containing the quote "the Rosicrucians were a 'secret' Order.

Elements in opening sequences

Many elements pass quickly in the cinematic, historical sequences at the beginning of the film and are not explained or otherwise mentioned in the film (listed in the order in which they appear — excepting Rosicrucian element):

Production

The film was created by Prime Time Productions of Melbourne, Australia with Rhonda Byrne, executive producer; Paul Harrington, producer; and Drew Heriot, director. Gozer Media of Collingwood, a suburb of Melbourne, is the design house responsible for the visual style and feel of the film and book. Byrne's company TS Production LLC, a Hungarian company, is responsible for marketing and distribution of the film and book. Byrne commented about the research she did prior to making the film:

Byrne's inspiration for creating The Secret came from reading the 1910 book The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D. Wattles. The film was done as a project for Australia's Nine Network. Nine put up less than 25% of the $3 million project with additional funding from mortgaging Byrne's home and from an investment by Bob Rainone, "a former Internet executive in Chicago". Rainone became the CEO of one of Byrne's companies, The Secret LLC, and is described by Byrne as "delivered to us from heaven".

Shooting of the interviews was done in July and August 2005 with editing "effectively completed by Christmas time". About 55 teachers and authors were interviewed at locations including Chicago, Aspen, Alaska, and a Mexican Riviera cruise (interviewing Esther Hicks). The film uses 24 of these teachers in the "Extended Edition" of the film. The first edition featured a 25th teacher, Esther Hicks, known "as the most prominent interpreter of the Law of Attraction". Since the first release of the DVD, Esther Hicks declined to continue with the project. Her 10% share of sales netted the Hickses $500,000. As a result of this, scenes with Esther Hicks, are instead narrated by Lisa Nichols and Marci Shimoff. No other "secret teachers" received compensation for their appearance in the film — revealed by Bob Proctor in an interview on Nightline.

Betsy Chasse, one of the producers, directors, and screenwriters for What the Bleep Do We Know!? interviewed Paul Harrington, the co-producer of The Secret. In the interview, Harrington gave this description of Byrne's production methods: "We used the law of attraction during the making of the program. We went very unconventional, in terms of scheduling and budgeting. We allowed things to come to us... We just had faith that things would come to us."

Channel Nine, after viewing the completed film, chose to not broadcast it. A new contract was negotiated with all DVD sales going to Byrne's companies (Prime Time and The Secret LLC). In hindsight, Len Downs of Channel Nine commented, "we looked at it and we didn't deem it as having broad, mass appeal". The film was eventually broadcast by Channel Nine at 10:30 pm on Saturday, 3 February 2007. Downs reported that "it didn't do all that well". The film was sold on DVD and also broadcast online through streaming media.

Packaging

The film has been described as a "slick repackaging" of the Law of Attraction, a concept originating in the New Thought ideas of the late 19th century. In producing the film, the law was intentionally "packaged" with a focus on "wealth enhancement" — differing from the more spiritual orientation of the New Thought Movement. One of the film's backers stated, "we desired to hit the masses, and money is the number one thing on the masses' minds". A review in salon.com described the packaging of the products related to the film as having "a look... that conjures a 'Da Vinci Code' aesthetic, full of pretty faux parchment, quill-and-ink fonts and wax seals.

Choosing to package the film's theme as a "secret" has been called an important component of the film's popularity. Donavin Bennes, a buyer who specializes in metaphysics for Borders Books, stated "We all want to be in on a secret. But to present it as the secret, that was brilliant."

Marketing campaign

The movie was advertised on the Internet using "tease" advertising and viral marketing; techniques in which the specific details of The Secret were not revealed. Additionally, Prime Time Productions granted written permission to individuals or companies, via application at the official site, to provide free screenings of the film to public audiences. Optionally, the DVD may be sold at these screenings.

The Book

A companion book by Rhonda Byrne was published called The Secret (Simon & Schuster, 2006). The Secret was featured on two episodes of Oprah — and as the film reached number one on the Amazon DVD chart in March 2007, the book version of The Secret reached number one on The New York Times bestseller list. For much of February through April 2007, both the book and the DVD versions were #1 or #2 at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Borders. Simon & Schuster released a second printing of 2 million copies of The Secret — "the biggest order for a second printing in its history," while Time reported brisk sales of the DVD through New Age bookstores, and New Thought churches, such as Unity and Agape International Spiritual Center. Like the movie, the book has also experienced a great deal of controversy and criticism for its claims, and has been parodied on several TV shows.

Reception

The Secret has been described as a "self-help phenomenon", a "publishing phenomenon", and a "cultural phenomenon". Some examples of published criticism of the film include "breathless pizzazz" for a tired self-help genre; "emphatically cinematic" and "driven by images and emotions rather than logic"; a blend of Tony Robbins and The Da Vinci Code; and "the Unsolved Mysteries of infomercials".

Several critics wrote about the Secret in relation to self-help in general. Julie Mason, of the Ottawa Citizen, wrote that word of mouth about the film spread through Pilates classes, "get-rich-quick websites" and personal-motivation blogs. Jane Lampman, of the Christian Science Monitor, described The Secret as a brand promoting Secret-related teachers, seminars and retreats. According to Jill Culora, of the New York Post, fans of The Secret have posted on a wide range of blogs and Web forums accounts of how shifting from negative to positive thoughts made big improvements in their lives.

In 2007, The Secret was reportedly being discussed in "e-mails, in chat rooms, around office cubicles, [and] on blind dates". It is recognized as having a broad and varied impact on culture and is likened to a "Hollywood phenomenon".

Criticism

Some critics were bothered by the film's focus on questionable wealth enhancement, including promises that the universe will give you material goods "like having the universe as your catalog."

According to a March 2007 issue of Skeptical Inquirer, the central idea of the film "has [no] basis in scientific reality", despite invoking scientific concepts.

Within businesses using the DVD for employee-training and morale-building, some called it "a gimmick" and "disturbing", like "being indoctrinated into a cult".

Parodies

On May 16, 2007, the concept was parodied on The Chaser's War on Everything, a satirical comedy program on Australia's ABC network. The show analyzed The Secret, testing themes and theories of the film to see whether they worked in real life, including asking for a parking spot and then pulling in to it when a car was already there, and asking the universe for objects in stores and then just taking them. It was the first subject of the segment "Nut Job of the Week".

Legal controversies

In April 2007 actor and Hollywood publicist Ricarte Rivera, founder of Dragon 8 PR, received a letter from The Secret LLC attorneys. Mr. Rivera, who is the first public relations agent to receive a January 3, 2007 call from Harpo Productions about featuring The Secret, was accused of "effectively distributing" their copyrighted material to the public losing them millions of dollars. None of the parties has ever pursued legal action against each other.

The Australian Nine Network's A Current Affair—an Australian TV tabloid show—on 14 May 2007 segment titled, "The Secret Stoush", interviews Australian author Vanessa J. Bonnette. In the interview, Bonnette—when referring to the book version of The Secret—asserts, "that is my work and Rhonda Byrne has stolen it". Bonnette and a reporter compare her book to Byrne's on the use of the "TV transmission" analogy. Bonnette's book, Empowered for the New Era (2003 Empowered For Life) was released in 2007 as a second edition. Bonnette, at her website, claims 100 instances of plagiarism. Byrne's marketing company, TS Production LLC, has responded with a lawsuit to restrain Bonnette. From the statement of claim:

David Schirmer, the "investment guru"—and only Australian—in the film, has his business activities under investigation by the Australian Securities Investment Commission (ASIC). This was reported on 1 June 2007 by A Current Affair in a segment titled "The Secret Con" with those words and The Secret logo appearing in the background behind the newscaster. The show initially confronted Schirmer in a segment titled "The Secret Exposed", aired on 28 May 2007, with complaints from people who say Schirmer owed them money.

On February 12, 2008 Bob Proctor's company, LifeSuccess Productions, L.L.C. successfully sued "investment guru" David Schirmer, his wife Lorna, and their several companies (including LifeSuccess Pacific Rim PTY LTD, Schirmer Financial Management PTY LTD, LifeSuccess Productions PTY LTD, Excellence in Marketing PTY LTD, and Wealth By Choice PTY LTC) for "misleading or deceptive conduct".

In August 2008, The Australian reported that Drew Heriot (director) and Dan Hollings (Internet consultant for The Secret) were in a legal dispute with Rhonda Byrne over pay from the project.

Film footage featuring Esther Hicks was removed from the later "Extended Edition" of The Secret after film's creator Rhonda Byrne rescinded the original contract covering Hicks' participation.

Releases

Paul Harrington, the producer for the film, reported that broadcast TV—instead of the Internet—was initially planned as the medium for the first release:

Release dates

The Secret premiere was broadcast through the Internet on March 23, 2006 using Vividas technology. It is still available either on a pay-per-view basis via streaming media (or on DVD at the official site for the film). A new extended edition of The Secret was released to the public on October 1, 2006. The Australian television premiere was on Nine Network on Saturday, February 3, 2007.

Future releases and spin-offs

Plans were announced in 2007 to produce a sequel to The Secret and a spin-off TV series. It has also been announced that a fiction film is in production based on The Secret, which will star Katie Holmes as the main character.