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The Dream Refinery: Psychics, Spirituality and Hollywood in Los Angeles

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The Dream Refinery: Psychics, Spirituality and Hollywood in Los Angeles The Dream Refinery: Psychics, Spirituality and Hollywood in Los Angeles by Spencer Dwight Orey Department of Cultural Anthropology Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Louise Meintjes, Supervisor ___________________________ Engseng Ho ___________________________ Charles Piot ___________________________ Priscilla Wald Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Cultural Anthropology in the Graduate School of Duke University 2016 ABSTRACT The Dream Refinery: Psychics, Spirituality and Hollywood in Los Angeles by Spencer Dwight Orey Department of Cultural Anthropology Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Louise Meintjes, Supervisor ___________________________ Engseng Ho ___________________________ Charles Piot ___________________________ Priscilla Wald An abstract of a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Cultural Anthropology in the Graduate School of Duke University 2016 Copyright by Spencer Dwight Orey 2016 Abstract This ethnography examines the relationship between mass-mediated aspirations and spiritual practice in Los Angeles. Creative workers like actors, producers, and writers come to L.A. to pursue dreams of stardom, especially in the Hollywood film and television media industries. For most, a “big break” into their chosen field remains perpetually out of reach despite their constant efforts. Expensive workshops like acting classes, networking events, and chance encounters are seen as keys to Hollywood success. Within this world, rumors swirl of big breaks for devotees in the city’s spiritual and religious organizations. For others, it is in consultations with local spiritual advisors like professional psychics that they navigate everyday decisions of how to achieve success in Hollywood. As Hollywood attracts creative workers, the longstanding spiritual economy in its shadow attracts spiritual practitioners from around the world, some of whom seek to launch high-profile spiritual careers for themselves by advising other dreamers in Los Angeles. At stake is how contemporary spiritual organizations and media industries co- create mass aspirations that circulate globally and become lucrative projects in the pursuit of their fulfillment in Los Angeles. Taking up Hortense Powdermaker’s famous description of Hollywood as a “dream factory,” I call attention to the “dream refinery” at work throughout Los Angeles. Through attention to spirituality, I examine how mass- mediated aspirations become embodied by individuals and then made into local projects that can be refined, influenced, and transformed. Hollywood has long been closed for iv ethnographic access. My work shows that Hollywood and its global influence can be accessed through para-industries to Hollywood. In the shadow of Hollywood, many people and industries work on the dreams of aspirational individuals. By foregrounding spirituality in Los Angeles as a spiritual economy made up of interconnected industries, I examine the historical and contemporary proliferation of spiritual groups, practitioners, and professionals in Los Angeles. Tracking the work of professionals like psychics who work on the dreams of their clients, I follow the dreams and struggles of aspirational individuals in Los Angeles. I examine the consequences that turning to spirituality can have on dreams, the worlds that emerge out of imbuing aspirations with spirituality, and various forms through which spiritual industries appeal to aspirational populations. Based on longterm ethnographic fieldwork with professional psychics, spiritual practitioners, media professionals, and Hollywood hopefuls, my research examines the spiritual economy of Hollywood dreams in Los Angeles. v Contents Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iv List of Figures .................................................................................................................... xi Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... xii Introduction: Dreams in Los Angeles ................................................................................. 1 Prelude: Big Breaks ...................................................................................................... 1 The Dream Refinery ..................................................................................................... 2 Anthropology of Spirituality in L.A. ............................................................................ 8 Anthropology of Hollywood in L.A. .......................................................................... 15 Terms: Spirituality and Psychics ................................................................................ 19 Ethnographic Writing .................................................................................................. 22 Tarot as Ethnographic Theory .................................................................................... 26 Ethnographic Theory as Tarot .................................................................................... 28 Chapter Descriptions ................................................................................................... 30 Studying Dreams in L.A. ............................................................................................ 32 Chapter 1: Psychics of Los Angeles ................................................................................. 35 Introduction: The Spiritual Economy of Los Angeles and the Industry of Psychics .. 35 The Industry of Psychics ............................................................................................. 38 Tarot Lessons: Movie Stars, Magic, and Spirituality ................................................. 46 The Shifting Legality of the Psychic Industry in L.A. ................................................ 56 Tarot Lessons: Spiritual Modality of Healing ............................................................ 60 Appropriation and Intellectual Property: Problems of Politics in Spirituality ............ 63 vi Tarot Lessons: First Lessons ....................................................................................... 68 Holding Space: Working on Dreams .......................................................................... 83 Tarot Lessons Continue .............................................................................................. 86 Spiritual Organizations: Desires, Dreams, and Money ............................................... 89 Tarot Lessons: Chapter Epilogue ................................................................................ 97 Interlude: The Stars Down to Earth ................................................................................ 103 Chapter 2: Psychic Work ................................................................................................ 105 Introduction: The Subject and Scope of Psychic Work ............................................ 105 Section 1: Psychic Work and Intuition ..................................................................... 111 Assembling a Spiritual Bookstore ............................................................................ 111 Seeing Like a Psychic: The Sense of Intuition ......................................................... 126 Psychic Work as a Theory of Assistance .................................................................. 139 Section 2: Teaching and Learning Psychic Work ..................................................... 146 Tarot Lessons Continue ............................................................................................ 146 Learning Psychic Work ............................................................................................. 157 Tarot Lessons: Energy Politics and Reversals .......................................................... 171 Psychics Sans Frontières: Ethics in Psychic Work ................................................... 177 Embodying Intuition, Integrating Spirituality ........................................................... 180 Conclusion: Developing Intuition and Working on Dreams .................................... 183 Epilogue: Super Moons and Wishes ......................................................................... 185 Interlude: The Muse ........................................................................................................ 188 Chapter 3: Monstrous Consequences of Psychic Work .................................................. 190 Prelude: Demons ....................................................................................................... 191 vii Chapter Introduction: Consequence .......................................................................... 199 Series 1: Desire ......................................................................................................... 211 Volition ................................................................................................................... 211 Balance .................................................................................................................... 214 Persuasion ..............................................................................................................
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