Louis Theroux

[[File:Louis Theroux at Nordiske Mediedager 2009.jpg|right|thumb|165px|Louis Theroux in 2009.]]{{media}}
'''Louis Theroux''' {{lived|1970}} is an British/American film-maker who has produced a series of documentaries for the [[BBC]], usually featuring persons most would consider strange, worryingly odd, downright disturbing or outright nuts. As a documentarian, his work is a bit uneven; while he's neither that gullible or plagued by [[false balance]], he can be a bit facile in the treatment of his subjects and has elements of voyeurism. He comes from a family of authors: he is the son of the prolific travel writer {{wpl|Paul Theroux||,}} his uncles are the writers {{wpl|Peter Theroux}} and {{wpl|Alexander Theroux||,}} and he is the brother of the novelist {{wpl|Marcel Theroux||.}}

==''Weird Weekends''==
Theroux cut his journalistic teeth on [[Michael Moore]]'s ''TV Nation''; when Fox canned the show in 1995 the BBC (the co-producer) effectively spun-off/extended his segments into ''Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends''. Over seventeen episodes (over three series) he visited the 'genuinely odd in the most ordinary setting', primarily in the United States. 'Weekends' of specific interest to the mission of RationalWiki include a [[Fundamentalist Christianity|fundamentalist Christian]] cult, [[Ufology]] and "[[Contactee|contactees]]", [[Bo Gritz]] and his [[Survivalism|survivalist]] [[militia movement|militia]], the [[Aryan Nations]], the South African [[Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging]], [[Black supremacy|Black supremacists]] (particularly [[Black Hebrew Israelites]]), Indian [[Guru|Gurus]] (feat: [[Deepak Chopra]]), [[hypnotism]] and an early sighting of [[Pick-up artist|pick up artists]]. Slightly amusingly, it also led him to appearing in ''other'' people's works; such as a paper-shredder infomercial and a (non-sexual) cameo in a porn film.<ref>[https://archive.is/ZZaHs Take A Peak] ''Internet Adult Film Database'', 1997</ref>

Produced from between 1996-1999, the whole collection together provides an interesting capsule of some of the subcultures seen in the USA in the 90s. This feeling was echoed by Theroux himself when he revisited some of his subjects (not all featured in WW itself - such as [[Heaven's Gate]] survivors) in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 in his book ''Call of the Weird''.<ref>[https://archive.is/wAxzj Back on the Road, Tracking the Red, White and Odd] ''The New York Times'', 7 Fenurary 2007.</ref> Some twenty-five years later, Theroux described his earlier self as 'a bit of a tool' but also wonders whether it was a show which only a tool ''could'' have made.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/aug/24/i-was-definitely-a-bit-of-a-tool-louis-theroux-on-25-years-of-documentary-making 'I was definitely a bit of a tool': Louis Theroux on 25 years of documentary-making] ''The Guardian'', 24 August 2020.</ref>

== BBC Two Specials ==
From 2003 onwards, Theroux has produced (as of 2024) fifty hour-long standalone documentaries - same principles as the ''Weird Weekends'', but often more serious in tone. Over the two decades he has 'met' (amongst others) a variety of white nationalists (including [[Tom Metzger]] and the {{wpl|Prussian Blue (duo)|Prussian Blue}} girls), the [[Fred Phelps|Westboro Baptist Church]],<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/mar/24/pastor-fred-phelps-westboro-baptist-church-louis-theroux Pastor Fred Phelps: 'An angry, bigoted man who thrived on conflict'] ''The Guardian'', 24 March 2014</ref> convicted [[paedophiles]], ultra-Zionists in the West Bank, [[transgender]] children, terminally ill persons planning to [[Euthanasia|end their lives]] and the [[Alt-right|alt-right]].

One of the more interesting documentaries was ''Savile'', where Theroux himself (partly) becomes the subject when he re-evaluates his own work and interactions with the veteran entertainer after he was revealed to have been a {{wpl|Jimmy_Savile_sexual_abuse_scandal|prolific, predatory sex offender}} (unfortunately, after Savile's death).

==His Scientology movie==
His 2015 documentary ''My Scientology Movie''<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5111874/ ''My Scientology Movie'']. IMDB.</ref> provided an entertaining look at the shenanigans of (unsurprisingly) the [[Church of Scientology]]. 

Reviews were somewhat mixed; that while it was interesting and 'watchable' it was hardly a fresh exposé of the cult.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/oct/06/my-scientology-movie-review-louis-theroux-gets-smart-with-the-cult-church My Scientology Movie review – Louis Theroux gets smart with the cult church] ''The Guardian'', 6 October 2016</ref> However, it was produced from an interesting angle; to make re-enactments of past events ''regarding'' Scientology on Los Angeles soundstages, then film the cult's 'strikeback' once the news leaked back to them.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/14/louis-theroux-my-scientology-movie-i-felt-like-id-been-blooded My Scientology Movie by Louis Theroux: 'I felt like I’d been blooded'] ''The Guardian'', 14 October 2015</ref>

==External links==
*[https://www.louistheroux.com/ His own site.]
*[https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/group/p06k7x37 Most of Theroux's BBC work, via iPlayer.] (A UK VPN may be required).

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

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[[Category:British people]]
[[Category:Media]]
[[Category:Journalists]]
[[Category:Film-makers]]
[[Category:Living people]]

Categories: British people, Media, Journalists, Film-makers, Living people