The comedian Mathieu Cyr builds a new “character” before our eyes for the needs of documentary reality How to Become a Guruwhich arrives this Tuesday on the Vrai platform.
This four-part production was voted one of the most promising shows worldwide by Fresh TV at MIPCOM after its trailer was discovered by The Wit organization.
The episodes show us how Mathieu Cyr, who graduated from the National School of Humor in 2007, constructs a narrative to transform himself into a guru, a species that is becoming more and more widespread on social networks.
To create a guide that champions well-being, the forty-year-old, who is also a speaker and author (actually), draws on his girlfriend of the last three years, Ashley-Jade Lussier, who is also his manager and producer of his shows.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY VRAI
“The goal was really to see people come on board with a vague message. We say all the time that we can help, but without giving anything. Everything is wind. “We wanted to show how easy it is to create an image in digital media and say, ‘Look how I can do it!’ And then, with fake subscribers and fake likes, to create a real buzz about it,” he explained.
In the first two episodes seen by the QMI agency, Mathieu and Ashley-Jade agree that he needs to change his wardrobe and be more zen during the 16-week experiment in order to convince as many followers as possible to adopt his approach three Pillars: health, social network and money.
He therefore suggests organizing conferences to share the fruits of his experiences with as many people as possible. “It’s scary to see thousands of people joining the movement even though they didn’t even know what they were getting into and I didn’t even know what I was offering them. But by cajoling them in the right direction, everything developed,” said Mathieu Cyr.
Hesitate
Mathieu Cyr admitted he hesitated before embarking on this human adventure, as “disturbing as it is enriching,” because he feared that his admirers would not understand his approach to documentary reality, saying he had production “has its limits set”. Especially because he gives real lectures in connection with his book “Never Too Late” and is interested in his career as a comedian, continuing his “Before the End of the World” tour with his accomplice Olivier Martineau.
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How to Become a Guru allows you to follow the making of a guru from within and gives voice to experts such as sociologist and professor Martin Geoffroy, director of the Center for Expertise and Training on Religious Fundamentalisms, Political Ideology and Radicalization ( CEFIR). The series also looks back at cases linked to the excesses of gurus, including that of Chantal Lavigne, who died during an esoteric sweating exercise in 2011.
Sense of urgency
Mathieu Cyr also asks an accomplice to give credibility to the exercise and convince other followers to adopt his speech, as a true guru would do. Over time, he realizes that he needs to switch gears and create a “sense of urgency” to attract more attention.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY VRAI
To find out whether Mathieu Cyr really offered conferences as a guru, you have to watch the series produced by Martin Paquette until the end. But he says that “people were boarding at a hundred miles an hour!” and warns that “no one is safe from spiritual leaders and other life coaches.”
Produced by Pixcom in collaboration with Quebecor Content, the reality documentary “How to Become a Guru” is available on Vrai from Tuesday, October 24th.