I wrote about the Science and Entertainment Exchange yesterday, and now they’ve posted a video from their recent meeting. It features some notable folks giving their opinions on science in the movies, and it’s well worth a few minutes of your time.
Seth MacFarlane rocks. And so does SEE. This is a group of folks I really support. I’d love to see their influence only increase!
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Phil Plait, the creator of Bad Astronomy, is an astronomer, lecturer, and author. After ten years working on Hubble Space Telescope and six more working on astronomy education, he struck out on his own as a writer. He has written two books, dozens of magazine articles, and 12 bazillion blog articles. He is a skeptic, and fights misuses of science as well as praising the wonder of real science.
Contact me: The Bad Astronomer "at" gmail "dot" com
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June 19th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
Ah, the artist-scientist. Is there a more beautiful archetype in the lexicon of human mythology? What an inspiring video. I’m going to go write something.
June 19th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
Very inspiring, Phil. Thanks for posting.
June 19th, 2009 at 3:11 pm
Here’s hoping they can do some good work. The world of Hollywood badly needs it.
June 19th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
Seth MacFarlane does rock! I also liked the clip of Neil deGrasse Tyson describing what we are made of…I described that very topic this morning in my astronomy class; surely not as well as he did, but I tried
Regardless, I wish SEE well…this is certainly a good idea
June 19th, 2009 at 3:42 pm
Unfortunately, the ones who will need the most convincing are the executive producers and studio executives – the people most influential in terms of production approval and financing.
(”Science is so boring to the masses. We want more drama/car chases/crashes/explosions and to hell with science accuracy!”)
June 19th, 2009 at 3:55 pm
MacFarlane is a smart guy and I was impressed with him when he appeared on “Real Time with Bill Maher” — too bad he cranks out craptoons like “Family Guy” and “American Dad”. I wonder how lowbrow humor inspires the scientific minds of the next generation.
June 19th, 2009 at 4:30 pm
Glad that it said in the video “Entertainment Professionals.”
That leaves out Michael Bay and Roland Emmerich (especially them).
June 19th, 2009 at 4:32 pm
Who says science is boring, didn’t you see the film clip where Phil detonates some explosives to prove a point about how much anti-matter we’ve created? (can’t remember the show though). Although I have to criticize that the spot was missing a car chase and drama. I guess it could have been better if Phil was explaining the whole event to his wife while being chased by police in a car.
June 19th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
” I wonder how lowbrow humor inspires the scientific minds of the next generation.”
As a fan of low-brow humor, and Family Guy, I can tell you one way Seth McFarlane’s work inspires future scientists: it shows them the sort of life they’d lead if they were stupid enough to think science isn’t important. Family Guy is forever skewering irrational pop thinking, from mindless “believers” in religion, quackery or group-think, to celebrity worship and idiotic television “news.”
And besides, to quote Peter Griffin himself, “It’s a cartoon!”
June 19th, 2009 at 5:53 pm
Phil detonates some explosives to prove a point about how much anti-matter we’ve created? (can’t remember the show though)
National Geographic – Naked Science – How To Kill A Planet
(which I’ve burned onto DVD along with What Time Is It? – Brian Cox, host)
J/P=?
June 19th, 2009 at 10:30 pm
That made me smile on a crappy day – thanks!
June 20th, 2009 at 6:42 am
Speaking of bad science and its even worse corollary, Bad Science fiction, I watched Primeval last night (likely for the very last time) and all I can say about that show is BAD writers, bad, bad, BAAADDDD WRITERS.( It’s a good thing I wasn’t wearing shoes, because now I would have no TV)
I watch SciFi even when it’s bad, because I keep hoping it will improve. If I had three thumbs, Primeval would receive three thumbs down. The worst part of this is, the actors are doing a respectable job but the writers should be sent to live in the Texas panhandle, w/o air conditioning,,,
I tolerated the bad writing on SmallVille for their first two seasons because it was,,, Super Dude(though I only dropped in about every third show). Eventually, their writers were either replaced or else graduated from high school and the stories became tolerable but Primeval has no prior claim on my affections so,,,BAD WRITERS!!!
Three thumbs down,,,
GAry 7
June 20th, 2009 at 9:19 am
I’d take it more seriously if Zucker wasn’t involved with this.
June 20th, 2009 at 9:34 am
BJN and kuhnigget -
While it may be “just a cartoon” it deeply, subconsciously effects people as do all cleverly concocted imagery. Concepts like Peter Griffin and his daughter making out and sleeping together are common ( featured in a recent episode) and are repulsive and should be classified as child pornography (Meg is 13 in the “cartoon”). When incest and sex with kids enters the everyday vernacular at the American Dinner table, just because its in “just a cartoon,” we have some pretty being problems.
Seth claims to “put a mirror in the face of the society” and that is why people do not like his cartoons. One of his cartoons has nothing but the real Seth interacting with viewers, may of which he openly mocks. The reality Seth is putting a picture in the face of society, and guess what? Its the picture of what he wants society to be.
June 20th, 2009 at 11:12 am
One thing that always gets me is that people say that in the original Day the Earth Stood Still, Klaatu warns humans we’d better stop our warring ways. But he specifically doesn’t say that; he makes a point of saying that whatever we do on our own planet is our own affair and they have no intention of interfering with it… unless we bring that behavior off-planet. In which case we’re toast — literally.
Haven’t these people ever watched the movie?
June 20th, 2009 at 11:20 am
Hmm… nobody here has noticed the spelling error in that video; between 0.23 and 0.26, the caption reads:
P.S. Anybody who doesn’t like Family Guy, has no sense of humour.
June 21st, 2009 at 6:06 am
It’s a good topic. I was chatting to Jennifer Ouellette on The Skeptic Zone Podcast about it. I am never too sure how far to take it however. But in the end, Phil does good reviews.
June 21st, 2009 at 7:59 am
I loved this. I teach eighth-grade science and I have to drop as much pop culture as possible into my presentations and activities just to grab the kids’ attention enough to hook them into the content (for example, I’ve taught Newton’s Laws using “Jackass” clips), so if a formal relationship between the two worlds is blooming, it’s a good thing for science education.
June 21st, 2009 at 3:45 pm
[...] Science and Entertainment Exchange… from their mouths | Bad … [...]
June 21st, 2009 at 4:30 pm
@ Wha?
While it may be “just a cartoon” it deeply, subconsciously effects people as do all cleverly concocted imagery.
As does every single object, person, place, book, movie, record, etc. that one encounters throughout one’s life. Although I may quibble about the “deeply, subconsciously” part.
Concepts like Peter Griffin and his daughter making out and sleeping together are common ( featured in a recent episode) and are repulsive and should be classified as child pornography (Meg is 13 in the “cartoon”).
Actually, Meg is 16 in the cartoon. And every episode of Family Guy begins with a large, mandated by law warning, with graphics and audio, that ticks off exactly what the viewer can expect: adult language, situations, cartoon violence and sex. That’s why it’s on at 9 pm. And that’s why anyone who would have a problem with children watching the show has ample warning. Of course that’s not enough for some people, who would rather Big Nanny take care of their children for them.
Repulsive? That’s the point! Maybe you’d prefer it if Fox were to air concerts by teenage heartthrobs who earn their parent corporations millions of dollars by selling sex to prepubescent girls? Oh, wait…that’s the Disney Channel and the Jonas Brothers.
When incest and sex with kids enters the everyday vernacular at the American Dinner table, just because its in “just a cartoon,” we have some pretty being problems.
Is that what you talk about around your dinner table? You might want to look into your own family’s issues before proscribing what others can and cannot watch on TV.
Seth claims to “put a mirror in the face of the society” and that is why people do not like his cartoons.
Actually, Family Guy scores consistently high in the ratings. I’d say quite a few people like his cartoons.
One of his cartoons has nothing but the real Seth interacting with viewers, may of which he openly mocks.
I guess you missed it, but at the beginning of the episode you’re referring to, McFarlane makes it quite clear the whole show is satire, down to his description of himself as just another “Hollywood millionaire.” Maybe the sarcasm light wasn’t working on your TV.
The reality Seth is putting a picture in the face of society, and guess what? Its the picture of what he wants society to be.
Yes, he wants society to be full of morbidly obese, borderline retarded, flatulence-obsessed, beer-guzzling, New Englanders. Oh, and talking dogs who drink like a fish. Ehyup.
June 21st, 2009 at 7:52 pm
Phil,
This would be good to bring up during one of the D*C panels.
June 22nd, 2009 at 1:53 am
This is a noble gesture by some knowledgeable people, but do you really think producers, directors and writers are going to risk looking like the ignoramuses (ignorami?) they are by consulting a group who might know more than them about the actual way something works? You should see the airliner buffs pick movies like “Turbulence” and “Air Force One” to pieces. Ditto rail fans and movies like “Silver Streak” (thanks to Mr Westinghouse and others, detatched portions of trains do not continue rolling out of control once the brake hoses part). If they can’t even get that right, what hope have they got with any sort of scientific concept?
June 23rd, 2009 at 5:32 am
No, they’re not common. Not even close. In fact, it has never happened. That one time you refer to, it wasn’t either Peter, or Meg. They were different characters in a side-story, and not even related.
June 23rd, 2009 at 9:29 pm
[...] Science and Entertainment Exchange… from their mouths | Bad … [...]
June 23rd, 2009 at 9:59 pm
I can’t believe I’m the only one that’s latched on to the whole “scientist on speed dial” thing”. This may actually lead to a more accurate portrayal of science in television and movies. Better yet, with these people making themselves available, writers & directors have no excuse, save pure laziness, for not taking advantage of such a resource. Very cool.
July 29th, 2009 at 7:00 am
[...] The former was the reason Discover Magazine sent me; the panel was sponsored by them as well as by the Science and Entertainment Exchange. It featured panelists Jaime Paglia and Kevin Grazier (the executive producer and science advisor [...]