The Principle

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'''''The Principle''''' is a [[Bullshit|documentary]] and project of noted [[Traditionalist Catholicism|traditionalist Catholic]] [[crank]], [[Robert Sungenis]], dealing with Sungenis' current hobby horse, [[modern geocentrism]] first released on the 24th October 2014. In comparison to much of Sungenis' work, the film seems to have distinctly crisp production values, along with a cast of famous personalities providing narration. This isn't to say that the movie looks ''good'', only that it looks much better than the astronomy clip art and watermarked stock photos often used on [http://galileowaswrong.com/your-biceps-are-too-small-mr-big-bang/ Sungenis' blog]. It also isn't to say that all of the involved personalities knew what they were providing audio for… or even the fact Sungenis was involved.

==General overview==
The eponymous principle appears to be the "Copernican principle", the idea that the [[Earth]] is not at the center of the [[Universe]] and is, in fact, not all that special. Needless to say, the film is dedicated to debunking this principle, and proving that the world [[Human exceptionalism|and humanity]] are in fact at the center of everything. It is the basis of the infamous geocentrist tome, also by Sungenis, ''Galileo Was Wrong'',<ref>''Galileo Was Wrong'' by Robert A. Sungenis & Robert J. Bennett (2015) CAI Publishing, 11<sup>th</sup> ed. ISBN 1939856604.</ref> the title of which strongly suggests that it is chock-full of [[wingnut|wingnuttery]]. While the film has reached some level of fame online, it seems unlikely to be "one of the most controversial films of our time" as suggested by the official website.<ref>[http://www.theprinciplemovie.com/about/ ''The Principle'': About]</ref> The most worrying possible effect of the film would be an increase in interest in geocentrism among [[fundamentalist Christian]]s, much like the effect of ''The Genesis Flood'' on the [[creationist]] movement in the late 1960s. Outside of extremely conservative circles (read: [[Pseudoskepticism|idiotic]] [[echo chamber]]s), the film is unlikely to be anything more than a blip on the radar of public consciousness. According to IMDb, the film grossed US$86,172 as of April 2015.<ref>[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2458876/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 The Principle (2014)] IMDb.</ref>

==Celebrity and scientist involvement==
{{wpl|Kate Mulgrew}} and [[Lawrence Krauss]], one a [[celebrity]] and the other a [[scientist]], involved in the production of ''The Principle'' have stated that they were duped into participating in the documentary; Mulgrew stated that she wasn't even aware of Sungenis' involvement until the trailer came out and would have refused outright had she been. While it seems oddly underhanded for a member of a religion that preaches against deception [[Pious fraud#Lying for Jesus|to use such tactics]], it has [[Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed|been done before]].

Physicists [[Michio Kaku]], [[Max Tegmark]], and [[Julian Barbour]] and other scientists also appear in the film,<ref>[http://www.theprinciplemovie.com/about/meet-the-cast/ ''The Principle'': Meet the Cast]</ref> and were also tricked into appearing.<ref>[http://www.popsci.com/article/science/how-conspiracy-theorist-duped-worlds-biggest-physicists?dom=PSC&loc=slider&lnk=2&con=center-of-the-universe The Conspiracy Theorist Who Duped The World's Biggest Physicists: Popular Science spoke with Rick DeLano, whose movie The Principle shows the world's most famous cosmologists promoting the idea that the Earth is the center of the universe] by Colin Lecher (May 7, 2014) ''Popular Science''.</ref><ref>[https://www.yahoo.com/news/clever-editing-warps-scientists-words-geocentrism-film-120818059.html?ref=gs 'Clever Editing' Warps Scientists' Words in New Geocentrism Film] by Elizabeth Howell (April 16, 2014) ''LiveScience.com'' (YouTube)</ref>

==External links==
*[http://www.theprinciplemovie.com/ Official] web site of ''The Principle''.
*[http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2014/04/08/lawrence_krauss_on_ending_up_in_the_geocentricism_documentary_the_principle.html Physicist Lawrence Krauss' debunking] of the film.
*[http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Kate-Mulgrew-Says-She-Was-Duped-By-Documentary-Doesn-t-Believe-Geocentrism-42463.html ''Star Trek'' actress was not pleased] at being tricked into starring in this movie.

==References==
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[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Creationism]]
[[Category:Films]]

Categories: Astronomy, Creationism, Films