Imax Theaters Demur On Controversial Science Films

circletimessquare writes "The New York Times is reporting that a number of Imax theatres are passing on science-themed films that might provoke controversy among a handful of religious fundamentalists. Films that are having their distribution impacted include '"Cosmic Voyage," which depicts the universe in dimensions running from the scale of subatomic particles to clusters of galaxies; "Galápagos," about the islands where Darwin theorized about evolution; and "Volcanoes of the Deep Sea," an underwater epic about the bizarre creatures that flourish in the hot, sulfurous emanations from vents in the ocean floor.'"

In other news:

[imsabbel]

looking out at the stars at night, or using a microscope, will result in an equal amount of religious disturbance for that group of people if they use their brains to think about what they see.

So i recommnd preventive suicide, it also helps them get close to their god.
Thanks for leaving us alone, guys, just do it!

Religion....what is it good for......

[Gogogoch]

So we have:
+ Christians who are against science
+ Muslims who are against the West and progress
+ Scientologists who believe a SF story
+ Mormons who believe a non-SF story

Jesus, it makes you wonder....

Re:Boring

[edalytical]

Wake me up when there is something happening the US which doesn't upset a minority group which goes in search for media attention or takes it to court.

That'll be one hell of a coma. Personally, I would just remove you feeding tube, but that may just perpetuate the problem.

Overheard at Geological Imax Movie Protest

[Tezkah]

Fundamentalist: People said I was dumb but I proved them.

Re:offensive?

[Anonymous Coward]

Because everyone knows the fangfish [hamline.edu] is an agent of Beelzebub.

You can see the homosexual agenda and godless science in its eyes.

Re:I don't know what's sadder...

[TLLOTS]

Indeed. Next think you know we'll have schools that are forced to put stickers on books discussing evolution that detail how evolution is only a theory... oh wait.

Re:Overheard at Geological Imax Movie Protest

[geminidomino]

The President was at the protest?!

This is good

[cgenman]

It's a good thing too. Whenever science conflicts with preconcieved notions, the only polite thing to do is hide the science. After all, offending or presenting notions contrary to popular belief is not the role of the museum curator.

Of course, these museums should be patted on the back for doing the right thing despite the obvious monetary benefits to the contrary. They bit the bullet and avoided the temptation to draw controversy, protesters, and the rise in ticket sales that such media attention brings. Then there are the side issues of overcrowding, parking, and a loss of focus on their scientific and educational mission that such things would bring.

Now we can all safely go back to teaching our children that the creatures at the sulfurous vents at the bottom of the ocean are really demons escaping from hell, souls so small that they slipped through Satan's ever present but large and chubby fingers.

And on a side note, we're all doomed.

Let's All Pray...

[Goo.cc]

that the rapture happens soon. These damn Christians are getting on my nerves.

Re:I don't know what's sadder...

[PedanticSpellingTrol]

So... someone's kidnapping children at gunpoint and making them take $20/ticket trips to the local Kidteractive Learnatorium?

Re:I don't know what's sadder...

[Anonymous Coward]

Yup, religion is irrational per definition. The phrase 'I believe' literally means that the following statement is false.

Beware of a man of only one book...

Re:offensive?

[k-0s]

Here is how it's offensive..."anaerobic bacteria which exist in hot , sulfurous ocean floor vents resemble the earliest life,"...those bacteria must be sexual deviants to be getting THAT hot.

Re:offensive?

[sTalking_Goat]

To deny evolutionary theory makes about as much sense as claiming the world is flat.

Correcting that ungodly lie is next on the agenda, as soon as we get that whole gay marriage thing sorted out.

Imagine the world being all round, we'd all fall off!

Re:Extreme fundamentalists are ridiculous.

[NanoGator]

"For instance, the whole "God created the Earth in seven days." Seven days could mean seven million years, or seven billion years. It's worded in a way that man can understand. "

Heh. Kind of reminds me of when Dr. Evil said "one million dollars!"

Re:Extreme fundamentalists are ridiculous.

[jd]

Well, the Supreme Court is pretty conservative as it stands. It really doesn't need to get much more so.

As for kicking the Taliban out of Afghanistan and implementing one of our own - if the replacement for Supreme Court Justice Rehnquist has a funny-looking beard and a strange accent, it wouldn't shock me.

Re:Vatican Observatory - Science/Religion Compatib

[Jeremy Erwin]

More reasons for the fundies to hate the Catholic Church?

Re:I don't know what's sadder...

[EricTheMad]

So... someone's kidnapping children at gunpoint and making them take $20/ticket trips to the local Kidteractive Learnatorium?

Yep. It happens everyday, all across the country. It's called a field trip.

So when's Monday?

[Anonymous Coward]

And on the seventh day God rested... which, with a day equal to a few billions years, means he's still taking a break...

Medicine is science

[Anonymous Coward]

If science is so 'bad', and against 'god', why do all these people get medical help? Surely medicine and the theories behind it must be evil because God didn't put medicine on this planet for us to use. They all die away slowly.

Disaster news footage

[cupraman]

If these people are offended by science films, are they happy to see 'God' at work on the news when for example a tsunami kills a couple of hundred thousand people in Asia?

Personally, I'd like him to get down here and explain himself, then maybe I could kick his ass.

Re:Extreme fundamentalists are ridiculous.

[Anonymous Coward]

The simplest argument I have for the fundies I meet and argue about things like that.

"How DARE you question God and what He did.... what are you some kind of unbeliever?"

it shut's them up pretty quick.

Yes the bible says "in 7 days." but in the same book it mentions that a millenium will pass in the twinkle of God's eye."

in other-words.... we have no idea.

and the biggest part that irks me about the fundie-christo-sect of christianity... MOST of what they argue and complain about is not worth talking about or even arguing... It has nothing to do with the message they are SUPPOSED to be spreading.

Let's also look at the flip side of this..

There are also lots of movies that upset fundalmentalist Islams.... but these dont get a sensationalist headline...

how about the films that violently upset agnostics?? why dont we hear about those?

This story should have never been posted, it is devoid of any content, but it's trendy to bash christians here on slashdot.

This from someone

[porkchop_d_clown]

who can't even spell "controversial".

Science will be doomed by inattention to details long before it will be done in by a small minorities' feelings about a single issue.

I believe in God

[jrkaisersr]

I love science. I always have. I spent most of my life as an atheist who loved science. Now I spend my life as a Christian who loves science. I believe the Bible's account of creation. Do I understand it? No. Do I accept it? Yes. I do not have to understand something to accept it. I do not fully understand Einstein's theory of relativity, but I accept it on his authority. I do not fully understand Darwin or his theory, but I reject it because it directly conflicts with the account of an authority which I hold higher than Darwin. There are alot of Christian who do not understand or accept science as I do, it's alien to them, and they fight it. Of course, there are many of my athiest friends who do not know Jesus the Christ as I do, He is completely alien to them, and they fight him just as unlearned Christians fight science. One planet, One Truth, One God, billions of free minded people. Hold on kids, this is gonna get messy!

Re:Extreme fundamentalists are ridiculous.

[Snaller]

To call the Bible a collection of fables and stories created only for the purpose of morality is a gross distortion of the Bible's very complex literary history.


Yeah, far easier to call it a book for crackpots who refuse to grow up.

Re:Extreme fundamentalists are ridiculous.

[itchy92]

If there is a God, He has a really weird sense of humor

Sure he does: just look at the platypus.

/thanks, Kevin

That

[porkchop_d_clown]

and an inability to parse simple declarative sentences.

Re:Extreme fundamentalists are ridiculous.

[daremonai]

if the replacement for Supreme Court Justice Rehnquist has a funny-looking beard and a strange accent, it wouldn't shock me.

Yeah! Richard Stallman for Supreme Court justice! Count me in!

(OK, so it's not exactly an "accent," but you have to admit he can sound "strange" at times.)

Speaking of the Norse

[danudwary]

http://www.thepaincomics.com/weekly041229.htm [thepaincomics.com]

Satan's Turtle!

[MooseByte]

"Is our Age of Reason once again in twilight?"

Well how else would you interpret the timely appearance of... Satan's Turtle! [cnn.com]

Re:Extreme fundamentalists are ridiculous.

[operagost]

Yup, look at how fast the pr0n sites are being shut down, the witches are being burned at the stake, and the heretics are being drawn-and-quartered. Those Christians are at it again!

Re:Extreme fundamentalists are ridiculous.

[Drachemorder]

"However, you're still going to be faced with books litered with the equivalent of "Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra"."

I don't know what's scarier --- that you referenced Star Trek in a debate about the Bible, or that I understood the reference.

Re:As an evangelical Christian and creationist...

[DSP_Geek]

http://www.fuckthesouth.com

Re:Satan's Turtle!

[Anonymous Coward]

"The turtle is healthy and there was no change in its behavior, he said"

- yeh, except for the other pets in the store being crucified and bleeding out their eyes. But the turtle's the same ol' lucky.

Re:I am not surprised...

[Anonymous Coward]

P.S. to the right wing tool in the house (Rep. Bob Ney) that came up with the idiotic moniker Freedom fries, they were invented in fucking Belgium.

I have already written my congressman asking that Belgian waffles be renamed "Freedom waffles".

Don't think you're going to get off easy.

The mice were furious.

[Anonymous Coward]

I'd actually love to see more documentaries about OTHER creation myths.

"The mice were furious."

"The mice were furious?"

"Oh yes," said the old man mildly.

"Yes well so I expect were the dogs and cats and duckbilled platypuses, but ..."

"Ah, but they hadn't paid for it you see, had they?"

"Look," said Arthur, "would it save you a lot of time if I just gave up and went mad now?"