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Re: A first practical step on the documentary problem

If a film lays no claim to scientific plausibility that's fine. 2012 was quite clearly not interested in science beyond as a marketing ploy. That's not the ssue, I feel. It is an issue when a film project lays claim to scientific credibility and fails to deliver, for whatever reason. The idea of some sort of rating or approval icon stems from foods - where similar issues are being dealt with. (Bear with me.) Chocolate is marketed as 80% Alpine and called "Pur Choc". Yet the 80% alludes to the percentage within the total amount of chocalte, so it's not 80% of the content, but of the 10% of choclate in the content, or 8%. Perfectly legal. In a way, this is what such documentaries are doing. The reply to the eroded credibility in foods has been a system of authorities - the green point for recycling, the connoisseur's star system. They require recognition as an authority to function.
I don't care if its the "Smithsonian thumbs-up", the "science association's star system" or "Greg Paul's smiley". We can't bemoan eroded education at the same time we cynically accept eroding elements as 'unavoidable'. 



Movie producers aren't in our world. They don't make films/documentaries for us.
They make it for Joe/Jane public and the bottom line. Take a good look at the 
up-
coming 2012. See any scholars' names associated with this flick?? The "science"
behind this will make you cringe. I find this in a lot of critical reviews. So
they're aware. But in the same breath they say its worth seeing just for the
breathtaking CGI. Movie producers know what people will overlook if you give 
them
a good story .... an entertaining story.
What GSP is proposing is noble and probably a complete waste of time. All a producer 
really needs is a narrative by a Hollywood celebrity. Scientific ethics are not 
a
part of Hollywood ....... in the past/now/or ever. But hey ...... LOL!! 

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Date: Mon, 4 Jan 2010 06:30:15 -0600
From: villandra@austin.rr.com
To: david@brainpets.com; GSP1954@aol.com
CC: dinosaur@usc.edu
Subject: Re: A first practical step on the documentary problem

This would be a terrible idea, because noone can agree on anything to do
with dinosaurs.

Anyone want to develop an organization to require that science displays
display feathers on the therapods? LOL, it isn't going to happen!