Star Trek’s Cpt Janeway: The Sun Really Revolves Around the Earth-NOT

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Remember Kate Mulgrew? She starred in one of the most futuristic entertainment franchises around as Capt. Kathryn Janeway in the Star Trek series Voyager and film Nemesis—but apparently the idea that the sun is the center of the solar system is a little too futuristic for her, at least at the moment.

Mulgrew narrates The Principle, an upcoming ‘documentary’ promoting geocentricity—the bizarre idea that the sun revolves around the Earth.  This from Salon:

Of all the wrongiest wrongs that ever wronged wrongness, Geocentrism is way up on the list. The idea that the Earth is the center of the Universe makes creationism look positively scientific in comparison. It might be edged out by people who think the Earth is flat, but just barely.

And yet somebody actually went out and made a “documentary” where, apparently, that is exactly what they’re trying to promote. It’s called The Principle, and it’s making the rounds on the ‘Net right now and here’s the trailer.

The film was financed in part by one Robert Sungenis, whose blog is called “Galileo Was Wrong.”  To give you an idea of the guy we’re talking about: he has a history of saying anti-Semitic things and also of making Holocaust denial claims (and you can find more lovely things about him here). That would fit with the conspiratorial tone of some of the movie trailer, too.

Back to Mulgrew: Among the bloggers bemoaning Mulgrew’s involvement is Victoria McNally, who writes on Geekosystem, “Star Trek did and continues to do so much for the advancement of science and space exploration, and getting involved with a movie that outright denies one of the most fundamental facts about our solar system is upsetting, to say the least.”

The final question: How does one narrate an entire film without knowing what they were narrating?

More from Salon.

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Professor Mike

Professor Mike is a left-leaning, dog loving, political junkie. He has written dozens of articles for Substack, Medium, Simily, and Tribel. Professor Mike has been published at Smerconish.com, among others. He is a strong proponent of the environment, and a passionate protector of animals. In addition he is a fierce anti-Trumper. Take a moment and share his work.
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Jess
9 years ago

What, I am now just finding out the sun does not revolve around the center of the universe that is our earth. I have been duped my friends, I am shocked beyond belief about this fact. I’ll be in the corner drooling trying to figure out why people are bent that an actress got paid for an acting part. I am almost certain Jeremy Sisto is not Jesus, not that anyone was, but he played him in a movie.

Jess
Reply to  Professor Mike
9 years ago

Hell with a fair trial, she’s a witch burn her. You KNOW where this is going 🙂 Enjoy

9 years ago

The real story here is the RAW STORY. Pile of crap, sensationalist, celebrity-oriented, reputation-bashing, bullshit “reporting” at its worst. And that’s the toned down version of how I really feel.
http://thinkprogress.org/culture/2014/04/08/3424505/kate-mulgrew-duped/

There IS a story here. The story is that “creationists” are still spewing nonsensical propaganda that would take us back to the days before Copernicus. RAW STORY could easily have focused on that and used only a tiny amount of common sense to realize that, if Kaku and the other scientists were OBVIOUSLY quoted out of context, then Mulgrew may have been exploited as well.

That there is an audience for “The Principle” is not surprising. That RAW STORY apparently has no principles is evidence that despicable misrepresentation of facts can come from any source. I’ve added RAW STORY to my growing boycott list.

Let’s assume for a moment that Mulgrew did this intentionally…this is my response to the Facebook post:

Mulgrew could have picked up some voice-over work, but clearly Kaku and the rest are aggressively quoted out of context or otherwise ripped off by a less-than-ethical producer….or they may be in there for counterpoint. Based on the trailer, I’d say they were ripped off from other, public interviews.

I’m not a big fan of Mulgrew, but she’s an actress…not a scientist. She also currently plays a prisoner (named Red) on the Netflix series, Red is the New Black. She’s not a real prisoner, either. As I recall, in Star Trek, she played a captain piloting an interstellar space craft capable of warp travel and that had a transporter device that could de-materialize and re-materialize humans and other objects. She had relationships with fictional alien (extra-terrestrial) beings. In other words, she’s an actress who has played science fiction characters. She played parts in utterly implausible fiction.

Depending on the script and the pitch from the producers and her agent, she may have seen “The Principle” as science fiction. Clearly it’s portrayed that way in the trailer. You’ll find much of the same sort of thing all over cable…right along side of the shows on yetis, ghosts, pawn shops, storage auctions and more. …and the job probably paid quite well. Mulgrew has a wonderful voice. In short, Mulgrew’s “role” isn’t the issue any more than Harrison Ford’s role is the issue when he portrayed Han Solo. Both do fiction all the time.

From the trailer, it’s clear, however, that the scientists’ statements are exploited to create drama. Kaku mentions dark matter and dark energy. Others mention the mystery of “nothing.” All credible scientists are quoted out of context and then juxtaposed against the creationists in rapid-fire comments that are assembled to appear as if they are related in ways they are not.

So, shame on the RAW STORY for entirely missing the point. By all appearances, it seems that “The Principle” has no principles, but to hammer Kate Mulgrew for being an actress is completely off the mark and thoroughly undermines the credibility of the RAW STORY. Tackle the folly of geocentrism. Don’t attack an actress for practicing her craft…unless, of course, you’d like to attack Kevin Spacey for playing a diabolical politician with an insatiable hunger for power and a willingness to commit murder to get that power…as he does in House of Cards.

This is “gotcha journalism” at its worst, because it squanders the opportunity to make the real point – the point that “The Principle” would like to take us back to the days before Copernicus – and focuses instead on the celebrity factor. What’s next, comments about her hair, makeup and wardrobe? LAME!!

Glenn Geist
9 years ago

It’s tempting to think Denialism is the fastest growing new religion but maybe it’s just a symptom of something else. Is it a reaction to being left behind by progress, or some kind of fugue state or is it come form of communicable paranoia?

A lot of it, as we see here, is a return to the 16th and 17th century Church doctrines, but is it different from the more secular “birther” idiocy which no birth certificate will satisfy?

9 years ago

Perhaps she is of the Spencer Tracy thinking of acting. “Remember your lines and don’t bump into the furniture.”

I find it difficult to accept she could narrate this and not see what they were doing. Is she that desperate for money? Did she sign away her residual rights?

E.A. Blair
9 years ago

You’re a little behind the breaking story. See this RawStory post, “Star Trek’s Kate Mulgrew on geocentrist film: ‘I was a voice for hire, and a misinformed one’”.

Apparently the makers of the film misrepresented their intentions to her as well as to several scientists who were given the O’Keefe treatment in the film.

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