I answer some negative comments on The UFO Movie
While I'm super gratified at all the positive accolades, there are also some negative comments. I do my level best to answer them here.
Thanks for taking time out of your day to read my newsletter about separating reality from bullshit in pop culture. Monday editions are free to all; this one, like all Tuesday and Thursday editions, is for the paid subscribers who make the whole thing possible. Thank you all so much, and I hope you enjoy!
In case you’re new to this column, last year I produced a new documentary called The UFO Movie THEY Don’t Want You to See (watch it now) which teaches astronomy using the public interest in UFOs as a springboard. Real astrophysics does not support the plausibility of interstellar travel, and I tried to make a film that would appeal to all; and regardless of your thoughts on UFOs and aliens, your thoughts would be better informed by real science. At least, that was my goal — a presentation nobody could possibly have a problem with.
Unfortunately — but very predictably — the majority of the negative comments are from people who watched a very few minutes of the movie and then threw out a hit-and-run straw man, arguing against things I did not say and wouldn’t agree with (a representative example here):
@kayhawkins5925
Hmm, so hundreds of thousands of people around the world that have had a UFO experience are lying, hallucinating or mentally ill. Ok.
Of course that’s not true. Also a huge number of quasi-religious non-comments (why? Beats me):
@rojack1947
Ummmmmmmm I think if you read the bible that you will find your answer.
And — as always — there is the incalculable number of people who cannot get over my last name, and hilariously think they are the first to see it:
@JamieFisk
Do Brian Dunning vs Freddy Kruger!
I regret I have no answer for folks who did not actually show up to hear what I had to say in the film, but the detractors category does include a small percentage of people who did, and who made honest efforts to express their opposing viewpoints. Today I’ve got my replies to the most cogent of these arguments that I could find.
First, I want to tackle what is by far the most numerous of these, and those are the ones who consider physics to consist of “assumptions”:
@tony9L9L
Your astrobiologists didn't explain gravity and the link between the theory of relativity and quantum theory? Lots of presumptions -"The aliens would have invented maths" Would they?
Your theory is based on these assumptions about obeying the laws of physics because its hard to comprehend anything beyond.
You also took into account cover ups and 'explainations' (government explainations lol) but thankfully you didn't mention swamp gas.
I wonder who is really behind this video.