On the surface, the trailer for The Principle you see above may look like any other science documentary. In fact, it may feature many of the same faces and even the same basic tone as stuff you’ve seen on weird cable channels during odd hours, but at its core, it seems to be arguing something a whole lot more doubletake worthy. Are you ready for it? I’m just gonna blurt it out. It seems to be arguing the sun actually revolves around the Earth, or at least the Earth is the center of the Universe. Perhaps even more shockingly, this isn't just some fringe production either. Beloved former Star Trek actress Kate Mulgrew is at the center of it and may have given her stamp of approval.
I say "seems" because it's not entirely clear yet. If you watch the above clip, the documentary positions itself mostly as if it’s prepared to argue God and science do not have to be in conflict. That's not an altogether shocking opinion. More than a few people have argued it before, but there are a handful of moments in the footage we've seen that seem to be pushing for something a little more. They seem to be on the cusp of arguing everything revolves around the Earth, and the film’s official statement really seems to back that up. Here is an excerpt just thrown out there on The Principle’s YouTube page…
Everyone knows that the ancient idea of Earth in the center of the universe is a ridiculous holdover from a superstitious age, right? Modern science has proven that we are nothing special! We inhabit, in Carl Sagan's words, "....an insignificant planet of a humdrum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe in which there are far more galaxies than people." Well....prepare to be shocked!
Ahead of its 2014 release date, much of the specifics about the film are still being kept under wraps. No one involved with the movie has officially said what or what not it may be trying to prove, but the executive producer credit for Robert Sungenis has led many, most prominently The Raw Story and Giant Freakin Robot, to start sounding the alarm bells. Sungensis isn’t a particularly noteworthy public figure, but he’s allegedly the man behind the blog Galileo Was Wrong, and he’s drawn a bit of outrage in the past over some views that have been described by some as anti-Semitic.
As you can see in the trailer, prominent scientists like Michio Kaku and George Ellis are interviewed heavily. It seems unlikely they would ever argue anything related to the Earth being the center of the Universe. Maybe they're serving as a counterpoint or maybe their words are being manipulated a little bit. It's hard to tell, but either way, their participation is a lot more understandable than that of Kate Mulgrew. The former Star Trek and current Orange Is The New Black actress serves as the film’s narrator. Does she hold these same views? Is she just a hired gun? Cinema Blend contacted her one-time publicist Andy Snider for a quote, but he’s no longer representing her. When contacted, a representative of her management company, who may or may not have been hearing about this documentary for the first time, refused to offer a comment but said someone would reach out moving forward. We're still waiting.
The Principle does not have an official release date, but it is scheduled to hit theaters or OnDemand or something sometime in 2014. We will let you know when and where you’ll be able to see it once that data becomes available. Until then, Cinema Blend would recommend you continue to believe the top scientists in the world when it comes to astronomy and take this documentary with more than a few grains of salt.
