I'm proud to live in the South for the most part. I live in one of the more progressive parts of the South -- in the Research Triangle area of North Carolina between three major universities, UNC, Dook & NC State. The area is more democratic than most regions of the South. (Funny how that works. The more educated a region is, the more likely the region will vote Democratic instead of Republican.)
Yet, we have IMAX theaters located in the South that are refusing to show James Cameron's "Volcanoes of the Deep Sea", which makes a connection between human DNA and microbes inside undersea volcanoes.
Knowing Cameron's work, I'd very much like to see this, but these coward theaters have decided not to show this movie in their theaters, many of which are connected to SCIENCE museums, like Discovery Place in Charlotte, NC.
Lisa Buzzelli, director of the IMAX theater in Charleston makes this ridiculous comment:
"We've got to pick a film that's going to sell in our area. If it's not going to sell, we're not going to take it. Many people here believe in creationism, not evolution."
What a bunch of crap! These people are simply scared of offending religious believers.
In Charlotte, Discovery Place President John Mackay Jr. released a statement to the Charlotte Observer said:
"We declined to show `Volcanoes of the Deep Sea' in favor of other films that viewers and staff believed were more engaging," Mackay said in Wednesday's statement. "While the issue of evolution was apparent in the film and was mentioned as a negative factor in some surveys, evolution was only one minor reason that we decided not to show the film at Discovery Place."
Each year, he said, about 20 IMAX movies are released. Discovery Place, with one screen, can present three to four each year. "Obviously," he wrote, "some good films and some bad films fall by the wayside."
On Tuesday, Mackay told the Observer the issue of evolution had come up when museum staff looked at the film.
"However," he told a reporter, "the primary concern was that, with other good film product out there, we didn't feel it was the film we should bring in at that time. We've shown many films and exhibits that touch on evolution. But we felt the way this was phrased was over the top. It was put out there with such in-your-faceness.
"Filmmakers can be strident in their language -- `This is the way it is' -- and what's held as theoretical is presented as fact."
As Jon Stewart said, "Instead of the 'separation of church and state', it's becoming 'church.'"
Check out Frank Rich's great column "The God Racket" that touches on this story.