Penn & Teller: Bullshit!

The big problem with "Penn & Teller: Bullshit!" is that very little of the debunking that goes on in the show is all that scientific. Too many of their episodes come down to Penn calling people assholes and just contradicting what the targets of his ire are saying. The Gun Control episode is a perfect example - Penn and Teller interview an anti-gun nut and call him an 'asshole', then they interview a pro-gun nut and (without showing us compelling evidence) tell us he's right. That's not skepticism - it's propaganda, and not very well camouflaged propaganda at that. While encouraging the audience to laugh derisively along with Penn might be entertaining if one agrees with him, it's not all that convincing to someone who's truly skeptical (as opposed to merely cynical).

'Bullshit!' seems to me to be long on ridicule and short on hard evidence. In a way, what the presenters are doing is combating what they see as lunacy with empty rhetoric and bombast - it's sort of like their magic show - they present the audience with the illusion that their argument has weight when in fact it often does not. When I first saw 'Bullshit!' I was taken in by it, but it soon became clear what they were doing.

I would prefer such a show to do what the show 'Mythbusters' does - i.e. prove beyond a reasonable doubt that what they're saying must be the case. It's simply not convincing to tell me that I'm a dumbass if I don't believe Penn and Teller. In fact it's abusive. Penn and Teller should stick to magic tricks, because it seems to me that too many of their attempts at skepticism are doing true skeptics a disservice because their show merely polarizes opinion rather than teaching critical thinking.

In short, Penn and Teller are full of it. Their latest show is just as full of illusion as their magic shows are, and that's no bullshit.

Speaking of bullshit, that's kind of what this show is. Not that it's bad-- it's good entertainment. But less critical viewers will need to be reminded that it's entertainment, not thorough scientific research.

While Penn and Teller do sometimes offer scientific research to bolster their arguments, the tend to present it in a manner that contradicts the purpose of serious investigation. I take issue with the way they enter their investigations with the assumption that something is "bullshit" and how they subsequently mold every piece of information that becomes available to them to reinforce their pre-determined conclusion. A real investigation would not involve them going into their research with the determination to prove it a fraud; it would involve a suspicion which they either prove or disprove after careful examination of the evidence.

I feel that the show manipulates your judgments by doctoring evidence, cutting and pasting phrases out-of-context, repeatedly showing loaded footage, making dismissive commentary without backing, relying on 'straw men' to win arguments, calling people "assholes" for having differing opinions, creating irrelevant "experiments" whose outcomes, at first glance seem to corroborate their point, but upon re-assessment, are not logically congruous with the evaluations you will make based on them (in other words, the experiments are misleading).

P&T essentially bully the viewer onto their side by creating an atmosphere in which you will feel dumb if you disagree; their ridiculously biased presentation ensures it. I'm not saying that most of the stuff they take on isn't bullshit, but their methodology is more akin to "Inside Edition" than, say "BBC News"; it's like a sloppy email forward, filled with ad-hominem attacks and hot-headed rhetoric, not a well-researched feature article. If it seems funny, well-intentioned, and consumer-advocatory, it is; but it's also manipulative and intellectually dishonest, at least for something that you given to understand is an unbiased documentary. That, in and of itself, should be a good reason to watch with caution if you're trying to get anything out of it besides entertainment.

Showtime's recent series 'Bullshit!' garners widely-varying responses from viewers-- it has fanatically devoted fans as well as those downright offended by it. Abandoning Penn & Teller's usual material, dispelling myths surrounding magicians and magic, 'Bullshit!' is based on the duo's more serious beliefs. With episodes critiquing beliefs many people hold dear to their hearts, such as religion and environmentalism, 'Bullshit!' is an excellent show if you're looking for more than just the same old sensationalist garbage on television. Using a satisfying blend of humor and journalism, 'Bullshit!' is entertaining and informative. ****

Real people like us are used every single day, people we love, even ourselves. I have to admit that I even fell for some con men with a lot of visibility, some self-help pseudo guru and some pseudo alternate medicine.

From the Mozart effect to reflexology, alien abductees and fire walkers, the bullshit gets exposed the way only Penn & Teller can do it. The truth is distorted every where, from second hand smoke reports to the real effects of Mozart Music on babies (what effect?).

The real self-help is to not get conned, and it starts with the Penn & Teller Bullshit show. It can't be viewed in Canada but I got the DVD of the first season from their website.

How can this be? Not only does America finally get a skeptic-oriented cable show, but one hosted by Penn and Teller! The joy was almost too much for me, especially since the first episode was about communing with the dead, a scam enjoying a huge surge in popularity.

The opening dialogue by Penn was sometimes a bit shaky, but I suspect he'll adapt to the format soon enough. The series will hopefully continue to do what the first episode did: show the methods by which mystics and pseudoscientific opportunists take advantage of people in need.

Finally, I was impressed that the show managed to walk the line between skepticism and cynicism, never falling into the simple close-minded denial of the latter. There certainly is anger and sarcasm from the narrators/hosts, but nothing too terrible.

This is a funny show that is entirely relevant. I now have something to counter the pain of Dennis Miller's show being canceled. Watch a few of the episodes and decide for yourself.