[escepticos] RV: Hollywood Plans Paranormal End to Summer

[planetario@...>]

Está en inglés, pero es interesante (es como cruzar Fotogramas con "el
escéptico"... crítica escéptica de cine, vamos) ;-))

j.armentia

De: <SkeptInq en aol.com>
> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>  Contact Matt Nisbet at 716-636-1425 X219
>  SINISBET en aol.com
>
>
>  HOLLYWOOD PLANS A PARANORMAL END TO THE SUMMER
>
>  Skeptical Inquirer Magazine
>  Offers Critical Guide to Movie Topics
>
>  AMHERST, NY -- Stigmata. Witches. Doomsday scenarios. Spirit
communication.
> Devil possession.  Hypnotism. Haunted houses.  Miraculous healing powers.
> All these topics and more are being given life in movie theaters this
summer
> and early fall as Hollywood is set to release a dozen films centered on
> themes of the paranormal, the occult, and the extraordinary.
>
>  The earliest offerings include The Haunting which opens July 21, and The
> Blair Witch Project which expands to wider national release on the same
date.
> Starring Liam Neeson, The Haunting centers on a band of test subjects
> suffering from sleep-disorders who are taken to an allegedly haunted house
as
> part of a researcher's experiment in hypnosis and suggestibility.  Soon
the
> patients begin to experience frightening ghost experiences, and what the
> researcher thinks is illusion, the patients know is real.
>
>  The plot of the Blair Witch Project involves a group of young documentary
> filmmakers who venture into the woods of Maryland to investigate a
> two-hundred year old legend of a witch.  Mishap and misfortune ensues, as
> horror is depicted in a unique documentary-style. What movie audiences
watch
> on the theater screen is the "actual" footage that was found after the
film
> crews disappearance and untimely demise. In reality, the Blair Witch
Project
> is heavy in artistic invention with no basis in real-life events.
However,
> that has not stopped a sizable word-of-mouth hype about the movie, with
many
> members of the public unclear about the veracity of the legend and film
> footage.
>
>  "Hollywood knows that the paranormal, the extraordinary, and the
> otherworldly will get people into theaters," says Matt Nisbet of Skeptical
> Inquirer, The Magazine for Science and Reason.  "They're taking what are
> essentially legends and myths left over from the Middle Ages and weaving
them
> into big budget film releases.  And boy, will they sell."
>
>
>
>  Nisbet highlights several possible reasons for the sudden rash of
> paranormal-themed Hollywood films:
>
>  -Along with sex and violence, the paranormal and the otherworldly is a
> universal subject with high interest that cuts across language, culture,
and
> age.  These films can be easily packaged and sold to mass audiences across
> the globe.
>
>  -History shows that at the turn-of-the-century, culture and art tend to
turn
> towards the spiritual and the doomsdayish.
>
>  --Gothic is "in" right now among youth culture.  Films of paranormal
nature
> are appealing to the prized teen and twenty-something audience.
>
>  -The Baby-boomer generation is growing older with increasing fears and
> anxiety about the afterlife.  These films may be popular because it is a
way
> for Baby-boomers to cope.  At the same time, Generation Xers and teens are
> going through a time of rapid technological and scientific advance and
> change.  There may be a "future shock" effect going-on, where younger
> generations turn away from science, favoring nonscientific modes of
thinking.
>
>  -People are tantalized by paranormal topics with belief relatively strong
> throughout the population. Visions of spirits, the afterlife, and
extra-human
> powers can be assuaging and comforting.
>
>  -For Hollywood producers and writers always needing content to fill the
> plots of movies, these paranormal topics have a rich and vast lore from
which
> to pull story ideas.
>
>  Nisbet also points out that, similar in effect to the Blair Witch
Project,
> many of these films carry with them a veneer of reality.  Viewers may
watch
> the film knowing it is only fiction, but many times the film is the first
> time that audiences have heard much if anything about a claim like
stigmata
> or hypnosis.  If these claims are presented in a fictionalized account as
> real and supported by heroic characters and vivid recreations, then
audiences
> are likely to come away with a heightened interest in the topic as well as
> increased belief.
>
>  "It is so very important that the public hear the scientific criticism
and
> counter-evidence to claims like stigmata.  Otherwise belief in these
things
> exist as mental roadblocks, getting in the way of our ability to employ
> reason in a scientific world."
>
>  For background articles on the depiction of the paranormal and science in
> film and television, go to: http://www.csicop.org/si/9601/media.html and
> http://www.csicop.org/articles/19990527-starwars/.
>
>  ________________________________________________________
>
>  SKEPTICAL INQUIRER MAGAZINE'S GUIDE TO TOPICS FEATURED IN UPCOMING FILMS
>
>
>  The following is a listing and brief description of films to be released
in
> the late summer and fall, followed by suggested researchers and scientists
> for interview. A Web address for related articles from Skeptical Inquirer
> magazine and http://www.csicop.org is also included.
>
>  Contact Matt Nisbet at 716-636-1425 X219 to arrange interviews.
>
>  Stigmata
>
>  An atheist hairdresser suddenly experiences Christ-like bleeding wounds,
and
> Vatican Priest Gabriel Byrne investigates. For comments on stigmata: Joe
> Nickell, Skeptical Inquirer investigative columnist.
>
>
>  Lost Souls
>
>  Winona Ryder uncovers a devilish plot to let Satan come to Earth.
> Anti-Christ included. For comments on belief in Satan, the Anti-Christ,
and
> exorcism: Paul Kurtz, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, SUNY-Buffalo, and
> founding chair of CSICOP.
>  See http://www.csicop.org/si/9901/apocalypse.html
>
>  The Astronaut's Wife
>
>  Rosemary's Baby meets Alien as Johnny Depp plays an astronaut who is
> possessed while in space and returns home to menace wife Charlize Theron.
> For comments on belief in aliens: Kurtz
>
>  The Ninth Gate
>
>  Johnny Depp (again) plays a book-collector who stumbles across ancient
codes
> for demonic possession. For comments on demon possession:  Kurtz.
>  See http://www.csicop.org/sb/9512/i-files.html
>
>
>  The Sixth Sense
>
>  Child therapist Bruce Willis encounters a boy who can see dead spirits.
>  For comments on spirit mediums: Nickell.
>  See http://www.csicop.org/si/9807/praagh.html.
>
>  A Stir of Echoes
>
>  Kevin Bacon is hypnotized and invaded by evil spirits.
>  For comments on hypnosis: Robert Baker, Professor of Psychology,
University
> of Kentucky.
>
>  Sleepy Hollow
>
>  Depp (still again) plays Ichabod Crane in Tim Burton's take on America's
> most famous ghost legend. For comments on ghost investigation: Nickell.
>  See http://www.csicop.org/list/archive/0118.html
>
>  End of Days
>
>  Arnold Schwarzenegger battles the devil (Gabriel Byrne) who comes to
earth
> to mark the end of the millennium. For comments on doomsday prophecy and
> fears of the millennium: Kurtz.
>  See http://www.csicop.org/si/9901/apocalypse.html
>
>  The Green Mile
>
>  Based on the Stephen King novel by the same name, in this film starring
Gary
> Sinise and Tome Hanks a death row inmate is discovered to have miraculous
> healing powers.  For comments on miracle healing: Wallace Sampson, retired
> professor of medicine, Stanford University.
>  See http://www.csicop.org/articles/19990121-audrey-santo/index.html
>
>  The House on Haunted Hill
>
>  Five people are offered a million dollars to spend the night in an insane
> asylum. For comments on haunted houses: Nickell.
>
>  --30--
>
>  Skeptical Inquirer, The Magazine for Science and Reason, is a bimonthly
> publication that takes a scientific look at claims of the paranormal and
> pseudoscience.  It has close to 100,000 readers worldwide, and can be
found
> in most major bookstores.  Read past articles at www.csicop.org/si.
> Skeptical Inquirer is published by the Committee for the Scientific
> Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, an international, nonprofit
> educational organization that includes four Nobel laureates among its
> fellows.  Visit www.csicop.org, rated one of the top ten science sites on
the
> Web by HomePC magazine.
>
>  Contact Matt Nisbet at 716-636-1425 X219
>  Skeptical Inquirer, The Magazine for Science and Reason
>  SINISBET en aol.com