Re: paleonet Bible Belt creationists threaten IMAX film industrywith extinction

[Frank Holterhoff <frank@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

OK, but that really only changes the scope of what I'm talking about, 
not the principle.

Of course I'm totally compartmentalizing here.  The IMAX people said 
they believed they would lose money if they booked the film.  And for 
sure I am inferring, in the absence of contrary information in the 
article, that they would be willing to show this film if they didn't 
anticipate a loss.

I don't know whether either of those statements is true, false, 
disingenuous or what; whether there was a threatened organized boycott 
by the anti-evolutionists (seems likely); whether the above statements 
were influenced by such hypothetical threatened boycott (after all, a 
threatened boycott IS a pretty valid bit of market-research data), etc. 
etc.  Those are all topics for a different debate.

All I'm saying is, taken at their word, the IMAX folks can't be expected 
to operate at a loss, whether we're talking about individual theaters or 
the entire chain (and, of course, the individual theater and the entire 
chain are pretty much synonymous within the markets of Charleston, Ft. 
Worth, etc.).

Gee, what a revelation (no pun intended) - the Free Marketplace, where 
people have to make a profit to even exist, isn't necessarily the best 
place in the world to champion a truth that's not always profitable.  I 
had previously suggested that maybe some party might come forward and 
guarantee IMAX against a loss for showing the film, but on second 
thought, wouldn't that impugn their impartiality?  Seems to me, if their 
statement is true that profit is the ONLY reason they're not booking the 
film, that's about the strongest statement the IMAX people could make 
about their own impartiality (I know, I know, we're talking impartiality 
between a valid position and an invalid one - again, that's a different 
debate).  In fact, they probably have a policy against outside support 
for just that reason.

So now I guess we'll just wait and see if, in the future, these same 
IMAX theaters run some film touting the virtues and scientific validity 
of Creationism, because it'll bring in a ton of money!

F

RT Patterson wrote:

> I didn't suggest boycotting the system -- just the few theaters that refuse
> to air films with even a whiff of the 'e' word in them.  I attend the IMAX
> theater here in Ottawa regularly and will continue to do so.
> 
> Tim Patterson

-- 
Frank K. Holterhoff         MATRICuS Inc.
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