Brad Liberti
Our human understanding of the physical world is built upon specific principals that govern everything around us, from the tiniest atom to the largest red giant. These rules, established over millennia by brilliant visionaries like Galileo and Newton – each working to build upon prior advancements – have formed the basis for how we view not only ourselves, but also our own place in the cosmos. Yet none have done so much to solidify this identity as the introduction of the Heliocentric Model of our universe by 16th Century Polish Astronomer, Nicolaus Copernicus.
Arguing that the sun, and not the earth, was the celestial body around which all other objects orbited, The Copernican Principal scandalized The Catholic Church, throwing a wrench in the common belief of our supreme importance in the cosmos. The fact that it also happened to lay the groundwork for all of modern astrophysics is something that has not been lost to history either… But what if he was wrong?
That is the question posed by filmmaker, Katheryne Thomas, in her entertaining and informative if slightly farfetched new documentary, The Principle. Enlisting some of the most talented minds in science – including theoretical physicists, Lawrence Maxwel Krauss and Michio Kaku, among others – Thomas provides an accurate and accessible timeline of the evolution of modern cosmology, taking us through a history that is as fascinating as it is wrought with drama.
Unfortunately The Cosmos series did the same thing more effectively and without invoking a theory that at its best struggles to remain plausible. Accordingly, Thomas has been both celebrated and vilified (even by some of the scientists in her film who feel they were edited unfairly) for advancing an agenda that seems anything but secular. But regardless of whether or not you agree with the ideas laid out in The Principle, Thomas’s film is still a skilled and lively effort, and certainly a must-see for any conspiracy buff or Ancient Aliens addict.
The Principle opens L.A. and Orange County, CA. on Friday, January 23, 2015.
CLICK HERE for the film’s official website for more screening information.
