A very feeble attempt at affirmatie action

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

To expose lies, frauds and misconceptions is a noble goal. Unfortunately, Penn & Teller do so in the most vulgar manner. They constantly swear, the show is full of nudity and sexual stuff, it's extremely blasphemous and a lot of what they call "bullcrap" isn't bullcrap at all. In fact, a lot of what Penn & Teller (mosly Penn) say themselves is bullcrap, and can easily be refuted if you bother to do some research on your own. Some of the people interviewed on this show have said that many of their quotes are either taken out of context or edited.It's also a heavily biased show, full of insane libertarian propaganda. Penn is just a foul- mouthed, pony-tailed version of John Stossel, but without the cool mustache. I don't know how many times they bring in experts from the "Cato Institute" or pseudoskeptics like James Randi and Michael Shermer to confirm what they already believe in. The way they treat their opponents is also terrible, it's just bullying. And like true cowards, they never do it face to face...they have someone else interview people they want to ridicule. They just comment from a safe distance. "Then there's this *******" or "F you, you ****". It's so juvenile and stupid.They try to justify a lot of evil stuff in this show, stuff like pornography, child labor, GMO, polygamy etc. In one episode, Penn says: "two wrongs don't make a right". But in another episode some guy from the Cato Institute argues that it's better for poor people in foreign countries to work in nightmarish sweatshops than to sell their bodies on the streets. What happened to "two wrongs don't make a right"?Then there's the episode where they interview some guy who's a socialist. P&T tells us how bad it is to live under socialism, and compares that system to Nazism. I agree that socialism is evil, but libertarians should read how rich capitalists have treated (and still treat) common people like garbage before they criticize the socialists. It's a reason why so many people became socialists in the first place.Someone should remake this show in a more honest manner. Make a truly objective show that give people the truth about the dangers of both socialism and capitalism. Show them how evil pornography is, and how it ruins our society. Inspire them to treat animals with respect, but also to stay away from crazy organizations like PETA. Don't ridicule Christianity. Don't glorify big business and fast food. This show is just a load of Bullcrap.

Comedic magic duo Penn & Teller take their unique, creative performance and turn it into an analysis of modern life in "Bullshit!" In our modern world where pseudo science and fads make people do crazy things, Penn & Teller turn this into a deep examination on the beliefs and habits people today follow and how many times people don't ask the hard questions before deciding to believe what they do believe. The duo is known for their strong libertarian streak, and they don't hide this ever during the program, but if you're like me and have two-party fatigue, you will appreciate how they call the hypocrisies of both the liberals and the conservatives. At the same time, they never tell you to believe or not believe something, but rather give you reasons to think critically about issues and teach you how to avoid being conned. They also point out how for being a free and independent county, many of our freedoms are vanishing (universal health care, gun control, environmentalism, etc.) Some of the topics, such as religion, intelligent design, PETA, and bottled water, are terrific and really present solid arguments on the validity or non-validity of these topics. Some episodes aren't as strong and sometimes the arguments are far reaching, but on some topics, they are right on the money with their doubts. You don't have to agree with them on everything and I certainly don't, but if you want to learn about thinking critically about every issue you face, this show is a good foundation for doing that. With fads like gluten free diet (you can't be gluten intolerant unless you have celiac disease, which less than 10% of the population has), avoiding vaccines (diseases thought long gone are returning), and crossfit (an exercise program that is more harmful than helpful and becoming somewhat a cult), it's good to have the knowledge to think it through and sniff out the bullshit.

BS should be shown in schools. There should even be a subject by that name...BS is practically the lone (very very lonely) voice of reason on the small screen, and a rather refreshing injection of common sense in the muddy pond of nonsense (i.e. BS) which the left-wing PC-(i.e. BS)- dominated media landscape serves to us on a second-by-second basis. P&T expose the increasingly retarded culture, which a growing number seem to be whole-heartedly embracing, and they do this in a very direct, unpretentious way. The exponentially increasing dumbing-down process has firmly taken root in American (and, in general, Western) society, poisoning our brains for decades, and it was high time someone pointed out, step by step, show by show, the various aspects of it to people who barely question any old BS that is shoved down their willing throats. In a way it's rather sad that America needs two MAGICIANS to explain to them what is BS and what isn't. But I guess most people need even the most obvious truths and fallacies practically drawn for them.The show's relaxed and tongue-in-cheek attitude only adds to the show's fun factor, but no-one should make the error of confusing the humour with a lack of seriousness or focus. After all, P&T are well aware that we live in an age in which the attention span of the average Joe Schmoe does not exceed 15 minutes (or even seconds). Most Joes Schmoes cannot understand sentences with words longer than three syllables, nor do they have the patience necessary to hear them out - let alone THINK about them if by some miracle they suddenly acquired that very ability. Hence P&T episodes are concise, fun, worded in a relatively simple manner - and with 25 minutes very short - because that's the only way the two Vegas showmen can get through the thick heads of the brainwashed, insufficiently (or badly) educated, confused, and mostly severely deluded 21st-century masses. This is not an elitist show directed at "intellectuals" (are there any even left on either side of the Atlantic? Just ask Daniel Flynn). Everyone is supposed to be able to follow and comprehend P&T's unsubtle jabs at modern-day myths and rampant stupidity/naivety, whether they be related to science, politics, social issues, are any combination of those three.So why does the show have so many detractors? (Just look at some of the sad reviews here.) The answer is as obvious as it is wonderful: because P&T offend/annoy/irritate all extremist "thinkers". It's a show written and presented by moderates - in other words, very intelligent down-to- Earth people for whom reason never takes second place to blind, dogmatic, uncompromising idealism. (Is there any other kind of idealism, anyway?) So who is most annoyed by P&T's rational messages and wise/clever stabs at the very core of all fanatical, non-thinking, irrational movements? 1) The extreme (religious) Right, and 2) ESPECIALLY the extreme Left.The reason I wrote "especially" in capital letters is two-fold: 1) a lot more nonsense these days comes from the Left camp than from the Right; or rather, the Left's populist, unscientific, and hugely intolerant dogma has taken a grip over Western society far more since WW II hence BS's criticism is logically more directed at them. 2) The extreme Right is by now so used to being the butt of jokes and of extensive (and very deserved) bashing, that they don't actually give P&T much thought. Being bombarded from all sides, they barely have the time to count all their enemies. However, the (extreme) Left is not used to this kind of unbridled, cheerful assault on their own particular, precious brand of pseudo-intellectual lunacy: the Left has been so ridiculously pampered by the heavily biased liberal media (and decadent Hollywood which acts as a sort of never-tiring propaganda-film factory), with very few of its most profoundly idiotic old beliefs and new ideas being openly criticized or even seriously discussed/questioned. Hence why Leftists are whining and bitching the loudest about the show being "biased" (ain't that the pot calling the kettle black!) and much too Right-wing. "South Park" and Howard Stern have been similarly accused by neo-hippies and Marxists of "Fascism", sexism, and what-not, just because they, too, dare(d) stick needles of rationality into the over- swollen, high-pressure balloons of Leftist propaganda and its self- important proponents. But how Right-wing are they really? Is bashing religious fundamentalists and the Bible Right-wing? P&T suggest prostitution should be legalized. Would the U.S. Right ever even consider such an option? In the episode "College" the Left's almost Hitleresque (ironically) intolerance of opposing views is exposed, plus the highly dangerous monopoly they have over U.S. universities hence America's young. P&T even dared mock the "untouchable" Noam Chomsky (sort of an early version of Michael Moore) and exposed him for the anti-intellectual fraud that he is. That alone is something the Left will not and cannot ever forgive. How DARE someone question any piece of idiotic liberal drivel or any of its poster children of modern-day dumbing-down?! "Intellectual morons" indeed...I do not agree with P&T on everything, but even when I disagree with them (e.g. "Big Brother", "Death Penalty", "Obesity") - which is quite rare - I find that they present their case in a well-ordered, logical manner. I am not a "bleedin'-heart" liberal: in other words, I do not get the urge to silence any voice or view that differs from my own.The best episodes: "Holier Than Thou" (exposing typical cult of personality BS behind "humanitarians" - i.e. charlatans - such as Gandhi, Mother Theresa, and the Llama: FINALLY someone with the cajones to do that!), "Alternative Medicine", "Creationism" (admittedly an easy target for any self-respecting atheist), "P.E.T.A." (a particularly hilarious show; generally, episodes mocking foam-at-the-mouth environmentalists are the funniest by far; plenty of interesting "animals" to poke fun at there), "Environmental Hysteria", "Conspiracy Theories", "Nukes, Hybrids, & Lesbians", "Self-Helpless" etc.

Penn & Teller: Bullshit! Is something else. Imagine watching a mix between Mythbusters and South Park - and you will pretty much have Bullshit apart from the occasional magic and illusion performance.It makes its living portraying many different organizations, big or small, from many outskirts of life which the hosts deem to be based on fraudulent premises.The format seems to have all matter of audiences in mind, as it explores everything from conspiracy theories, prostitution, porn, and 9/11 attacks - to the love of dogs and belief in the supernatural abilities of dolphins.I am a skeptic myself, and have found myself agreeing with the series on all but one of the topics. Some of the arguments portrayed against the ideologies and systems they debunk are very well grounded in rationale and logic, while at other times, they attack it vigorously with inane attempts humor. Most of these attempts are successful, and to use the Bullshit rhetoric: 'Is f***** goddamn f*** f*** funny as f***'.To say that their evaluation of the topics at hand is unbiased, would be ridiculous - as it is quite clear from the beginning that the off-hand comments delivered seem to be handpicked. The obvious bias is portrayed in such a way that it seems overblown, and this heightens the comedic value, and makes you forgive a lot of the degradation.If you are conservative, this may not be an interesting watch, unless you are highly sadistic - as you can be fairly certain that a big part of your belief-systems will be challenged through-out the series.Sometimes, in order to target a broader audience, the attempts at humor through shock-value can perhaps be a bit much to your average viewer. Some of the arguments they use are not grounded in scientific studies but rather common sense or cultural standards. They will degrade the opposition to a huge extent, sometimes unnecessarily, in order to score 'frat points'.Do not be fooled by this however, as there is so much intelligence behind the seemingly inane comedy-show that I will recommend it to any viewer who enjoys challenging the gray matter between their ears. The show is constantly walking a fine line between funny, or serious. Cynical or critical. Reasonable, or outrageous. And it manages to come across well enough to sneak onto the comedy scene, while at the same time getting its vital points across . It is beautifully designed and executed in this manner, and does it far better than any other shows I have seen thus far.All in all, Bullshit! is a challenge to your intellect and your belief-system all summed up with a high dose of rude in-your-face humor and dark comedy unlike anything I have seen on TV before. No matter who you are, if you are interested in truth - watch it.