Penn & Teller: Bullshit!
In society, there are many products and ideas that we buy into. Some of these products, services or ideas are just plain bullshit. Well known magicians: Penn and Teller are here to knock some sense into people in a humorous and informal way and to explain why some things in life are just bullshit.
Penn & Teller reveal truths about the Obesity epidemic. A visit to an Obesity conference exposes the uncomfortably cozy relationships between the medical establishment, the diet companies and the weight loss industry. An advocacy group for overweight people tells us about the hardships and discrimination brought about by their weight. Plus, the first-ever Penn & Teller 'Fat Guy Olympics.'
Penn & Teller expose America's love/hate relationship with Wal-Mart. We look at the good and bad sides of the biggest employer in the US. We challenge the director of the documentary, "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price," we reveal union efforts to smear Wal-Mart, we meet a chronically unemployed young mother in Chicago to see how her life changed when Wal-Mart came to town and we look for the silver lining behind third world sweatshops.
Penn & Teller look at women's breasts and society's response to them. In New York City, we meet a young mother who inadvertently tested corporate tolerance for breast-feeding in public. Further south, in Daytona Beach, Florida, we meet a woman who challenged the rights to flash her breasts in public. We also meet a breast cancer survivor who is not a supporter of those ubiquitous Pink Ribbons. And, down in the valley of porn, we find a topless porn star/mother of two who philosophizes on the benefits of the La Leche League.
Penn & Teller expose the truth behind our supposedly toxic insides. We find out about "colonics" and those "cleansing" diets including today's diet darling, the "Neera Super Cleanse." An actual Parasitologist - a scientist who studies parasites - tells us the truth about the parasites among and within us. A visit to the world's largest inflatable walk-through colon rounds out the episode.
Penn and Teller battle the forces of evil when they witness three modern-day exorcists performing their demonic casting-out duties, then pay a visit to the "Black Pope," the leader of the Church of Satan.
The blizzard of bullshit surrounding immigration melts when Penn and Teller spend some time with the "Minutemen," a militia group dedicated to preventing illegal border crossings, while illegal immigrants demonstrate their fence-jumping techniques.
What's not to like about the Americans with Disabilities Act? After all, it is supposed to improve life for the handicapped. Penn and Teller interview businessmen and women, along with some handicap advocates, who say that the act is a huge asset to greedy lawyers who file frivolous lawsuits against whole towns, claiming that the businesses are infringing the rights of the handicapped. The end result is that fewer handicapped people end up getting hired, and hence the ADA defeats its own purpose. Penn and Teller claim the act is far too broad, and individual businesses, not the government, should be able to dictate who they will cater to.
Mount Rushmore is usually seen as a symbol of American pride and ingenuity. In an episode that will have American patriots enraged, Penn and Teller interview a native tribesman who sees the monument as a symbol of American sacrilege and imperialism, while Penn and Teller themselves say it is little more than an elaborate tourist trap envisioned by a white supremacist.
Penn and Teller explain the necessity of nuclear power in modern society, advocating that it is both cleaner and safer than the alternatives such as coal. Advocates from the pro-nuke side and anti-nuke side are interviewed. Along the way, they debunk the myth of hybrid car fuel efficiency by having two lesbians take a road trip across southern california.
Penn & Teller look into Anger Management classes and venting.
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Penn Jillette | Himself - Host |
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Teller | Himself - Host |
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George W. Bush | Himself |
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Gerard Baker | Himself - Superintendent of Mt. Rushmore |
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CJ | Doane Robinson |
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Victor Davis Hanson | Himself - Senior Fellow / Hoover Institution |
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Lars Larson | Himself - Radio Talk Show Host |
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Michael Parenti | Himself - Political Scientist |
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Jesse Larner | Himself - Author / Mount Rushmore: An Icon Reconsidered |
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Bill Means | Himself - American Indian Movement |
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Jacob G. Hornberger | Himself - President / Future of Freedom Foundation |
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George Bush | Himself |
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Gene Hatcher | Abs in window |
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Erica Jong | Herself - Novelist |
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Al Norman | Himself - Sprawl Busters |
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Benjamin Powell | Himself - Assistant Professor of Economics / San Jose State University |
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Myron Ebell | Himself - Competitive Enterprise Institute |
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Robert Greenwald | Himself - Filmmaker |
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Sophia Rossi | Herself - Adult Film Actress |
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Nick Gillespie | Himself - Reason Magazine |
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Eugene Volokh | Himself - Professor of Law / UCLA |
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Chanelle St. Pierre | Herself - Wal-Mart Critic |
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Al DeMaria | Himself - Labor Lawyer |
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Jonna Spilbor | Herself - Lawyer |
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Paul Campos | Himself - Professor of Law / University of Colorado |
| Edition | DVD |
|---|---|
| Packaging | Custom Case |
| Nr Discs | 2 |
| Screen Ratios | Theatrical Widescreen (2.35:1) Widescreen (1.78:1) |
| Audio Tracks | Dolby Digital 5.1 [English] Dolby Digital Stereo [English] Dolby Digital Mono [Spanish] Mono [Spanish] Stereo [English] |
| Subtitles | English | English (Closed Captioned) | Spanish (Closed Captioned) |
| Distributor | Showtime |
| Layers | Single side, Dual layer |
| Edition Release Date | May 20, 2008 |
| Regions | Region 1 |
| Purchased | On Jan 08, 2014 |
|---|---|
| Index | 2727 |
| Added Date | Mar 22, 2018 00:00:00 |
| Modified Date | Dec 13, 2023 22:07:31 |