Neil deGrasse Tyson at the Riverside Theater February 24, 2023

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Photo: neildegrassetyson.com

Neil deGrasse Tyson

Neil deGrasse Tyson

Milwaukee and the Riverside Theater were honored to host Neil deGrasse Tyson on Friday, February 24.

My familiarity and interest in Dr. Tyson is likely the same as most “average” people. I have always had an interest in science, but I wasn’t gifted enough to pursue it. While my interest lay dormant, Pop Culture suddenly became infatuated by geeks and nerds through The Big Bang Theory, Rick and Morty, and even the Simpsons. Science became a sitcom; sexy, enduring and most importantly something that was marketable to the masses. But how do you entertain people with theories, formulas and facts that are so complex only a genius can begin to fully comprehend? Enter Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson. Dr. Tyson is the genius next door; friendly, articulate and relatable, fun and entertaining. He shares his love of astrophysics and other sciences across multiple platforms: essays, books, documentaries, TV shows, podcasts, YouTube and other social media; yet still Dr. Tyson takes the time to tour the country, engaging everyone from a child starting to learn about the constellations, to a tenured professor.

The lone lectern holding a “Starry Night” embossed laptop to the right of a projector screen was a stark contrast to the opulence of the Riverside Theater. Dr. Tyson silently walked onstage as the chattering crowd started to quiet, then applaud. The lecture for this evening “An Astrophysicists Goes to the Movies, the Sequel” (nod to “Spaceballs”). Dr. Tyson knew his crowd; he joked about the cheeseheads at the airport shop, beer, and our lovely weather. 

Diving into movies, some music and TV, Dr. Tyson showed clips of films from “Mary Poppins” to “Gravity”; reflecting on what they got right, what they got wrong as well as the historical archive the media and entertainment industry can provide, sometimes unknowingly, as seen in a simple, unmemorable conversation about weather in “Mary Poppins”, or a line from Simon & Garfunkle’s “April Come She Will” reflecting on autumn’s chilly September (I would bet that a Wisconsinite would have to be around 40 years old to remember consistently cold weather in September). Dr. Tyson also discussed how movies can open our minds to ideas and concepts we don’t discuss daily such as String Theory, other dimensions, space travel, etc. 

Dr. Tyson’s sense of humor really shines when he discusses inaccuracies in films. He has a long standing “feud” with James Cameron, the director of Titanic, asking for the night sky in that film to be changed so it accurately represents the known position of stars, constellations and planets throughout that fateful evening in 1912. 

Throughout the lecture Neil deGrasse Tyson was engaging. He interacted with the audience asking us questions and playing off our energy and reactions during the event. In person Dr. Tyson is as charismatic, brilliant, funny, relatable and fascinating as he comes across in interviews, TV and movies. If you ever get a chance to attend one of his lectures, do not hesitate. I promise you will be entertained, leave with new knowledge and hopefully a desire to never stop learning about our planet, its occupants and the cosmos beyond.