Penn & Teller: Bullshit!

Hi, I'm Penn Jillette, and this is my partner, Teller.

Man, our self-esteem is in the clouds. We feel great!

We're into our eighth season of "Bullshit!"

and our ratings have gone up every damn year.

We won a Writer's Guild Award,

gotten over a dozen Emmy nominations,

and best of all, we're on Showtime!

It's a great network with lots of amazing shows

like "Dexter" and Californication,"

and I guess they both do a lot better than us,

but, you know, Showtime just won't do any billboards for us.

But they say that's just a budget thing,

and they did say they were going

to put a "Bullshit!" poster in their office.

Then they didn't.

Not one.

Oh, fuck.

Over-inflated self-esteem is bullshit!

"Self-Esteem"

Pizza, baseball,

online shopping, jazz,

tits, jazzy tits.

In America, there are lots of things to love--

even them.

But there's one thing, it seems,

we love more than anything else--ourselves.

I would say my self-esteem is above average.

I think my self-esteem is pretty good.

I actually have really good self-esteem. I love myself.

Today, everyone's a winner,

even if they lose.

The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat,

you can't tell them apart anymore.

But why?

I've never met anybody

that didn't have some kind of a self-esteem issue.

There is a relationship between low self-esteem

and other issues in life, such as addiction.

- Unwanted pregnancy. - Domestic violence.

Crime and aggression.

But is low self-esteem really the root of all evil?

Tonight, "Bullshit" will explore some of the techniques

people think will help them feel better about themselves.

We'll follow this woman's attempt to boost her low self-esteem...

Today I'm getting ready for a self-esteem affirmations workshop.

We'll meet a woman who plays with dolls...

I am greatness.

A man who plays with dolls...

Wonderful!

And visit a doctor

whose self-esteem boosting method will leave you feeling...

- Absolutely wonderful. - Come again?

Absolutely wonderful.

Wow.

Teller's got a perfect magic trick

for explaining the bullshit kind of self-esteem.

This glass of milk

represents your objective worth.

But bullshitters think you should say

the magic words, "I am special,"

and it'll seem like you have more worth

than you really do.

They think if you pretend it's more,

that will make you more apt to succeed.

Watch--I am special.

Oh, fuck! Look.

Amazing! Your worth looks even bigger.

It's fake, but you feel better and more successful, don't you?

No?

All you truly have to be proud of, see, this is the point,

is your real worth.

What a great metaphor, and a mystifying trick, too.

No, no, really, Teller,

you should feel very good about yourself for that trick.

Oh, look what's just come in!

Holy cow!

You got an Emmy for best didactic magic trick

of 2010/2011.

You, sir... are a winner.

No, it doesn't really say--

It doesn't really say that. I--I did just print it up.

But it's really nice paper,

very nice paper.

You know what I'm going to do?

I'm going to get me a bumper sticker

that's gonna say "My partner did a great job at--"

Well, actually, it'll say, "My partner Teller did--"

Can I have the milk?

Mmm.

You are so special.

Right this way. Stick with me.

A lot of the self-esteem movement

focuses on kids.

I think it's very important to reach kids at an early age.

I've done probably over 2,500

elementary-aged shows.

Meet elementary school motivational speaker Tim--

2,500 kid shows?!

Piccirillo. P-i-c-c-i-r-i-l-l-o.

Sorry, Tim Piccirillo.

Tim is a comic magician.

How does someone land that cushy job?

I do a self-esteem show in elementary schools.

It's called "You are special--

The magic of believing in yourself."

And if you want-- that's a good starting point to raise your self-esteem.

And I think kids need to hear

my message that, you know, you do have this potential.

You can be successful if you want to be.

Well, sure your self-esteem is high.

Look at the size of the ball you can fit into your mouth.

But forget kids for a sec.

How are we supposed to raise our self-esteem?

I think that one of the very best things a person can do

if they wanted to grow in self-esteem

would be to read the following books by Nathaniel Brandon.

By Nathaniel Brandon.

- "Honoring the Self." - "Honoring the Self."

"How to Raise Your Self-Esteem."

"How to Raise Your Self-Esteem."

"The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem."

"The Pillars of Self-Esteem."

That's enough for now.

Hey, thanks!

So who is this Nathaniel Brandon, anyway?

I am Dr. Nathaniel Brandon.

I am a practicing psychotherapist.

You were talking about yourself in the third person

recommending your own books?

Your shit must work.

For the past 40 years, Dr. Brandon's findings

have been considered a reference point

for the whole self-esteem industry.

When I began doing psychotherapy,

I was struck by the fact

that regardless of the particular complaint

the person came into my office with,

one common denominator was a poor self concept;

underdeveloped self-esteem.

Back in the seventies, Dr. Brandon declared

that virtually all psychological problems

are traceable to low self-esteem.

Anxiety, depression, fear of intimacy,

spousal battery, child molestation,

parking violations-- all low self-esteem.

I'm Leann Gomez, and I'm newly unemployed.

Leann was recently and unexpectedly laid off.

Losing my job really struck a blow on my self-esteem.

It really had me question

if I had anything of value to contribute anymore.

So Leann is going to attend

a self-esteem affirmations workshop.

Sounds interesting. Mind if we, uh, tag along?

We'll just scrunch down here

and for some reason point the camera directly into the sun

while you tell us what you're hoping

to get out of this affirmations workshop.

Out of this seminar, I hope to accomplish

a greater level of self-esteem and self confidence.

I hope that helps me just to attract everything that I want in life.

Um, from a new job to a family.

And, you know, one day buying a home.

Just the all American dream.

Well, Leann, we have good news for you.

A camera operator job has just opened up on "Bullshit!"

You can add that to your affirmations.

I was in kindergarten when the trophy generation thing started.

There was a pet show competition in my school.

The rules were clear-- Your pet had to do a trick.

I had Ralph, a big, fat rabbit

who couldn't do anything but eat and shit.

I knew Ralph couldn't be in the show

unless he did a trick.

Then I noticed Ralph would gnaw on sticks to keep his teeth short.

It gave me an idea.

I took pencils and stuck little rubber tires on the end

so they looked like barbells.

My mother even made a vest, a little rabbit vest.

And on the back it said, "Ralph, the weight lifting rabbit"

in glue and glitter.

We entered the contest.

Ralph went--

Everybody laughed and applauded.

Then five other kids brought out pets that did jack shit.

They did nothin', nothin'!

And then we all got awards.

We all got the same award, every single one of us.

I'm still pissed.

We were up against animals you could actually teach to do tricks,

and Ralph is a fucking idiot rabbit.

What bothered me and still bothers me

is the fact that people who didn't even follow the rules

still got ribbons.

I think people, and maybe even rabbits,

should earn the right to have self-esteem.

Ahh, beautiful, beautiful.

See, this rabbit deserves a ribbon.

Do it again.

Ahh, the affirmations workshop is starting.

Welcome, everyone, to using affirmations to raise self-esteem.