It was the underlying arguments and
conclusions used by Shapley and Curtis that are
held up to modern scientific
scrutiny - not a hypothetical straw pole of an audience that consisted of mostly non-astronomers.
His assertion that Escape from New York
holds contemporaneous relevance
to the Iran hostage crisis that climaxed with Reagan's ascent
to power is convenient in that most pop is incidentally socio - politically resonant; and the analogy doesn't really
hold up to any
scrutiny, particularly if you factor in the film's nihilistic
conclusion.