Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed
According to Ben Stein, "Evil can sometimes be rationalized as science." Expelled reveals the ways that evil can be rationalized and disguised as argument and intellectual inquiry, too. That may seem extreme, but the ideas presented, the sorts of sloppy arguments made, and the twisted rhetoric used in this movie are dangerous and have the potential to create negative consequences all their own.
I'd been curious about this movie since before it was released, curious about how Stein and company would address the issue of Intelligent Design, curious about whether or not they could add anything to this ongoing debate/culture war. This movie begins as a documentary, raising questions, even if biased questions; it ends as anti-science, anti-Darwinist, anti-atheist, and even anti-choice propaganda.
Do not watch this movie. It is bloated, manipulative, and narrow-minded. If you are genuinely interested in a documentary about Intelligent Design, particularly as it relates to science education, I recommend Kansas Vs. Darwin instead.
I will attempt to share some of my thoughts about it here, but I fear my frustration and anger will make this more difficult than usual.
After hearing about two different theories regarding a possible origin of life, Ben Stein says,Crystals? Aliens? I thought we were talking about science here, not science fiction.
As if the ideas of SF are any more far-fetched than the idea that there is a mysterious creator figure who never appears and whose origin we also cannot possibly know. As if science fiction is so much harder to believe than fantasy. At least science fiction attempts to base its speculations in the realities of the physical universe.
The film also takes on the idea that in order for cellular life to have begun a staggering number of proteins would be required by creating a silly little cartoon to poke fun at this theory:
Here, it is argued that these requirements for the beginning of life are "impossible." In fact, of course, they are merely statistically improbable, a significant distinction. Of course, it doesn't matter to the filmmakers that the appearance of an intelligent designer is lacking even that level of scientific probability.
Furthermore, inevitably, Expelled equates a belief in evolutionary theory with atheism, meaningless lives, and the oppression and violence of Nazism and Stalinism. He says, "Darwinism does lead to atheism" and he says this despite the film's immediately preceding insistence upon the happy coexistence of scientific inquiry and religion throughout history.
Dude, Ben Stein is a douchebag. I can't even write about his arguments about Darwinism and Nazism. Huge leaps in logic, falsities, and an emotional connection implied (at the least) between his tour of Nazi concentration camps and the possible--or maybe probable--results of Darwinism, atheism, and oppression. Because it's the Holocaust, we have to agree with Ben Stein now, right? Plus, he's Jewish, so he's an expert. Wait...what was the issue again? Intelligent design? Scientific discourse? Where'd that go?
Argh. Darwinism. Nazism. Eugenics. Margaret Sanger. Planned Parenthood. Somehow this path leads us to a very brief but very forceful condemnation of Planned Parenthood. Sanger definitely had some ideas that I am uncomfortable with, but to imply that Planned Parenthood now is an institution of eugenics is little more than right-wing nutjobbery.
I can't even write coherently about most of this movie because it's got so many problems. It is 1) poorly presented (Ben Stein should not be a film narrator and too often we are not told who the speakers in the film are), 2) manipulative in style (relying incredibly heavily on stock footage of historic moments, clips from old movies, and random images that underscore the ideological bias of the movie, as well as incorporating an inappropriately dramatic musical score to further affect the viewer's emotions), and 3) dishonest. Instead, I recommend that, if you haven't already, you read Roger Ebert's smackdown of Ben Stein. He takes on the seriously fucked up ideas that Expelled puts out there and demolishes them.
I'd been curious about this movie since before it was released, curious about how Stein and company would address the issue of Intelligent Design, curious about whether or not they could add anything to this ongoing debate/culture war. This movie begins as a documentary, raising questions, even if biased questions; it ends as anti-science, anti-Darwinist, anti-atheist, and even anti-choice propaganda.
Do not watch this movie. It is bloated, manipulative, and narrow-minded. If you are genuinely interested in a documentary about Intelligent Design, particularly as it relates to science education, I recommend Kansas Vs. Darwin instead.
I will attempt to share some of my thoughts about it here, but I fear my frustration and anger will make this more difficult than usual.
After hearing about two different theories regarding a possible origin of life, Ben Stein says,Crystals? Aliens? I thought we were talking about science here, not science fiction.
As if the ideas of SF are any more far-fetched than the idea that there is a mysterious creator figure who never appears and whose origin we also cannot possibly know. As if science fiction is so much harder to believe than fantasy. At least science fiction attempts to base its speculations in the realities of the physical universe.
The film also takes on the idea that in order for cellular life to have begun a staggering number of proteins would be required by creating a silly little cartoon to poke fun at this theory:
Click to viewHere, it is argued that these requirements for the beginning of life are "impossible." In fact, of course, they are merely statistically improbable, a significant distinction. Of course, it doesn't matter to the filmmakers that the appearance of an intelligent designer is lacking even that level of scientific probability.
Furthermore, inevitably, Expelled equates a belief in evolutionary theory with atheism, meaningless lives, and the oppression and violence of Nazism and Stalinism. He says, "Darwinism does lead to atheism" and he says this despite the film's immediately preceding insistence upon the happy coexistence of scientific inquiry and religion throughout history.
Dude, Ben Stein is a douchebag. I can't even write about his arguments about Darwinism and Nazism. Huge leaps in logic, falsities, and an emotional connection implied (at the least) between his tour of Nazi concentration camps and the possible--or maybe probable--results of Darwinism, atheism, and oppression. Because it's the Holocaust, we have to agree with Ben Stein now, right? Plus, he's Jewish, so he's an expert. Wait...what was the issue again? Intelligent design? Scientific discourse? Where'd that go?
Argh. Darwinism. Nazism. Eugenics. Margaret Sanger. Planned Parenthood. Somehow this path leads us to a very brief but very forceful condemnation of Planned Parenthood. Sanger definitely had some ideas that I am uncomfortable with, but to imply that Planned Parenthood now is an institution of eugenics is little more than right-wing nutjobbery.
I can't even write coherently about most of this movie because it's got so many problems. It is 1) poorly presented (Ben Stein should not be a film narrator and too often we are not told who the speakers in the film are), 2) manipulative in style (relying incredibly heavily on stock footage of historic moments, clips from old movies, and random images that underscore the ideological bias of the movie, as well as incorporating an inappropriately dramatic musical score to further affect the viewer's emotions), and 3) dishonest. Instead, I recommend that, if you haven't already, you read Roger Ebert's smackdown of Ben Stein. He takes on the seriously fucked up ideas that Expelled puts out there and demolishes them.