Expelled!

Expelled!
I'm always open to hearing the "other" side of the argument. And being that I just started a new biology class specifically centered on the topic of evolution, I took the opportunity of having my last evening in the states to visit a movie theater in ..:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />San Diego and watch the new movie "Expelled".

I was going in with an attitude of a researcher. I was just as interested in observing the people in the theater as I was in the film itself. I had done quite a bit of reading about the film. I read several reviews which were all pretty predictable. Richard Dawkins criticized it and Rush Limbaugh loved it. No real surprises.

See Richard Dawkins own views on the film and the fiasco during a prescreening of the film here:
http://richarddawkins.net/article,2394,Lying-for-Jesus,Richard-Dawkins

You should also know that I am an atheist. I have a scientific mind and I cringe at the suggestion that creation or intelligent design should be considered at the same level as a science. So I must acknowledge that my interpretation of the film will probably be biased, although I also try very hard to keep an open mind to reasonable arguments. So, I walked into the theater and tried to clear my preconceptions, sat down and waited for the film to start.

It was about 15 minutes before the starting time and I observed that the theater was not even half full. I kind of expected more people to be there and I thought I might see a little more fanfare since it was opening night. Right before the film started a lot more people cam pouring in, including one man who came and sat in the row behind me and one seat to my right. He was obese and he propped his feet up on the chair next to mine and let out a loud sigh/yawn. Then he asked the people next to him if they knew how long the movie was gonna be. I didn't hear a reply.

All through the previews this guy kept making comments sort of under his breath but just loud enough for a few of us to hear him. My first thoughts were that maybe this guy is an atheist or some kind of smart-ass here just to annoy all the Christians in the audience. His sarcastic comments already started to annoy me even before the movie started.

One side observation of mine – all the previews were very family oriented. Geared for children, Disney films, teen type advertising. Maybe that's to be expected, but I found it interesting.

Finally the movie started and the very first imagery is of construction of the Berlin Wall. Ben Stein's commentary highlights the idea of American Freedom. Freedom of speech, and freedom to question the norm. He attempts to draw a comparison between the Berlin Wall and the suppression of scientists who tried to teach or bring up the idea of Intelligent Design.

The film interviews about 6 or 7 well-credentialed scientists who claim to have been fired or denied tenure by their universities. Most of these scientists seemed to be rational and did seem to be making a fairly decent case that as soon as they brought up the idea of ID, they were immediately shunned. Some of the pre-research I had done indicated that this may not have been the case for all of them. But still a point worth noting.

Ben Stein attempted to portray himself as being unbiased and searching for answers. He tried to act like he was just trying to find the truth about why the scientific community was holding down ID.

By this time, the fat guy behind me had continued to make little comments and snickers that were perfectly timed for the silences so that everyone around him could hear him. They became "Yeah rights", and "whatever's". But they had become evidently supportive of Stein and the film. It became obvious that he bought into the film completely and that he thought evolutionary theory was wrong.

I hate to admit it, but I was glad. I was glad he wasn't an atheist and I was glad that someone so annoying and rude was not someone who shared my worldviews. His comments showed himself as a Christian.

He started to chant things like "It's GOD!" and "G-O-D!". Finally I became annoyed enough to stand up turn towards him and say, "I'd appreciate it if you'd keep your mouth shut". He shot me a sarcastic "Sorry". Then he leaned over the chair and said something like I should just go file a complaint. I ignored him and tried to focus on the film.

Stein interviews some of the scientists and authors that I admire most. Dawkins, Dennett. Schermer, Myers. These are all brilliant men. They are at the forefront of biology and the studies of religion in society. I have read books and/or material by all of them. This film made very obvious attempts to make them look silly and twist their arguments into oversimplified ideas.
They used dreary and empirical music when the "enemy" was talking. And they used inspiring, uplifting music when Stein or the "victimized scientists" spoke.

They would quickly cut to back and forth to old black and white footage that was attempting to correlate mainstream scientists with Nazis, militaristic thinking, violence, and oppression. Meanwhile any speaker who advocated ID was portrayed as being a victim of oppression.

The middle of the film consisted of a very lame attempt to show that ID is not religiously based. However they did not present any evidence or research that supported ID. I am not surprised because ID has no theories. The only argument goes something like this, "Oh wow, things are soooooo complex!!!!" Oooooooh!!! Look how complex that is! It must be God!"

The film spends no time discussing the true ideas of evolution and natural selection. They only condensed it into an oversimplified idea and tried to make it sound ridiculous.

About this time, the fat guy got up started walking down the aisle towards the exit and yelling "GOD!" "G-O-D!", and "God is good!", "Don't be afraid of GOD!". I don't know if he left or if he sat somewhere else, but I was just glad he left.

Back to the movie… the main thing that seemed to be an attempt to prove design was a really cool computer animation series that looked kind of like DNA and cellular material moving around and doing cool stuff with cool music playing in the background. Proof right? Hah! It was supposed to show how complicated genetics and molecular science are. But it was what it was – pretty neat graphics!

The film trounces Charles Darwin. They basically accuse him of all evils of the world. They misrepresent his theories, ignore modern interpretation of his ideas, and blame him for Nazism, the holocaust, abortion, euthanasia, and a lot more that I'm sure I am forgetting.

One thing I have always noticed since I've been overseas is how ID seems to only be pushed in the US and the UK. This film pretty much reinforced this. There was only one ID promoter in the film who was not either American or British, he was Polish and he only got a couple lines in. When Stein wanted a "Fresh perspective", he found a guy in Paris, France. But he was an American.

Finally, Stein decides to go after Richard Dawkins. There is a really big play-up for this interview. They show Dawkins having make-up put on and sitting waiting like Emperor Palpatine. While they show Stein riding in cab gazing thoughtfully out the window. Slow, epic music is playing in the background as if this is some sort of climactic battle between good and evil that is about to take place.

This is the interview that Dawkins has written about. Dawkins described the context of the conversation they were having. And the film shows Dawkins giving a description of a possible scenario of how life could have began on Earth. He states that life could have been seeded here by an alien species. This drew giggles and chuckles from the crowd. The film was obviously trying to frame the conversation as ridiculous.

But I already knew that Dawkins has written many times about the origins of life. He, just like almost all other scientists, does not claim to know how life originated. The chances that aliens planted us here are the same as God creating us. There is no evidence of either. This is the point Dawkins is making, but the film just tries to make him seem insane.

So, the film ended and the crowd applauded. I realized that the theater had filled up to almost full, maybe around 150-200 people. And this is in southern Cali – not exactly the Bible belt!

I left the theater disappointed. Because it was a reminder of how this false science is still accepted by many people as fact. So many people reject truth and CLING to their bibles. This refusal of people to open their minds is dangerous, scary, and an embarrassment to the country.

So here I am, my last night in the USA. Reflecting on a full-length film that pushes religious ideology, and heading for Europe tomorrow. In less than a week, I'll be in the middle-east. And I think there is more fundamentalism here and Ben Stein should stick to comedy.