Difference between revisions of "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed"

Revision as of 22:50, April 16, 2008

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed is a documentary claiming to reveal how intelligent design supporters are suppressed and persecuted within schools, universities and the scientific community.^[1] The documentary is hosted by Ben Stein and set for release in the spring of 2008.

Tom Bethel wrote:

The film, a documentary, is about scientists and researchers who acknowledge the scientific evidence for the intelligent design of life and who have been ostracized or denied tenure as a result. In a word, they have been "expelled" from the academy. ^[2]

The film is described in its online trailer as “a startling revelation that freedom of thought and freedom of inquiry have been expelled from publicly-funded high schools, universities and research institutions.” ^[3]

The film cites several academic disputes to argue that scientists and educators who promote intelligent design are persecuted by the scientific establishment.^[4] Examples given by the film include Richard Sternberg, a biologist and an unpaid research associate at the National Museum of Natural History, and Guillermo Gonzalez, a pro-Intelligent design astrophysicist denied tenure at Iowa State University in 2007.^[5]

In the film's trailer, Stein states that there are "people out there who want to keep science in a little box where it can’t possibly touch God" and that "freedom of thought and freedom of inquiry have been expelled from publicly-funded high schools, universities and research institutions."^[5]

Stein links Darwinism to the Holocaust, which was perpetrated in part by eugenicists inspired by Darwin's theory of evolution. "Charles Darwin's evolutionary theory was quickly applied to human beings and social structure. The term 'survival of the fittest' was coined and seen to be applicable to humans."^[6]

Filmmaker statements

"If you acknowledge this idea that design can be detected scientifically in the universe, then you open up the door to saying, 'Maybe this atheistic view isn't true,' [and] the entire worldview of people who are atheists crashes down around them," Mathis said. "This is a foundational concept for people who believe this way. So they defend it with incredible vigor."^[7]

Reviews

Carl Wieland:

This powerful documentary is all about the persecution and censorship of any scientist who dares to oppose the Darwinist paradigm, by even suggesting the relatively modest hypothesis that the universe shows detectable evidence of design.^[8]

Roger Friedman, a liberal who writes articles on the website for the Fox News Channel as part of their ongoing goal to remain balanced criticises the movie by personally attacking Ben Stein and absurdly implying that the movie's "warped premise" that "somehow the theory of evolution is so evil that it caused the Holocaust" is somehow anti-Semitic:

"Expelled" is a sloppy, all-over-the-place, poorly made (and not just a little boring) "expose" of the scientific community. It’s not very exciting. But it does show that Stein... is either completely nuts or so avaricious that he’s abandoned all good sense to make a buck..... Who cares, really, if "Expelled" is anti-Semitic? It will come and go without much fanfare.^[9]

Critical response

Predictably, complaints about the film from liberals have not addressed the film's premise. Richard Dawkins claimed he was tricked into appearing, indicating that he had been told it would be a movie named Crossroads that would be focused on "exploring the controversy." (Two others who were similarly "deceived" said they would have appeared anyway.) In response, Ben Stein said that no one he interviewed asked what the film would be about, and the co-producer Walt Ruloff said at the preview that interviewees were paid and were even told ahead of time what the questions would be.^[10]

The stridently pro-evolution science magazine Scientific American criticized the film, calling it "intellectually dishonest," and detailed their objections with the film and intelligent design in a series of inflammatory articles.^[11]

Alleged Copyright Violations

On April 9, 2008, legal notice was sent to the producers of Expelled by the graphic firm XVIVO, LLC, alleging copyright infringement. The notice states that Expelled includes a segment depicting biological cellular activity that was copied by computer-generated means from a video entitled The Inner Life of a Cell. XVIVO holds the copyright to all the models, processes, and depictions in The Inner Life of a Cell, and had not authorized Premise Media or Rampant Films to make any use of the material. The notice threatens legal action if the producers of Expelled do not remove the allegedly infringing segment from all copies of the film prior to its scheduled commercial release on April 18, 2008. ^[12]

The producers of Expelled responded with a lawsuit filed on April 14, 2008, seeking declaratory judgment that there is no copyright or other infringement. This lawsuit is currently unresolved.^[13]

See also

• Origins debate
• Theory of evolution
• Creation-evolution controversy
• Design detection

External links

• Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed at the Internet Movie Database
• Intelligent Design and Academic Freedom by Barbara Bradley Hagerty at NPR.com

References