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Product Description Big
science has expelled smart new ideas from the classroom ... What they
forgot is that every generation has its Rebel! That rebel, Ben Stein
(Ferris Bueller’s Day Off) travels the world on his quest, and learns
an awe-inspiring truth … that educators and scientists are being
ridiculed, denied tenure and even fired – for the crime of merely
believing that there might be evidence of design in nature, and that
perhaps life is not just the result of accidental, random chance. To
which Ben Says: Enough! And then gets busy. NOBODY messes with Ben.
**UPDATE:
9/24/08 - After numerous requests I have ultimately decided to rewrite
this review, almost in its entirety. The first review was posted on
7/14/2008. My rating has not changed nor have my opinions on this
documentary. However, people have made suggestions in format changes as
well as making the content more concise and I think they are good
suggestions. It doesn't matter whether you support ID or Evolution, the
review should help people make an educated decision about this product.
Thank you to those who helped with their suggestions and didn't simply
write this off because I gave it one star. This applies to people on
both sides of the ID and Evolution argument, you people are truly
taking the high road and I appreciate that.
I believe I should clarify something before I delve into the full
breadth of my review. When I first saw this I was ready to give it
three stars. I didn't see any point in questioning Ben Stein's report
about people losing their jobs because of their beliefs. Humanity can
be cruel no matter where you are and prejudice can rear its head no
matter what the belief. That being said, I walked out thinking there
was a problem starting to sweep the academic community and the only
issue I had with the film was its association of Darwin and the Nazis
(I'll go more in depth on this later). I've been quite a fan of Ben
Stein's commentary on the economy and many other things. He seems to be
very fair and balanced, thus, based on that perception I didn't have
any reason to question his work here. Until I started doing some
research on it, that is. I went to expelledexposed.com to read the
scientific communities response. I was shocked. I didn't stop there; I
went to freegonzalez.com one of the scientists featured in the
documentary. I may not have looked at every scientist interviewed in
detail, but I've seen enough.
Ben Stein shows us a world where Academia's freedom of inquiry
might not be so free. This should be a concern for anyone and everyone.
This undermines the concept that we will be teaching facts and truth in
our universities. However, if you watch how this documentary is
formatted you will find that this documentary is overly biased, delving
into spectrums of propaganda! Let me explain. Stein sets about proving
his premise by interviewing scientists that have been rejected by the
establishment. Scientists who have allegedly had their lives ruined
because of their belief in something called "Intelligent Design."
Science isn't here to persecute people's beliefs and this concept would
probably outrage anyone... that is until you realize the lengths he
goes to paint science as the root of this evil.
So, we have Stein interviewing scientists that have had their
qualifications ruined by the establishment, wouldn't you think Stein
should interview people working in the scientific community at the time
about this issue? If this persecution of dissidents was happening I
would think he'd go and talk to people still working in the field and
cite his examples for scrutiny. This never happens. Either Stein is a
just a terrible host for a documentary and should stick to the game
shows, or he has an agenda. Stein does interview PZ Myers, Michael
Ruse, Eugenie Scott, and the mighty Richard Dawkins for his grand
finale, but he never once asks them about the people that were fired or
denied tenure. He only sticks to questions concerning how life began.
He doesn't even really talk to them about why Intelligent Design is
rejected by the scientific community versus why evolution is taught. He
never asks these questions. Michael Ruse, who isn't even credited
during his interview (more sloppy documentary work), proposes a
possible life beginning scenario involving crystals. This results in
Stein asking him again how it's possible... after Ruse just told him
and results in what can be interpreted as a rude response from Ruse.
This style of filming to show scientists as unwilling to entertain the
idea of Intelligent Design pushes the viewer to see science as
intolerable. In our overly politically correct society this seems
"mean" or whatever to people. Science isn't a democracy; it's based on
factual observations. Intelligent Design cannot provide something
observable that can be repeated in a laboratory, that's a fact, not a
belief. So why should science also be politically correct and show
"tolerance" for things that are blatantly unscientific. (I know some
people will cry conspiracy about evolution, but that's not the point of
this documentary.)
Stein also interviewed Berlinski and played favoritism to him in
this film, I think, because he was giving the kind of answers Stein
could agree with. That shouldn't be the point of something you're
making to generate awareness. He goes into his grand finale with
Dawkins. I'm not going to try and defend Dawkins' embarrassing answer
for him; I agree with others that he's a better writer (though I do
admire him for trying to speak out for the side of science). Long story
short, Stein pushed Dawkins to come up with an answer of how life began
and Dawkins naturally replied that he didn't know. He actually replied
with "I don't know" multiple times until we come to a cut scene where
it shows Dawkins proposing that aliens could have possibly seeded life
on the planet. If you notice Dawkins' tone of voice and mannerisms it's
pretty clear he didn't even believe his comment. So why say it? I have
no idea; I also have no idea how long this paltry debate between
Dawkins and Stein went on until Stein finally got some ammunition to
help his point along.
As further proof of this rather slanted take on the subject, I
submit the whole Nazi/Holocaust association with science. I'm sorry,
but what does that have to do with freedom of inquiry in the present
day academic community? For me Stein is simply reaching at straws and
he's really out to demonize science. As someone told me, he was quoted
as saying "Science leads to killing." After seeing this relation in the
midst of his documentary I can see why he believes it, but that doesn't
mean he's right. Not to mention Hitler was influenced by a lot more
than just Darwinian Theory, just read "Mein Kampf" and you'll see him
quote another document called "The Protcol's of the Elders Zion."
Hitler basically repeated the anti-Semitic theories from that document
almost verbatim concerning his prejudice. Not to mention the Nazi
practice of "survival of the fittest" doesn't even correlate with
Darwin, because mankind is meddling at that specific point. Nature
isn't in control over who is the "fittest" the Nazi party and other
humans were. Just because the Nazis don't understand what it means or
want to skew it doesn't mean it was all Darwin's fault. Either way,
apparently he forgets why we understand the cause of Small Pox and can
create a vaccine or how penicillin works and is just focusing on those
who made things like the atomic bomb. I'm well aware that Darwin
influenced the Nazi scientists, but this has nothing to do with the
scientists supposedly being fired today.
In the end I was left realizing the immense piece of propaganda I
had viewed. After I sat down and analyzed what I saw and did some
research this swiftly dropped to a one star rating. There is simply no
excuse for this and whether you support Intelligent Design or
Evolution, it doesn't matter; you should not want Stein representing
you on this case. You should not want this documentary to be used as
your "proof" against the establishment. "Expelled" is propaganda and
you can even tell that from the way it's filmed. If you must see it,
then do the research to back it up on both sides. Regardless if you
believe his points or think that Gonzalez should be freed, you have to
ask yourself "why didn't he ask Richard Dawkins or PZ Myers or any of
the other scientists about the firings and losing of tenure?" If you
don't have an answer for this then you know this film isn't on the
level.
P.S. This is an abridged review from the original. I think this
stands as my full review for just the film. Hopefully this
improved/rewritten review will come across as being more useful for
those reading.
By all means, buy this. Nothing could undermine the credibility of the
Intelligent Design crowd faster than this dishonest, venal attempt to
make an end run around the legitimate scientific vetting process. [...]
By trade, I am a biologist. I teach biology and invest strongly in
science. "Science" comes from the Greek word for "knowledge." Those who
shun science shun knowledge. Evolution is as strong a science as
gravity and thermodynamics. If someone attempted to teach my children
that gravity was explained by God tethering us with invisible strings,
I would attempt to have them fired or, better yet, sent to the loony
bin. Likewise, when people attempt to claim that we did not evolve over
3 billion years from a single celled organism, they should suffer the
same fate (fired, committed, etc.). The facts are the facts, and should
not be skewed by the ignorant.
So biology is my trade. But by faith, I'm a devout Christian. I
speak to and have a personal relationship with God. He is omnipresent
in my life. I abide strongly by the Ten Commandments - one of the most
salient being "thou shall not bear false witness." We have come to
accept this to mean, colloquially, "you should not lie." You should not
lie to your significant other about where you have been. You should not
lie to your friend about your feelings. You should not lie to your
fellow humans regarding the intricate process of evolution that has
crafted intelligent, dextrous humans who possess immense capability as
a species.
My biological training progressed almost simultaneously with my
theological training. But as I learned each, they only served to
bolster each other. Learning about the richness of life that occurs
here on our planet made me understand the infinite beauty of our
Creator.
I must say that I did have one conflict (luckily just one) with the
simultaneous understanding of science and God. When I finally "got"
evolution, I realized, as many creationists have, that this scientific
fact is incompatible with the teachings of the Bible. I went to Church
and prayed for the answer, hoping I did not have to shun one of my
devout endeavours to pursue the other. I heard the voice of God
reverberate through my very soul. He said, "What are you, retarded? The
Bible isn't a scientific text. For questions of sciece, refer to the
scientists, who have discovered the rules of my Earth through the
ingenious scientific method. For instance, if you want to understand
how you came to be as a species, read On the Origin of Species: By
Means of Natural Selection (Thrift Edition). It's sublime! I wrote one
book and that is all; I had to dumb it down for the early humans just
to get you going as an intelligent species. Just as I planned, you
evolved intelligently enough to produce science and technology. The
Bible was only meant for the early, ignorant humans. Now that you've
launched from your Biblical selves into an autonomous species, you can
safely rely on the writings of scientists to get your answers. " Well
that settled that.
Anyway, this movie perpetuates the ignorant belief that evolution
is a flimsy theory and, because of that, "alternatives" should be
taught. But, in reality, it is the mental capacity of the film creators
that is flimsy. Just because you "don't get" something doesn't mean it
is wrong; it simply means you need to go back to school or even just
pick up a book.
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