Reviews of movies with a religious/ethical theme

"Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed"

A discussion of academic freedom
with respect to intelligent design

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Quotations:

The plot:

Ben Stein is well known for his role in the movie "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," his TV program "Win Ben Stein's Money," and many other projects. According to the New York Times:

"He said he also believed the theory of evolution leads to racism and ultimately genocide, an idea common among creationist thinkers. If it were up to him, he said, the film would be called 'From Darwin to Hitler'.'' ₄

He traveled the world interviewing top scientists, educators and philosophers concerning what he feels is a lack of intellectual freedom concerning beliefs about origins of the species. He believes that:

"... educators and scientists are being ridiculed, denied tenure and even fired - for the 'crime' of merely believing that their might be evidence of 'design' in nature, and that perhaps life is not just the result of accidental, random chance." ₄

That is, they are not allowed to promote Intelligent Design as a alternative to the Theory of Evolution.

The New York Times states:

"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.' According to its Web site, the film asserts that people in academia who see evidence of a supernatural intelligence in biological processes have unfairly lost their jobs, been denied tenure or suffered other penalties as part of a scientific conspiracy to keep God out of the nation's laboratories and classrooms." ₄

The movie is opening during 2008-APR in select theatres across the U.S.

Allegations of deception:

According to the New York Times, Rampart Films invited the evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins and other leading scientists to be interviewed for their documentary film to be called "Crossroads." The movie was to examine the intersection of science and religion. After the interviews, the scientists found themselves in another movie (Expelled: No intelligence allowed) by a different producer (Premise Media).

Dawkins said:

"At no time was I given the slightest clue that these people were a creationist front."

Eugenie C. Scott, head of the National Center for Science Education said:

''I have certainly been taped by people and appeared in productions where people's views are different than mine, and that's fine...'I just expect people to be honest with me, and they weren't.'' ₄

The New York Times states:

"Mr. Stein, a freelance columnist who writes Everybody's Business for The New York Times, conducts the film's on-camera interviews. The interviews were lined up for him by others, and he denied misleading anyone. 'I don't remember a single person asking me what the movie was about,' he said in a telephone interview."

"Walt Ruloff, a producer and partner in Premise Media, also denied that there was any deception. Mr. Ruloff said in a telephone interview that Rampant Films was a Premise subsidiary, and that the movie's title was changed on the advice of marketing experts, something he said was routine in filmmaking." ₄

Movie details:

Title: "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed"
Web site: http://www.expelledthemovie.com/
Release date: 2008-FEB
Director: Nathan Frankowski
Produced by: Logan Craft & Walt Ruloff
Runtime: Unknown
Themes: Evolution v. creationism; Intelligent design.
Rating: Not yet rated

1. Katherine T. Phan, "Ben Stein Confronts Dominance of Darwinian Thought in New Film," Christian Post, at: http://www.christianpost.com/
2. Ben Stein, "Ben Stein's Introductory Blog," at: http://www.expelledthemovie.com/
3. Roy Speckhardt, "Humanists vs. Evangelicals," The New York Times, 2007-OCT-04, at: http://www.nytimes.com/
4. Cornelia Dean, "Scientists Feel Miscast in Film On Life's Origin," New York Times, 2007-OCT-06, at: http://query.nytimes.com/