Evangelical Evolutionist Expelled!
I cultivate a few unsavory vices; among them is a curious fascination with all-things pseudo-science.
It’s led to an unhealthy love of bad disaster movies, where teens are chased by killer frosts and “volcano tires” let heroes drive miles across molten, flowing lava.
Bad science is also responsible for my compulsive curiosity about late-night infomercials. (Did you know that 25 lbs of alien plaque can live in your intestines? Or that dangerous toxins can be leeched out through your feet?! Wowser, and only 29.95!)
But where pseudo-science really shines is in the “science” of Intelligent Design. (Come on, who can resist the life from a jar of peanut butter argument?)
But this post is not actually about psuedo-science or Intelligent Design theory. It’s about the new Ben Stein film, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. It’s also about PZ Myers, professor of evolutionary biology, atheist, science blogger, vocal opponent of Intelligent Design, and interviewee in Expelled.
Expelled! is reportedly little more than Creationist propaganda that draws links between Darwin and Hitler, insinuates that Planned Parenthood practices eugenics, and makes much ado about Intelligent Design “scientists” having been excluded and expelled from the scientific community. (Just a guess here, but could that maybe be because Intelligent Design isn’t science? Naw.)
PZ Myers planned to attend a prescreening of the film. He actually appears in it. He’s even thanked in the credits. He dutifully reserved his seats under his own name, received an email confirmation, and went to the theater in Mall of Americas with his family and a guest. But before he could buy popcorn or even sign the non-disclosure agreement, (common for pre-screenings) he was approached by security and escorted out of the theater.
Seems the producer had left specific instructions that he not be allowed in.
Oh, the irony. A film about academic exclusion on the basis of religious belief excludes an academic on the basis of his religious belief.
The even bigger irony is that they let his guest in.
His guest was another interviewee in the film, and a far more famous evolutionary biologist and evangelical atheist. His guest, Intelligent Design’s #1 enemy… Richard “The God Delusion” Dawkins.
If you aren’t familiar with Dawkins, this will not seem nearly so amusing. Trust me, though, it’s hysterically funny. After reading this story on Myers’ blog, it took me 2 days to stop laughing. (Shameful, I know. I shall try and control myself)
In those two days, the story of Myer’s expulsion has been picked up by the Associated Press, the NY Times, and Salon. Much humorous commentary has come from both sides (including claims that both Myers and Dawkins “crashed” the screening). But there is still no convincing and reasonable explanation for why a man who appeared in the film, and was thanked in the credits, was not allowed to see it.
There’s some suspicion that it’s all a publicity stunt, since a Florida film critic had a related experience, being invited, then disinvited, then accused of attending under false pretenses. (Other distasteful publicity efforts include promising schools a $10 donation for each ticket stub they submit, and encouraging mandatory field trips to see the film. Only for the first two weeks, though. It’s not really about the kids seeing the film, it’s about good opening weekend numbers.)
My twisted sense of amusement aside, I’m disturbed by what appears to be an increasingly organized effort to de-educate American school kids, and put science under the influence of religious authorities.
What does any of this have to do with tweaking your mind?
MindTweaks is all about being able to *think*. The people behind this film (and the Intelligent Design movement as a whole), claim to be all about critical thinking, questioning the status quo, and the importance of allowing open scientific discourse.
But they practice exactly what they preach against - exclusion of critical voices.
Why? Because advancing science is not their real goal. Making sure the public has access to alternative science theories is not their goal. A solid scientific education for school children is not their goal.
Their immediate goal is to bring their own Evangelical Christian religion into public schools. Their longer term goal is to “save” America from the evils of anything which is *not* Evangelical Christianity.
I’m not against faith - it’s something I respect, and aspire to. I’m not against Evangelical Christians, and I’m even not against Creationism - when it’s claimed as a matter of faith, not science.
I am against the distortion of core scientific principals in order to advance the agenda of a small percentage of Evangelical Christians. And I’m against expelling potential critics from screenings of documentaries - especially documentaries that they themselves appear in.
Even if they are Evangelical Evolutionists 
More Info:
PZ Myer’s Expelled! post (there are several follow ups on the blog, too)
Greg Laden’s collection of related links and stories
YouTube Video of Dawkins and Myers discussing the event
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
You know…your rant about the content of the film is very unbecoming of a “science” proponent. The fact that Mr. Stein mentions the inherently evil origins of Planned Parenthood (which are true; Margaret Sanger didn’t found the group to help the impoverished) does NOT mean that he insinuated that the goal of the group is the same as it was over 100 years ago. The clip shown in the movie, which you clearly haven’t seen and are simultaneously addressing in your post, shows less than ten seconds of film from about the 1920s.
Another thing I notice about your post is that you claim that Ben Stein wants to bring “Evangelical Christianity” into schools. Have you looked into this topic at all??? He’s Jewish. Furthermore, stop equating Intelligent Design theory with Creationism. Intelligent Design is a secular concept, Creationism is not. Besides that, Richard Dawkins himself cites Intelligent Design as a possible explanation for life on Earth, in the clip “Dawkins Space Alien Theory”, here.
http://expelledthemovie.com/videos.php
Wow, I’d actually forgotten about this post. Thanks for reminding me about it, Henry.
And you’re right. I hadn’t (and still haven’t) seen the film; when I wrote this, the film wasn’t in theaters yet, and the screenings were very limited - so limited that people who appeared in the film were not allowed in.
Which is what prompted this post.
And it is, admittedly, a pretty weak bit of writing.
But weak writing or not, I can’t stop equating Intelligent Design with Creationism - and specifically the Evangelical Christian versions of Creationism. Why? Because the “theory” of ID was developed by Creationists with a specific goal of getting Creationist ideas around the courts and back into public schools. The links have been pretty well documented.
But I didn’t mean that Ben Stein himself wants Evangelical Christianity brought into the schools… more that the larger movement behind ID has that agenda. (An agenda which has recently been on display in the Texas School Board’s text book hearings, not only in science but in social studies and history as well).
I don’t know what Stein’s personal goal was, with this film. Maybe he really believed that scientific voices were being squashed. Maybe he just wanted the controversy. I can’t guess. But the film was heavily promoted to the religious community, and special programs were set up for churches to sponsor screenings. It, like ID itself, is only secular on the surface.
Expelled is now available through Netflix’s online service these days, so I might watch more than just the clips, someday soon. And who knows, maybe I’ll find some sort of redeeming quality in it.
Anyone interested might also want to catch NOVA’s documentary, Judgement Day, about the ID trial in Dover. It’s also available through Netflix, though only in DVD form. I *have* seen that one, and it’s quite good.
Okay, thanks for clearing that up. And reading over my original comment, I sounded pretty pissed at Darwin, which is easily explainable, since I was in the midst of a 20 page report on evolution! In all seriousness, though, as a Young-Earth Creationist who is skeptical of even his own beliefs, in addition to everyone else’s, I do tend to favor “softer” evolution teaching (e.g., not teaching ID, but rather informing students that there are some scientists who raise non-stupid questions about Darwininan evolution) in American schools. Whether that gets implemented should probably be left to the representatives of voters (school boards and elected officials).
And as a side note, I’d never heard of this particular NOVA documentary, but I like NOVA and PBS as a whole, which is anathema to most of my conservative friends. Anyway, I quite like your blog!