God forbid we should think!
Added 11/21/2009
My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed "Expelled". Very entertaining, but more than that Ben provided a compelling case for Intelligent Design. Ben Stein has a way with words. Not only was it very educational, but the film had much of his dry humor in it which we always enjoy. It will be enjoyed by those with an open mind that are seeking the truth. Closed minded folks will cry out because they want "No Intelligence Allowed" as Ben puts it. We appreciate your efforts Ben.
Jack & Marge Riedeman
Brooksville, Florida
1 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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Atrocious
Added 11/21/2009
At the urging of a colleague at work this week, I watched "Expelled," even though Ben Stein and Richard Dawkins both leave me a shade cold. Essentially, the movie is a push for "ID" education ("Intelligent Design") using academic horror-stories of people supposedly persecuted for their beliefs in "ID" to - I think - "prove" that the evolution-only crowd have become doctrinaire monsters. Apart from this weird approach to promoting a certain point of view, which also smaks of the old Nixonian "liberal elite" meme, I was dismayed to see Richard Dawkins asked absurdist hypotheticals and then taken completely out of context. Did the editors think their audience so gullible that such a glaring piece of manipulation would go un-noticed? That fact alone suggests that a very cynical hand indeed was behind this piece of "work."
But even assuming for a moment this was accidental, the movie fails because it fails the rhetorical test. It fails to persuade. First, I could not tell if the film was about "ID" or a jeremiad against the "boogeymen" who were supposedly promoting Darwin in some camarilla of deceit. So, lacking a central well-defined premise, I was treated to almost two hours of people complaning about their alleged maltreatment and Stein becoming a swollen, ill-tempered blowhard who seemed possessed less of indignation at the death of academic freedom as he sees it than just a victim of a "gestalt" kind of anger that went nowhere. Ultimately, the movie did nothing to advance any debate or discussion of any kind, leaving me with the impression that I had been had - had by Stein and his collaborators who, seeing a niche market, slapped together a slovenly pastiche of ill-supported grievances to polish their cable news talking head bona fides. The movie should have been called "Watch Ben Stein Continue to Seek Relevance Using Old Tricks."
Some people have mentioned websites and other places where, apparently, this "film" has been trashed, and thoroughly. I have not looked at those, but if my fist impression is correct, I am sure I would not be surprised.
So, my impression is that this film is not only dishonest, but almost dishonest to the point of being a scam, kind of a "dressed up" cable news or radio talk show.
No recommendation. If this kind of debate interests you, I think you can find many pro and con sites on YouTube (including, I believe, an excellent "Nova" program on the adverse-ID decision in the "Dover " case) for free that are a lot shorter, free, and free of this kind of promotional grandstanding. Just flat embarrassing.
2 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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Good for science
Added 11/17/2009
This video is an introduction to the flaws of Darwinism. It poses a few awkward questions and highlights how some scientists have been punished for suggesting that perhaps Darwin was wrong.
It's not a very detailed attack on the Theory of Evolution. I think Mr Stein is merely asking the viewer to open his mind to the idea that there actually might be an alternative to the "sacred scientific dogma" of Darwin.
The documentary pinpoints the essential argument for design - the complexity of the cell and DNA. There is an impressive animation sequence, showing some of the inner workings of the cell. It is a pity there was not more of this.
The wall is breaking - and Mr Stein needs to be commended for bringing to popular attention some of the big cracks in the idea that we all came from a very lucky primordial soup that got hit by lightening and so resulted in the greatest work of genius known to man - the self-replicating digitally encoded cell.
1 out of 3 people found this helpful.
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Discussion starter
Added 11/15/2009
My husband and I watched this video. We have had a lot of discussion about it. I felt I was informed on the subject of evolution and intelligent design before I watched this. There is so much more information in this video. We both loved it.
1 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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Bullseye, Ben!
Added 11/3/2009
Cha-ching! (The sound of money being made in the course of performing a valuable public service.)
I spent many years in academics, and I concur with Mr. Stein that the 'ideal' university (where diverse ideas are tolerated and explored), is nearly extinct. One of the foundational notions of tenure is that Professors may argue for various positions, regardless of widespread acceptability, without fear of losing their jobs. Intellectual freedom is supposed to be one of the university's foundational values. Instead, several liberally-biased dogmas tend to reign on most university campuses, and it is extremely politically incorrect to question them. It can easily cost you your job.
Mr. Stein gives several examples and interviews with scientists/scholars who were 'Expelled' precisely because they had the audacity to question the current paradigm of evolution. In this documentary, Mr. Stein focuses upon a group of scientists who support the biological notion of 'Intelligent Design' (ID).
But ID is just one example; there are many such off-limits topics in the academy, including race, gender, religion, and climate. Instead of open discussion and debate, the strategy of the NeoDarwinism crowd is to ignore and suppress the ideas of anyone who does not 'bow at the altar of Darwin' before publishing or presenting their work. It is comical! So much so, it has become a game for me to find the statement in editorials and scientific papers that 'inoculates' the author from being 'quoted by creationists' or criticized by NeoDarwinists. Try it for yourself, and see if you don't agree with me. The next time you read something regarding a Biology topic, look for the 'bowing' comment or statement. It is usually in the first paragraph.
Congratulations to Mr. Stein for:
a) Being clever and perceptive enough to recognize what was going on (academic intolerance of an opposing point of view);
b) Demonstrating his entrepreneurial prowess while exposing intellectual dishonesty and violations of academic freedom (Mr. Stein is clearly brilliant, and he understands capitalism);
c) Giving Richard Dawkins enough rope to hang himself (his interview with "fundamentalist Darwinist" Richard Dawkins is priceless!)
d) Bringing attention to a scientific matter that has been infected by politics; exposing this problem could actually end up effecting the progress of science in a meaningful way.
AND... all the while...
e) Being witty and entertaining.
Congratulations, and best regards, Ben Stein!
3 out of 6 people found this helpful.
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Better films out there.
Added 11/10/2009
To be honest, if you want an intelligent, honest discussion about the battle over intelligent design, there are other films and books out there that serve this purpose.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Thought provoking and humorous!
Added 5/11/2009
This is a thought provoking and humorous documentary showing how just allowing for the possibility of Intelligent Design will get you ostracized or worse in modern academic and scientific circles. It shows how adherents of the current prevailing dogma of unguided Darwinian Evolution will grasp any straw to hang on to their beliefs despite the evidence (one even explains that life on Earth might have been started by space aliens while denying any possibility that it could have been started by God). Yes it has gotten that bad in the world of academia and so-called science.
Stein also brings to light how Darwinian Evolution influenced the Nazis and was used by them to justify the slaughter of millions of supposedly "less evolved" groups such as Jews. Ideas have consequences and they are not always good.
This should be shown in every high school and college campus in America, no the whole world.
2 out of 5 people found this helpful.
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Challenges the American Propaganda Machine
Added 4/12/2009
This is a terrific documentary, well put together. The thing that I like most about this film is the fact that the American Propaganda Machine hated it. Newsweek, Time, New York Times, Washington Post all railed against it, with the Al Gore and Michael Moore worshipers chiming in. The fact is, no one knows, and this piece may be spot on or total poopie, but the establishment hates it, and that makes me want to watch.
2 out of 5 people found this helpful.
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