Expelled (2008)

This is a much welcomed injection of life into the evolution debate.

This film is a documentary of the blackballing and ostracizing of tenured and respected professors who dare to attempt to discuss the possibility of Intelligent Design. Although "documentary" bears a stigma of boredom (as does the name "Ben Stein" who writes, produces, and hosts the film), this movie is very engaging and fun to watch. There is an agenda here which is moved along by clever imagery and editing, but that doesn't bother me. The filmmakers do not try to hide their proclivity, unlike Michael Moore's films which bear the same level of expertise, but attempt to portray themselves as objective.

What I liked:
I appreciated that there is a definite exposure of the lack of objectivity. Intelligent Design proponents are described as "idiots" and "evil" by evolutionists. The ones we meet are actually very articulate and meek for the most part. The emotion involved shatters any false assertion that this is just about science. Something about the possibility of a creator strikes at the core of these evolutionists.

I also was glad to see the discussion about eugenics. I was floored when I learned about the American eugenics program in a class in college. It was just another dirty secret in our history no one seems to want to talk about, but it's worth remembering.

What I didn't like:
I understand the connection between Darwinism and Nazism. I agree that Hitler took Darwin's theories, applied them to his own agenda, and took them to their most evil end. I also believe that whenever someone says "just like the Nazis!" or "just like Hitler!", people stop thinking. It degrades discussion into a shouting match and people start rolling their eyes. I do agree there is a connection, I just think it might be better suited as an entirely separate project.

The climactic "confrontation" at the end also wasn't as exciting as I was expecting it to be. I didn't learn anything new about Richard Dawkins that we didn't learn from the previous interview. I think I would have rather had Ben Stein moderate a debate between Dawkins and whoever his equivalent on the Intellectual Design side would be. There's a real opportunity there to put on display who approaches the debate with presumptions and emotional instability and who come with an open mind and relative clarity.

Still, a great film that already has sparked much discussion... which is really the goal of this movie. Success!