Expelled:
No Intelligence Allowed
No Intelligence Allowed
Expelled opened up with a total of $2,970,848 it's first weekend, and went on to make $7,690,545 domestic and total, as there was no world wide release. This movie was released in 1,052 theaters across the country... So the number is pretty small overall.
This film is a documentary exploring the notion that Intelligent Design is being blocked out of academia by the scientific community, and those scientist who promote Intelligent Design are being ostracized.
I'm going to try very hard not to let my personal opinions surface... But I simply cannot do this review without them. This movie is polarizing, if you think one way you will be infuriated... If you think another you will shout out that it's the bare truth of the argument. Personally, the movie infuriated me. I felt it gloss over the facts, mislead it's interviewees shamelessly into giving the answer they want, and seemed to be to me not about a block from the Scientific Community, but rather a ploy to poke holes in Evolution.
One thing that really aggravated me was the notion that when a scientist, skeptic, or other advocate for Evolution would state that we do not yet know how or why something works, Ben Stein would instantly push that 'Why couldn't a designer do it?' It's one issue I've always wondered...Why is not knowing bad? Why do we have to fill in the gaps before observation occurs.
The problem I see, is that blocking Intelligent Design from Academia is a good thing... (Personal feelings warning). The idea of forcing a supernatural force (a designer) into the realm of science is simply not acceptable. It is something forever unobservable, and therefor cannot be accepted. Supernatural by definition means something beyond nature...And science, in essence at least, is the study of natural phenomena.
It is also bad science overall, where IDers grasp to a solution, and work backwards to prove it, whereas science is supposed to observe, test, and explore before coming to any solution... These issues were never brought up in the film. It simply tried to drill holes into Evolution and say 'See it doesn't work, ours does' and then provide no evidence. (Personal views end)
One aspect of this film I found unforgivable was the assertion that the Nazi movement was based off of Darwinism... It was a move that made me grit my teeth as it was once again a diluted and misrepresented point. Nazism is based off a broken and misunderstanding of Darwinism and Evolution... No species could possibly survive by bottlenecking the gene pool into one race... A point never brought up.
The movie brought this argument against Evolution while continuingly telling us 'of course this does not mean Evolution leads to Nazism.' With a bit of a wink and a nod, still leaning us towards this argument... There is a Rule of the internet known as Godwin's law, simply stating that as an argument progresses, the probability of one side comparing the other to Hitler or Nazism increases. Once invoked, it is generally considered that the person who brought it up...has lost.
Though I say again there is a chancce, depending on your personal leanings on the subject, that you will love this movie. But know that it will not sway you towards Intelligent Design. It's not meant to... It's only purpous is to try and drag the Scientific Community down a notch so that their 'Science' can be accepted...
If you see Expelled on the shelves on the 21st, I would say to weigh your personal beliefes on the subject heavily before picking it up.
This film is a documentary exploring the notion that Intelligent Design is being blocked out of academia by the scientific community, and those scientist who promote Intelligent Design are being ostracized.
I'm going to try very hard not to let my personal opinions surface... But I simply cannot do this review without them. This movie is polarizing, if you think one way you will be infuriated... If you think another you will shout out that it's the bare truth of the argument. Personally, the movie infuriated me. I felt it gloss over the facts, mislead it's interviewees shamelessly into giving the answer they want, and seemed to be to me not about a block from the Scientific Community, but rather a ploy to poke holes in Evolution.
One thing that really aggravated me was the notion that when a scientist, skeptic, or other advocate for Evolution would state that we do not yet know how or why something works, Ben Stein would instantly push that 'Why couldn't a designer do it?' It's one issue I've always wondered...Why is not knowing bad? Why do we have to fill in the gaps before observation occurs.
The problem I see, is that blocking Intelligent Design from Academia is a good thing... (Personal feelings warning). The idea of forcing a supernatural force (a designer) into the realm of science is simply not acceptable. It is something forever unobservable, and therefor cannot be accepted. Supernatural by definition means something beyond nature...And science, in essence at least, is the study of natural phenomena.
It is also bad science overall, where IDers grasp to a solution, and work backwards to prove it, whereas science is supposed to observe, test, and explore before coming to any solution... These issues were never brought up in the film. It simply tried to drill holes into Evolution and say 'See it doesn't work, ours does' and then provide no evidence. (Personal views end)
One aspect of this film I found unforgivable was the assertion that the Nazi movement was based off of Darwinism... It was a move that made me grit my teeth as it was once again a diluted and misrepresented point. Nazism is based off a broken and misunderstanding of Darwinism and Evolution... No species could possibly survive by bottlenecking the gene pool into one race... A point never brought up.
The movie brought this argument against Evolution while continuingly telling us 'of course this does not mean Evolution leads to Nazism.' With a bit of a wink and a nod, still leaning us towards this argument... There is a Rule of the internet known as Godwin's law, simply stating that as an argument progresses, the probability of one side comparing the other to Hitler or Nazism increases. Once invoked, it is generally considered that the person who brought it up...has lost.
Though I say again there is a chancce, depending on your personal leanings on the subject, that you will love this movie. But know that it will not sway you towards Intelligent Design. It's not meant to... It's only purpous is to try and drag the Scientific Community down a notch so that their 'Science' can be accepted...
If you see Expelled on the shelves on the 21st, I would say to weigh your personal beliefes on the subject heavily before picking it up.
