5/5
“Keep your hate, clipped and distant
Keep your luck, a two-headed cow”
– Michael Stipe
What a brave and enlightening picture this turned out to be. As I sat down to revisit Expelled, the critically torched documentary by Ben Stein, I was numb to its message right out of the gate, cloistered in the kind of self-affirming skepticism that has made boisterous tools out of far better men than me. And then, in a few crucial moments, it managed to break through to my softer side, and I began to wonder: Why can’t there be a documentary on Intelligent Design? Who am I to dismiss without first listening, considering with sincerity and thoughtful ears? With that in mind, I unfolded my arms, opened my eyes, and let film’s truths strike me like a bright morning after a bad, bad dream. What I saw could not — and would not — be denied.
I’ve never seen a single-celled species evolve into a functional multicellular one. Have you? That’s not to suggest that they don’t, but it’s at least a reason to remain open to every possibility, however radical some might seem. That is the beating heart of scientific inquiry; the notion that every new discovery has the potential to shatter countless others. The moment we stop welcoming doubt and begin shunning it in the name of prestige and perceived credibility is the moment science dies. I’m not saying it has, but Ben Stein certainly is, and after listening to the hardships faced by Intelligent Design advocates, I challenge you not to see his point.
But what exactly is Intelligent Design? In the simplest terms, it’s the idea that complex organisms were designed by an unknown higher entity, a creator of sorts. Not a God necessarily, although the implications of the evidence speak for themselves. The movie is essentially a filmed argument, albeit a very good one, made by clips and interviews stitched together by the presence of Ben Stein. He carries us to the home and offices of various teachers and public intellectuals, but the people involved are never met with anything more than cold shoulder by the academic majority. Some of professors have even lost their jobs and reputations, all for the mere suggestion that the jury is still out on certain scales of natural selection.
And judging by the doc’s more direct arguments in favor of ID, the jury is very much out. After all, if facts were so solidified, why are these scientists, such esteemed and laureled intellectual heavyweights, so precious and uncompromising when it comes to evolution? What are they frightened of, exactly? Is there a worldwide conspiracy within the academic community to suppress the vices of those that advocate Intelligent Design? Is that so far-fetched? What makes the movie such a powerful experience is that it isn’t afraid to say what people are thinking, to push certain questions that others would rather leave in the dark.
I dare not say more. To do so would be to start preaching, and that simply does not do justice to a documentary like Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. It is so dense in the information it presents, and yet the film is over in what feels like the blink of an eye. All I can do now persuade you to give the film a fighting chance. So seek it out. Take a leap of faith. Or, in this case, don’t; the film, and the evidence it reveals, speaks for itself.
Spencer Moleda is a freelance writer, script supervisor, and motion picture researcher residing in Los Angeles, California. His experience ranges from reviewing movies to providing creative guidance to fledgling film projects. You can reach him at: [email protected]