Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (2008)

Ben Stein examines the issue of academic freedom and decides that there is none when it comes to the debate over intelligent design.

Director:

Nathan Frankowski

Writers:

Kevin Miller, Ben Stein

Stars:

Ben Stein, Lili Asvar, Peter Atkins

2 wins.

Cast

Credited cast:
Ben Stein	...	Himself - Host
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Lili Asvar	...	Sara
Peter Atkins	...	Himself
Hector Avalos	...	Himself
Doug Axe	...	Himself
Adam Behr	...	Multiple animation voices (voice)
David Berlinski	...	Himself
Walter Bradley	...	Himself
Bruce Chapman	...	Himself
Anderson Cooper	...	Himself (archive footage)
Caroline Crocker	...	Herself
Richard Dawkins	...	Himself
William Dembski	...	Himself (as William Albert Dembski)
Daniel C. Dennett	...	Himself (as Daniel Dennett)
Michael Egnor	...	Himself

Storyline

Academic freedom is being suppressed, says Ben Stein. He contends that professors from around the United States are being fired from their jobs for promoting, or even exploring the possibility of, intelligent design as an alternative to Darwinism. Stein interviews the expelled academics and other supporters of intelligent design. He also interviews the scientists in the mainstream, who support Darwinism. Stein links Darwinism to Nazism, Communism, eugenics and abortion. Vintage clips of educational films and Hollywood movies are used to illustrate points in a satirical way.

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Plot Keywords:

intelligent design | darwinism | freedom | academic freedom | abortion | 

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Taglines:

Big science has expelled smart new ideas from the classroom...What they forgot is that every generation has its Rebel!

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Genres:

Documentary

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for thematic material, some disturbing images and brief smoking

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 April 2008 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Baylor University, Waco, Texas, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$2,970,848 (USA) (18 April 2008)

Gross:

$7,499,617 (USA) (23 May 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Premise Media Corporation, Rampant Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min 97 min (European Film Market)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor) Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film sets up the lecture scene as if it were an actual university lecture. While filmed at Pepperdine University, the auditorium had been rented by the producers and the lecture was not an officially sanctioned event. Pepperdine officials confirmed that the audience was made up of paid extras with only "two or three" actual students attending. Pepperdine administration claims that their student body, while overwhelmingly Christian (Pepperdine is a private Christian college), accepts evolution and does not accept the concept of Intelligent Design. Ironically, Michael Shermer, one of the "Big Science" interviewees in the movie, is a Pepperdine graduate.

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Quotes

William Provine: No gods, no life after death, no ultimate foundation for ethics, no alternate meaning in life, and no human free will... are all deeply connected to an evolutionary perspective.

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Connections

Features The Challenge of Ideas (1961)

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Soundtracks

"Journey into the Cell"
Written and Performed by Steve Ford
Courtesy of Steve Ford Music

User Reviews

Deceitful "documentary"

I don't know if this movie could even be considered a legitimate documentary. The movie is filmed with interjected scenes of Nazi war camps while the interviews are taking place. Apparently Ben Stein blames the holocaust on science and uses this to support his view against evolution. The entire "documentary" is misleading, he rarely shows any subtext of who he is talking to or make mention of any of their accreditation. Ignoring this, Ben never actually makes any real scientific points at all during the entire film. He never even stumps or even makes it appear that he has stumped a scientists anywhere in this film.

Apparently, Mr. Stein's entire objective of this film is to convey no real science (not there there is any in ID to begin with) but rather to preach out about free speech and how we should "teach the controversy". However, there is no real controversy, the "controversy" was already sorted out decades ago. I guess this means we should teach alchemy AFTER the discovery of chemistry because some backwards, ignorant, bronze age people from a time capsule still think alchemy is viable science.

Creationism's explanation for the unexplained is that of supernatural. However, by definition supernatural is unknown. So what the film is really saying is: we cannot explain X with current knowledge, therefore, X = supernatural = unknown (why is there a middle term there?). Just because theory A may not explain X does not mean that theory B automatically explains X.

Disregarding everything that I have mentioned above, the movie is still directed poorly, uses cheesy clips and doesn't flow well.

It is a terrible and misleading movie.