Synopsis for
Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (2008) More at IMDbPro »

Ben Stein stars in this satirical documentary which examines the criticisms and hostilities that exist in today's scientific field (both academic and professional) towards peers and journalists who subscribe to or even entertain the perspective of Intelligent Design in science.

This documentary shows Ben Stein mostly hosting or introducing interviews to help the audience understand his point (lack of academic freedom) and then to get the perspective of scientists on both sides of the issue.

The movie credits lists about thirty interviewees who are mostly scientists, a few journalists, and one US congressman. Scientists on both sides of the issue come from a multiple of universities located mostly in the US and Britain. One scientist residing in Paris and one scientist from Poland are also included.

Dr. Richard Dawkins (author of "The God Delusion") and Dr. P.Z. Myers (who has the "Pharyingula" blog) are two notables amongst the interviewed scientists who do not wish to allow the discussion of the possibility of an intelligent designer into science classrooms, scientific papers, or other scientific professional or research venues.

Dr. Guillermo Gonzalez (author of "The Privileged Planet" and co-discoverer of various planets) and Dr. Alistair McGrath (author of "The Dawkins Delusion") are two of the notables amongst those interviewees who wish to allow the discussion of the possibility of an intelligent designer into the scientific arenas noted above.

The documentary is interspersed with B&W clips either made in old film style or used from old movies. These clips usually humorously illustrate Mr. Stein's spoken point or offer visual, humorous commentary on an interviewee's spoken words. A couple minute color computer animation of many activities going on in one cell is included and is set to music.

DVD includes a clip with comments of two scientists who use the "intelligent design" principle in their current research.