Aegis of Reason

First of all I am going to say that I did not exactly paid to watch this movie. Ill be honest, because honesty is not what you will get from watching this film.

I paid $3.50 to purchase a ticket of the movie ‘21′. Certainly is cheap as hell since it was matinee. I paid my money and got inside the movie theater. I got myself a burger since i had some time (the burger was terrible btw) and then went ahead and got some popcorn and a drink. Then I went to commit my ‘crime’ and snucked in to watch the movie Expelled: No intelligence allowed.

Well certainly It didnt really matter, there are so few people at the movie theater at that time that they dont even check or really care. In fact when I finally made it there, I could not count more than other 20 people. It was pretty empty, but what do you expect of matinee on friday? I think it will get full by night.

There was another fellow there (i was the second one to get in). I asked him of where he had heard of the movie. He responded that he didnt know of it until he heard it from the Rush Limbaugh radio show. (for those that dont know, he is a far far far right radio speaker). So it was self evident that this was not someone to talk about evolution. So I got what i needed from him. I told him that I write blogs ‘of these sorts of things’ and that i didnt have the movie stub with me. I asked for his so I could post it on the blog, he certainly said yes because i presume he didnt know i was the ardent pro Dawkins supporter that I am.
Here is a scan of both of the tickets:

I am not sure if it was pure luck or not, but two of the trailers prior to the movie (Journey to the Center of the Earth (i think it was called) and Ice Age 3 had the same premise and had dinosaurs in them. Can be taken for both sides but who cares, the really cool previews were for Wall-e and Kong-fu panda.

Now we go into the actual movie. I was really expecting a terrible job of a propaganda movie, it wasn’t so bad, but this is not a Riefenstahl film. There is one or two places where one could be confused and actually believe that this film was asking honest questions. I certainly enjoyed the clips in which atheists were shown like Dawkins, Hitchens, Dennet, PZ Myers and one or two that I wasnt completely familiar with. Their remarks and the things that they said were in reality brilliant and certainly there was nothing wrong with their arguments. Of course I felt that nobody else in the theater felt the same, they would laugh and make fun of what they said because of how simple they believe the world to be. If you are an ardent secularist, atheists, reasonable person, I suggest you get out and go watch this. Not because is a good movie, but because in their attempt to throw mud at these great scientists and people, I came out with an even greater understanding of how this thing might become an important political battle in the future. I knew of Eugenie C. Scott, Ph.D- and the national center for science education, but i didn’t know that they were at the front lines of this battle and that they need as much support as we can provide. Become a member, join the NCSE if you have the financial resources to do so.

The movie style was not too terrible (but I mean any movie that goes out into theaters has to have some standards). You are bombarded by images of East Germany and the Soviet Union, specially of the Berlin wall. Caricatures are made out of real scientists and atheists by having short black and white movie snips with ‘funny’ things.

They even have a short cartoon animation with Richard Dawkins becoming frustrated with a casino machine. I rather liked how they demonized Richard Dawkins, almost to the end of the film Ben Stein sets out to personally interview Richard Dawkins, as the final showdown with the worst and most powerful of ‘big science’. Then ofcourse he goes to ‘win’ by completely missunderstanding his arguments and having some editing. People will get out of that theater thinking very strongly that Richard Dawkins is the devil incarnate. I really dont think thats a bad idea.

I will admit that I felt something at the end of the movie, that sort of feeling that your brain simply fights. It was definetely the most powerful part of this propaganda film that actually worked. But i know why it happened, not because I siddenly realised that Dawkins was the devil, or because there was a real controversy. But rather because they compared the problem with the Berlin wall, and at the end they combined the historic and very wonderful images of the fall of wall with their arguments against ‘big science’. You see I was being moved by the images of people climbing the wall escaping oppression, not due to their pathetic arguments on regards to Intelligent design.

It is funny that they claim that the ID movement is not exactly religious in any way… but if you go to the Answers In Genesis or any right wing christian church, you will see their ads everywhere.

I was surprised to see the actual offices of the the Discovery Institute, (if true) then we cant allow such a pathetic number of people to destroy the real base of this country, that of Secularism.

Do as you may, watch it or not. I did enjoy when those representing ‘big science’ spoke. All you have to do is get over the annoying clips of footage every two seconds and the whole “Darwinism was part of what lead to the Holocaust”.

or maybe Dawkins is the devil after all….

For more information please visit:
http://www.expelledexposed.com/

And watch the trailer for the upcoming film (and sequel of Expelled)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=-ThQQuHtzHM