Who am I to disobey such an direct order from PZ Myers? Here goes: Expelled is shaping up to be a horrible movie. I haven’t seen it, but Expelled is getting an absolute pasting from all kinds of people, from Time to Fox News to (obviously) Richard Dawkins. It looks to be a horrid little movie written by horrid little people narrated by a horrid little man.

For those who don’t know, Expelled is based on the theory that proponents of Intelligent Design are being persecuted by “Science”. It’s a ham-handed affair narrated by Ben Stein, who was made famous in America for being a teacher in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Amongst its arguments is the idea that Darwinism is responsible for Nazism:

Darwinism is still very much alive, utterly dominating biology. Despite the fact that no one has ever been able to prove the creation of a single distinct species by Darwinist means, Darwinism dominates the academy and the media. Darwinism also has not one meaningful word to say on the origins of organic life, a striking lacuna in a theory supposedly explaining life.

Alas, Darwinism has had a far bloodier life span than Imperialism. Darwinism, perhaps mixed with Imperialism, gave us Social Darwinism, a form of racism so vicious that it countenanced the Holocaust against the Jews and mass murder of many other groups in the name of speeding along the evolutionary process.

This disgusting sentiment has been thoroughly debunked and shot down by a large number of wiser people than I. I suggest reading some of the reviews and articles about Exposed at the Expelled Exposed website.

Expelled opens in theatres on April 18, 2008, and will live a short life.

[tags]expelled, evolution, movie, intelligent design[/tags]