Someone call the wahmbulance: new Expelled trailer

By now I'm sure you've all heard about Ben Stein's upcoming Christian Crusade against us Devilutionists, Expelled, and as February approaches I'm sure we'll be seeing more hype about the films theatrical release. Indeed, just like movies like The Chronicles of Narnia, The Nativity Story, and the shallow Facing The Giants (I had no idea God cared so much about Friday night football) have been promoted to churches with special screenings, free clips, and other materials to get butts in the seats, I'm sure Expelled will try to create a Christian media blitz around the film, which shouldn't be too hard given the number of megachurches in this country (where you can munch on a Big Mac while hearing a sermon on how Tyrannosaurus ate coconuts in the Garden of Eden). I must say that the new Expelled trailer is pretty slick, though, making it all the more infuriating.

As John Hammond might say, it seems that the creationists "spared no expense" in creating their film, which is not surprising (especially in a country where many Christians so easily forget Matthew 19:24). Production values don't make a movie though, and while I can spot the various holes in the arguments and outright lies, most people don't have the same background (especially not the primary audience of this film, the potential "Christian soldiers" who will call up their school boards and ask why Johnny isn't learning about intelligent design). Indeed, the film effectively frames itself as standing up for free speech, free thought, liberty, a chicken in every pot and the "American Way," trying to take advantage of patriotism and theological leanings to con viewers. Take the case of Richard Sternberg, one of the "martyrs" of the current creationist movement. The film will undoubtedly show him as being the victim of merciless "Darwinist" persecution when in reality he acted unethically in doing the Discovery Institute a favor by publishing a pro-ID paper that was not peer-reviewed. What is especially strange, then, is the fact that Sternberg was still allowed access to Smithsonian collections despite his actions; that hardly sounds like the actions of a global conspiracy to destroy the lives of creationists (see Ed Brayton's excellent summaries of this particular case here, here, and here).

As ever, though, I'm preaching to the choir. You and I may know that the idea of evolution was not directly responsible for the Holocaust and the intelligent design is a creationism (despite the protests of its advocates, even when the trailer makes it apparent that ID = Creationism in the first minute), but what about the vast majority of Americans who generally don't care for what science has to say about the unity and diversity of life? What are we, as scientists and concerned citizens, going to do to counter this film and other creationist efforts? This is a difficult question, especially since creationists have a built-in constituency and more money than God, public schools generally doing a poor job of teaching evolution (if they address it at all). Sure, documentaries like Flock of Dodos and the NOVA special "Judgment Day" are a start, but it really says something when evolution can't make it past public television while creationism gets a highly publicized theatrical release (not to mention the dough sunk into the $27,000,000 Creation Museum opened this year). I could probably go on and on about this issue and the paradoxical status of "science" in America today, but at the moment I will avoid such digressions and ask what, if anything, we're planning to do around the time this film is released. It's not shocking that Expelled is going to be released on Darwin's birthday, so what sort of effort are we going to put into "Darwin Day" this year to get the word out that creationism (which includes ID) is not science? I'm trying to plan an event here at Rutgers, but to be honest I'm a bit pessimistic about getting faculty members involved and getting students to come out; from my experience so far people just don't care.

2007 hasn't even ended and yet 2008 looks like it's going to be another busy year as far as refuting creationism goes. In January it should become apparent whether Florida schools will make up for their 150 year lag and let the word "evolution" be used in schools or whether they'll try and sneak creationism into the classroom. Expelled will open the month afterwards, and who knows what the rest of the year will bring. I mention such points not because I'm quaking in my boots (as Ben Stein suggests), however, but because there are so many things I'd rather be doing than lamenting the sorry state of scientific understanding in this country. It would be far easier for me to just give up on the topic, but I can't do that in good conscience, especially when a gaggle of wannabe natural theologians try to throw out evolution just because they don't like the idea that they share an ancestor with Pan troglodytes.

[Hat-tip to Pharyngula]

Post Script: Notice how Stein tries to cash in on his "credibility" in the first part of the trailer, a tactic that reminded me of Al Gore's little introductory asides in An Inconvenient Truth. Funny how his adverts for Clear Eyes didn't make the list, but that's an aside. While Stein might try and pass himself off as an honest truth seeker, willing to "follow the evidence wherever it may lead" (if I hear that phrase one more time as an apologia for scientific quackery I think I'm going to scream), there is nothing about what he's done that qualifies him to make heads or tails of this issue. Why do we keep expecting people with little-to-no scientific background to keep telling us what science is or is not? Indeed, Stein's film is a good fantasy, but unfortunately has little basis in reality. And yes, I know that this post is a little more venomous than usual, but I can't help myself when I see people with a theological agenda deliberately misleading people about the natural world.