Thursday, March 20, 2008 | Reason : In the News | print version

EXPELLED!

by PZ Myers, Pharyngula

Reposted from:
http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2008/03/expelled.php

A list of all blogs writing about this:
http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2008/03/pz_myers_expelled_gains_sainth.php

More Info Here:
http://amused-muse.blogspot.com/2008/03/expelled-from-expelled.html

There is a rich, deep kind of irony that must be shared. I'm blogging this from the Apple store in the Mall of America, because I'm too amused to want to wait until I get back to my hotel room.

I went to attend a screening of the creationist propaganda movie, Expelled, a few minutes ago. Well, I tried … but I was Expelled! It was kind of weird — I was standing in line, hadn't even gotten to the point where I had to sign in and show ID, and a policeman pulled me out of line and told me I could not go in. I asked why, of course, and he said that a producer of the film had specifically instructed him that I was not to be allowed to attend. The officer also told me that if I tried to go in, I would be arrested. I assured him that I wasn't going to cause any trouble.

I went back to my family and talked with them for a while, and then the officer came back with a theater manager, and I was told that not only wasn't I allowed in, but I had to leave the premises immediately. Like right that instant.

I complied.

I'm still laughing though. You don't know how hilarious this is. Not only is it the extreme hypocrisy of being expelled from their Expelled movie, but there's another layer of amusement. Deep, belly laugh funny. Yeah, I'd be rolling around on the floor right now, if I weren't so dang dignified.

You see … well, have you ever heard of a sabot? It's a kind of sleeve or lightweight carrier used to surround a piece of munition fired from a gun. It isn't the actually load intended to strike the target, but may even be discarded as it leaves the barrel.

I'm a kind of sabot right now.

They singled me out and evicted me, but they didn't notice my guest. They let him go in escorted by my wife and daughter. I guess they didn't recognize him. My guest was …

Richard Dawkins.

He's in the theater right now, watching their movie.

Tell me, are you laughing as hard as I am?

PZ wrote a second post on this here
http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2008/03/a_late_night_quick_one.php

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1. Comment #147522 by Big T on March 20, 2008 at 8:55 pm

Sounds good to me. Hope Richard enjoyed the movie.

Other Comments by Big T

2. Comment #147524 by Dr Benway on March 20, 2008 at 9:02 pm

Sweet!

But I hope Richard's had his blood pressure meds today.

Other Comments by Dr Benway

3. Comment #147526 by Negasta on March 20, 2008 at 9:07 pm

This is the kind of dark, rich, gooey irony that must be savored as long as possible.

What hypocritical morons.

Other Comments by Negasta

4. Comment #147528 by dr joneZ on March 20, 2008 at 9:12 pm

THAT'S GOT TO BE THE LAUGH OF THE TWENTY FIRST CENTURY
WHAT A BUNCH OF DORKS FOR DAWKINS!!!!!

GO PZ!!!

Other Comments by dr joneZ

5. Comment #147529 by steveroot on March 20, 2008 at 9:13 pm

I await a critical review. Can decimal fractions of stars be given?
Ste5e

Other Comments by steveroot

6. Comment #147530 by alovrin on March 20, 2008 at 9:14 pm

Guess they must have known PZ would be coming..
perhaps god told them.
But god forgot to tell them about the Britisher.
nahha *points finger*

Other Comments by alovrin

7. Comment #147531 by jamesspills on March 20, 2008 at 9:19 pm

You can't make this stuff up really. Let me guess, Richard wore one of those funny glasses with the mustache and big nose and slipped in covertly. Or perhaps....he "blinded them with science!" (sorry, I had to)

Of course I would expect PZ to be able to accomplish that as well so I'm leaning towards the funny glasses.

Other Comments by jamesspills

8. Comment #147532 by chauvinj on March 20, 2008 at 9:20 pm

Sorry, I love PZ Myers as much as the next guy. But in what world is he more noticeable than Richard Dawkins???

Nonehtless, I had a good laugh at this.

Other Comments by chauvinj

9. Comment #147533 by Jackie.Stone on March 20, 2008 at 9:21 pm

I also commented on PZ's post, but I just can't get over how brilliant this is. Exemplary of the wonderful mix of hypocrisy and stupidity that is characteristic of creationists.

And I know many people on PZ's blog are saying that he should have protested and allowed himself to be arrested, but I don't see that anything positive could have come out of that. By turning the other cheek PZ ensured there is no way they can spin this story so that the atheists are the "bad guys".

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10. Comment #147534 by AKirkland on March 20, 2008 at 9:21 pm

... There's nothing I can say that will make this funnier. I just hope Richard posts an article reviewing the movie - that could also provide belly laughs.

Dark, rich, gooey, delicious irony. Treacle irony!

[edit] Wow, this was posted pretty damn fast. As I write this, Richard is probably still in there. I wonder if some creationist could read this, ring the theatre owner and then try to get him kicked out mid-movie?

There's actually something horribly disturbing about the idea of being able to select the sort of people who watch a movie. I know it's well within their rights as the theatre is a private institution, but all the same...

Other Comments by AKirkland

11. Comment #147536 by kintaro_crab on March 20, 2008 at 9:27 pm

I read some posts on PZ's page saying Prof. Dawkins was treated very badly at the screening. Would anyone who was there like to comment on this.

Other Comments by kintaro_crab

12. Comment #147537 by notsobad on March 20, 2008 at 9:28 pm

A review from Dawkins would give them too much credit.

Other Comments by notsobad

13. Comment #147538 by Scandinavian07 on March 20, 2008 at 9:29 pm

Wow, stopping people because of their ways of thinking.

Next thing will probably be book burnings.

Ben Stein used to be a writer for the Nixon administration did he not?

Other Comments by Scandinavian07

14. Comment #147539 by Tea Q on March 20, 2008 at 9:31 pm

Dawkins who?

Other Comments by Tea Q

15. Comment #147540 by dlitt on March 20, 2008 at 9:31 pm

What I would find even funnier is a theist reading PZ's blog, calling the theatre, and the theatre staff intercepting Richard Dawkins on the way out.

Other Comments by dlitt

16. Comment #147541 by Robb.B on March 20, 2008 at 9:33 pm

That is indeed pretty funny.

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17. Comment #147542 by youmemeyou on March 20, 2008 at 9:36 pm

Creationists are, indeed, the ultimate under-dogs. Isn't it all too likely that the very production and display of a movie in their defense manifests malfunctional defensiveness.

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18. Comment #147543 by Kay17 on March 20, 2008 at 9:36 pm

On the Expelled website, PZ was bashed for making a statement about the movie before he saw it. Funny that when he's in line to do just that, they refuse to let him enter. Hmmm.

I hope to hear some of RD's thoughts on it, anyway.

Other Comments by Kay17

19. Comment #147544 by lievemebe on March 20, 2008 at 9:42 pm

Will they allow PZ to buy the video?

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20. Comment #147545 by Bigorra on March 20, 2008 at 9:46 pm

Perhaps they were hoping to change Dawkins' mind, but thought that having Myers' there to discuss and dissent along with him would keep him from seeing the God's Honest Truth. Every creationist knows that atheism is a weak position since Dawkins has been unable to prove God doesn't exist. By simply showing him the revealed truth, he'd change his position and every person on this post would have to blindly follow him, just like we've always done.

Or not.

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21. Comment #147546 by Double Bass Atheist on March 20, 2008 at 9:46 pm

It's mildly amusing that 'they' would be on the lookout for PZ, but WHY was he banned?

I have this mental image of a bunch of "Expelled" movie executives sitting around a table making a list of all the people who they need to keep out from theaters.
And they missed RD?!

Knowing the devious history by which it was made, and how PZ was lied to in order to participate, combined with the bullshit that it's based on, this really shouldn't surprise me...
Just another example of how the IDiot mind works. Keep the nonsense (non-science) flowing without giving anyone the opportunity to counter it.
"You will be indoctrinated. Resistance is futile"

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22. Comment #147548 by freethnkr on March 20, 2008 at 9:48 pm

I greatly admire PZ for the way he handled the situation. It could have very easily turned ugly, and would have been a political blow to all atheists. I admire his understanding of what needed to be done in that situation, which was to walk away, and then attack the theatre in a non-violent way that may get them to change policies as who they let in their doors. Thank you for doing the right thing, PZ. You do much good for the community.

-Myles

I would also like to see a review from Dawkins at some point. It will be interesting to see what he has to say on it, and have no doubt that it will be a very entertaining read.
-thanks again PZ

Other Comments by freethnkr

23. Comment #147549 by Mango on March 20, 2008 at 9:48 pm

This is great news! Bad publicity for the ID-ers. :)

Other Comments by Mango

24. Comment #147550 by quasarsphere on March 20, 2008 at 9:50 pm

That is the most trouser-wettingly funny thing EVER!

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25. Comment #147551 by Mitchell Gilks on March 20, 2008 at 9:53 pm

Sorry, I love PZ Myers as much as the next guy. But in what world is he more noticeable than Richard Dawkins???

Pretty sure that is what makes this so funny.

They stop PZ from goin in, but let in Dawkins. That is pretty damn funny. Maybe they aren't aware that modes of fast air travel have been Intelligently Designed, and the british can visit, and go to movie screenings in the US. Especially durring his book tore, which lists where he will be, and when. You would think that they would be looking out for Dawkins, knowing he'd be in the area.

Maybe they prayed for god to stop Dawkins, and decided that PZ was too big of a threat to leave up to god. You know how they hate to leave stuff up to god.

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26. Comment #147553 by comet halley on March 20, 2008 at 9:59 pm

The professor will be more like a smoking gun.

Go ahead make my day.

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27. Comment #147554 by Quine on March 20, 2008 at 10:01 pm

ROTFLMAO!!!!!

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28. Comment #147555 by ChicagoMolly on March 20, 2008 at 10:02 pm

You mean God didn't smite Richard down with a bolt of purple lightning from heaven?

Hmmmph. Maybe she was at a different movie.

Other Comments by ChicagoMolly

29. Comment #147556 by Mitchell Gilks on March 20, 2008 at 10:02 pm

Just another example of how the IDiot mind works.

IDiot? It's so simple, yet brilliant. I think that made my week. I know how I am going to refer to them every single time in the future now. Domo arigato gozaimasu!

Other Comments by Mitchell Gilks

30. Comment #147557 by Mitchell Gilks on March 20, 2008 at 10:03 pm

Hmmmph. Maybe she was at a different movie.

I'm sure she prefers drama to comedy.

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31. Comment #147558 by magnus150 on March 20, 2008 at 10:04 pm

Delicious. I'm sure Dawkins loved the movie!

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32. Comment #147560 by dlitt on March 20, 2008 at 10:09 pm

Dawkins would just have to put a baseball cap on backwards and pull his pants half way down his ass, and he'd fit right in. :-)

Other Comments by dlitt

33. Comment #147562 by articulett on March 20, 2008 at 10:23 pm

I haven't been this giddy since Ted Haggard's gay meth scandal.

I heard Richard will be on Bill Maher tomorrow night... I can't wait to hear his story.

Is it illegal to prevent someone from attending a movie... wasn't PZ IN the movie? And Dawkins?

Other Comments by articulett

34. Comment #147563 by Teratornis on March 20, 2008 at 10:27 pm

I'm trying to imagine what it must feel like to be recognized by strangers when Richard Dawkins is not.

If it had been me, I doubt I could have resisted the temptation to unleash a brief soliloquy culminating in a garbling of Spielberg toward the guards: "You and I are merely passing through history, but this man is history!"

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35. Comment #147564 by righton on March 20, 2008 at 10:27 pm

"But in what world is he more noticeable than Richard Dawkins???"

Doesnt PZ live in Minnesota?

Other Comments by righton

36. Comment #147565 by Downunder on March 20, 2008 at 10:27 pm

ROFLOL!!
Yes please let Prof Richard tell us all about it.

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37. Comment #147567 by Dr Benway on March 20, 2008 at 10:37 pm

More info here: Kristine's blog

A bit that worried me a little:

Oh, and Richard did point out the dishonesty, and Mathis pooh-poohed him, and the fundy home-schooled gaggled (my God, are they inbred? I'm not joking. They have this certain look) just laughed at Dawkins. They have the privilege of being in an audience with Richard Dawkins, and they sneer at him, and cheer these hypocrites who call the cops and send out e-mail that say that purses and cell phones are forbidden (I carried everything in a plastic bag so I made them fucking look at my tampons - that's what they get), and who contribute nothing to human knowledge whatsoever.

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38. Comment #147569 by MaxD on March 20, 2008 at 10:43 pm

Uh...holy shit. Surely had someone said they would not allow PZ Myers to see the film, one would not have beleived it. But it is funny that Dawkins slipped past. His years in MI-6 I suppose.
Oops did I let that out...

Other Comments by MaxD

39. Comment #147571 by Dr Benway on March 20, 2008 at 10:47 pm

These are not the droids you are looking for...

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40. Comment #147575 by Bigorra on March 20, 2008 at 11:05 pm

Here's another
view from the scene, albeit from another side of the debate. It begs the question of why Myers was thrown out for having no ticket while Dawkins strolled right in.

Other Comments by Bigorra

41. Comment #147576 by Dr Benway on March 20, 2008 at 11:17 pm

Read your link Bigorra.

My name is Stuart Blessman and I'm a student at the University of Minnesota...This movie is not an apology for Creation; pains are taken to distinguish Creation from Intelligent Design. This is also not a movie that bashes Evolutional Theory, although many rational arguments are brought up as to the validity of Evolutionary thought as well as the long-term consequences of an Evolutionary Worldview.

Will someone at U Minn hand Stuart Blessman a clue regarding capitalization rules? And he means "creationism" not "Creation" and "evolutionary" not "Evolutional."

Oy.

Other Comments by Dr Benway

42. Comment #147579 by MarkSmith on March 20, 2008 at 11:19 pm

L.O. fucking L. Can't wait to hear Richard's take on the whole affair.

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43. Comment #147582 by AtheistAspy on March 20, 2008 at 11:34 pm

Sweet! I hope to see a review by Richard Dawkins.
From here
http://lookingcloser.wordpress.com
/2008/03/20/richard-dawkins-crashes-the-party-at-a-screening-of-expelled:

I just happened to be standing directly in line behind Dawkins' academic colleague. Management of the movie theatre saw a man apparently hustling and bothering several invited attendees, apparently trying to disrupt the viewing or sneak in. Management then approached the man, asked him if he had a ticket, and when he confirmed that he didn't, they then escorted him off the premises. Nowhere was one of the film's producers to be found, and the man certainly didn't identify himself. If a producer had been nearby, it's possible that he would have been admitted, but the theatre's management didn't want to take any chances.

So ultimately Dawkins' first complaint was irrelevant. His second complaint was that any statement he made in the film was in fact under the assumption that he was being interviewed by Ben Stein (and by Mark Mathis) for a film that was to take an even-handed look at the Intelligent Design/Evolution controversy. Unfortunately, the entire audience, minus Dawkins' posse, agreed that that the film's main point was that Intelligent Design should be taught in conjunction with Evolution.

Makes me wonder what happened. I'm open to the possibility that there may be some truth to the above statement, though I definitely need more information (not to mention some way to asure a little objectivity).

Other Comments by AtheistAspy

44. Comment #147584 by Roy_H on March 20, 2008 at 11:37 pm

I can imagine what Richard thought of the movie. It begins with B, ends in T and he recently said it to a Creationist on a Radio phone in programme!

Other Comments by Roy_H

45. Comment #147585 by The Truth, the light on March 20, 2008 at 11:38 pm

From the snippets I've seen of Expelled, it certainly looks like the blind leading the blind.

I wonder if it will attract any fleas, or perhaps they would be better called flys (for their ability to consume/transform decomposing bodies and steaming piles of shit).

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46. Comment #147586 by AtheistAspy on March 20, 2008 at 11:51 pm

Seriously, I know no one wants to address the issue, but what happened? According to a theist's link by Bigorra, PZ Myers was kicked out for being disruptive and not having a ticket.

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47. Comment #147590 by The Truth, the light on March 20, 2008 at 11:59 pm

It's obviously going to take some corroborative statements before the line the PZ was disruptive can be believed.

Other Comments by The Truth, the light

48. Comment #147591 by CanadAdam on March 21, 2008 at 12:00 am

PZ has posted a short reply in the comments on Pharyngula (comment 569):

"Stuart Blessman, the student at UM who made that claim at the lookingcloser blog, is a liar.
A shameful liar and a disgrace to the university.
No, I was not bothering anyone. I went forward and got copies of the form we had to sign to get in, brought them back to my group, and the people in front of us asked me if they could have some, too. That was my only interaction with other people in line.
Nobody had a ticket. You reserved a seat online, and they checked your name off their list at the front of the line.
I was not trying to sneak in. I reserved my seats under my own name.
I was called aside by a security guard, who asked if my name was PZ Myers, and who said that the producer had specifically asked that I be removed.

We do have some idiots who get enrolled at this university. I like to think that they're a minority, but I'm rather surprised that someone so ethically challenged is a student here"

http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2008/03/expelled.php#comment-795721

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49. Comment #147593 by The Truth, the light on March 21, 2008 at 12:06 am

Here's the first unofficial review of the "documentary" from http://badidea.wordpress.com/2007/12/17/first-review-of-expelled-an-all-around-pan-for-creationist-cinema/

The first major review of a preview screening of Expelled! has hit the net, and the reviewer basically confirms all our prophetic jeers and boos.

In keeping with what I've pieced together about film's likely approach, it apparently never really even defines what Intelligent Design is, or really even explains what evolution is. Informing your audience about the basic ideas so they have some context to work with (and some way to understand the ideas and positions under debate) apparently got cut out of the film in the final edit.

In other words, this is not a film written by even someone like Michael Behe, who at least understands the basics of evolutionary theory and evidence to some extent. It's a film written by pop creationists, who virtually never have the first idea what evolution is, how scientific evidence works, and so on. Instead of any serious discussion of biochem, genetics, or anything else, it looks like we get a heap of phony outrage generated by flat out lying and misleading the audience about cases like Richard Sternberg.

Fair warning though: one unfortunate part of the review is the discussion of junk DNA, which is just too simplistic to be anything other than misleading.

Other Comments by The Truth, the light

50. Comment #147596 by Animavore on March 21, 2008 at 12:09 am

I wonder if this film will get a European release? I will, of course, be downloading it for free as I refuse to give money to this 'cause.' Hope Richie boy has a review later today. (what will Johnaton Ross say?)

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