Slog - Comments on The Propaganda Arm of the Intelligent Design Movement... http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/the_propaganda_arm_of_the_intelligent_de ... is off to a brilliant start with Expelled, an agitdoc proposing that a vast conspiracy has risen out of the academy to shut down free thought and inquiry. The evidence for this supposed conspiracy is completely anecdotal (here, an underperforming assistant professor being denied tenure, there, an unpaid research assistant being moved to another office at the Smithsonian), but that hasn't stopped the movie from doing a rollicking business at the box office. The Discovery Institute has been covering the movie obsessively on its blogs: Ten of the last ten posts on its Evolution News & Views blog are... Copyright 2008 Mon, 21 Apr 2008 10:06:23 -0800 Fri, 25 Apr 2008 13:01:04 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by Fnarf Ben Stein presumably knows, assuming he has access to a map and the Discovery Institute's address, that their offices aren't downtown. He's a stone cold liar.

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/the_propaganda_arm_of_the_intelligent_de#c1002715 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/the_propaganda_arm_of_the_intelligent_de#c1002715 Film Mon, 21 Apr 2008 10:16:51 -0800 Comment by max solomon I thought they were on 3rd.

The Discovery Institute is our secular city's shame. And Mars Hill Church.

]]> max solomon http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/the_propaganda_arm_of_the_intelligent_de#c1002719 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/the_propaganda_arm_of_the_intelligent_de#c1002719 Film Mon, 21 Apr 2008 10:23:36 -0800 Comment by elenchos Darwin Award!

Er, right? No? Oh.

]]> elenchos http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/the_propaganda_arm_of_the_intelligent_de#c1002724 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/the_propaganda_arm_of_the_intelligent_de#c1002724 Film Mon, 21 Apr 2008 10:27:21 -0800 Comment by Dave M
Expelled's showing this weekend is actually very bad. Compared to what they've spent on marketing, with this opening they stand to lose their shirts.

For comparison Sicko and Fahrenheit 9/11 earned far, far more on their opening weekends while opening on fewer screens.

]]> Dave M http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/the_propaganda_arm_of_the_intelligent_de#c1002726 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/the_propaganda_arm_of_the_intelligent_de#c1002726 Film Mon, 21 Apr 2008 10:28:53 -0800 Comment by kid icarus I was more than a little horrified to see this playing at the Uptown. Ben Stein is such a fucking waste of flesh.

]]> kid icarus http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/the_propaganda_arm_of_the_intelligent_de#c1002742 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/the_propaganda_arm_of_the_intelligent_de#c1002742 Film Mon, 21 Apr 2008 10:44:24 -0800 Comment by also Expelled earned $3.4m on 1052 screens ($3,232/screen). By contrast, Sicko, the last highly partisan issuementary, did $23.9m on 441 screens ($54,195/screen).

And I'm willing to bet that a good portion of Expelled's revenue is from people who strongly disagree but want to know the specifics so they can talk about it intelligently (to be fair, the same is true for Moore's dreck, I'm sure).

So I'm not sure it's all that accurate to characterize Expelled as having done "rollicking business" in its opening weekend. Better adjectives would be "disappointing" or "dismal."

]]> also http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/the_propaganda_arm_of_the_intelligent_de#c1002743 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/the_propaganda_arm_of_the_intelligent_de#c1002743 Film Mon, 21 Apr 2008 10:46:22 -0800 Comment by PopTart Not to mention the fact that the president of the Discovery Institute had a butt-long editorial in the Seattle Times last week:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2004353967_chapman17.html

]]> PopTart http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/the_propaganda_arm_of_the_intelligent_de#c1002744 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/the_propaganda_arm_of_the_intelligent_de#c1002744 Film Mon, 21 Apr 2008 10:46:26 -0800 Comment by annie You guys, an insane documentary anchored by Ben Stein isn't remotely comparable to Michael Moore. I mean, Ruloff may have set expectations pretty high in the LA Times last week, but a $3.15 million gross (for a movie with production and marketing in the "single-digit millions") with an almost $3,000 per-screen average isn't bad at all for a documentary. They will almost certainly recoup all costs and then some after DVD sales.

But I'm far more worried about the ideological success of the movie. Did you know legislation inspired by the film's topic ("academic freedom") is being pushed Louisiana, Florida, and Missouri right now?

]]> annie http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/the_propaganda_arm_of_the_intelligent_de#c1002754 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/the_propaganda_arm_of_the_intelligent_de#c1002754 Film Mon, 21 Apr 2008 10:58:46 -0800 Comment by Fnarf I thought their offices were in West Seattle, in the building with the ginormous flag out front. My mistake.

It's so depressing to live in Jesusland.

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/the_propaganda_arm_of_the_intelligent_de#c1002760 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/the_propaganda_arm_of_the_intelligent_de#c1002760 Film Mon, 21 Apr 2008 11:05:40 -0800 Comment by hmm Someone should poll the people seeing the movie and ask if they are seeing it because they agree with it or because they want to make fun of it. My roommates and I are trying to figure out a way to see it without boosting their ratings. It sounds too awful to miss.

]]> hmm http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/the_propaganda_arm_of_the_intelligent_de#c1002763 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/the_propaganda_arm_of_the_intelligent_de#c1002763 Film Mon, 21 Apr 2008 11:08:04 -0800 Comment by Mr. X Yeah, well I hope you Stranger folks remember what idiots the Discovery Institute are the next time you extol the virtues of road tolling - as they're also the biggest local advocates for that onerous set of (yes, dare I say it - elitist!) proposals.

]]> Mr. X http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/the_propaganda_arm_of_the_intelligent_de#c1002765 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/the_propaganda_arm_of_the_intelligent_de#c1002765 Film Mon, 21 Apr 2008 11:08:20 -0800 Comment by elenchos Saying "legislation is being pushed" or a "law has been introduced" is meaningless. Digging up scary bills that some obscure state lege wrote is a classic fundraising canard. And by the same token, fringe legislators introduce stillborn bills as red meat for their base.

Now if Annie has an example of a bill that has a snowball's chance to move through the statehouse, that would be interesting. Otherwise, this thing is just a hook that both sides use to hang their donation letters on.

P.S. Can I nominate Ben Stein for a Darwin Award for being too dumb to avoid trans fats or whatever he eventually dies of? Even if he has kids?

]]> elenchos http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/the_propaganda_arm_of_the_intelligent_de#c1002768 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/the_propaganda_arm_of_the_intelligent_de#c1002768 Film Mon, 21 Apr 2008 11:10:45 -0800 Comment by Mr. Poe What Annie said.

]]> Mr. Poe http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/the_propaganda_arm_of_the_intelligent_de#c1002783 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/the_propaganda_arm_of_the_intelligent_de#c1002783 Film Mon, 21 Apr 2008 11:29:27 -0800 Comment by annie @12: If you're not worried about it, that's your prerogative. But state legislatures and local school boards have historically been the route by which creationism gets into public schools. Post-Dover, the intelligent design movement has obviously switched strategies from "teach the controversy" to "teachers should be able to teach whatever they want"; these academic freedom bills are really the front line for ID proponents. Currently the Florida bill seems the most serious; granted, I strongly doubt it would pass constitutional muster. But it's still smart to be aware of what's happening.

]]> annie http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/the_propaganda_arm_of_the_intelligent_de#c1002799 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/the_propaganda_arm_of_the_intelligent_de#c1002799 Film Mon, 21 Apr 2008 11:54:27 -0800 Comment by COMTE Dr. Arthur Caplan, head of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennysylvania, has a pretty scathing op-ed piece on "Expelled" up over at msnbc.com today:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24239755/

]]> COMTE http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/the_propaganda_arm_of_the_intelligent_de#c1002807 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/the_propaganda_arm_of_the_intelligent_de#c1002807 Film Mon, 21 Apr 2008 12:02:01 -0800 Comment by max solomon, proud elitist @15: a lie gets halfway around the world before the truth gets it's pants on. this is what the american right understands about america: americans are shitkicking rubes. the "left" overestimates the intelligence of the voting public every fucking time.

]]> max solomon, proud elitist http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/the_propaganda_arm_of_the_intelligent_de#c1002823 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/the_propaganda_arm_of_the_intelligent_de#c1002823 Film Mon, 21 Apr 2008 12:17:05 -0800 Comment by Scott Kennedy There's a much bigger issue that no one seems to be discussing; The Discovery Institute has enormous power in shaping Seattle policy, specifically transportation, through their subsidiary Cascadia.



Many who have worked in political and non-profit circles have shared with me their concerns about directly, or indirectly legitimizing the embarrassing (and dangerous) anti-science of Intelligent Design through their partnerships with Cascadia, and acceptance of Cascadia-related funding.


The Discovery Institute has repeatedly proven they make no distinction between scholarship and propaganda, and a quick Google reveals countless instances of unethical and manipulative behavior to forward their religious agenda.


Someone needs to begin asking Seattle a very serious question of whether forward-thinking progressives should be affiliated with Cascadia. Perhaps some local, independent paper, not afraid to challenge the status quo?

]]> Scott Kennedy http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/the_propaganda_arm_of_the_intelligent_de#c1003349 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/the_propaganda_arm_of_the_intelligent_de#c1003349 Film Tue, 22 Apr 2008 04:45:38 -0800 Comment by patrick just saw Expelled... Ben Stein's goal in making Expelled (i gather) is to promote free thought, especially more thinking about motivations that drive American academia and a lot of other behind-the-scenes worldview that we tend to take for granted.

]]> patrick http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/the_propaganda_arm_of_the_intelligent_de#c1003965 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/the_propaganda_arm_of_the_intelligent_de#c1003965 Film Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:12:55 -0800 Comment by Balanced Isn't it funny how the progressive, liberal, atheist, humanist, types often refuse to look at or respect the opinions of others, yet they preach tolerance and open-mindedness, all the while pounding down opposing viewpoints and working to pass legislation to limit the free-speech of opposing views? Grow up lefties!

]]> Balanced http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/the_propaganda_arm_of_the_intelligent_de#c1006464 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/the_propaganda_arm_of_the_intelligent_de#c1006464 Film Fri, 25 Apr 2008 13:01:04 -0800