Ben Stein for President

This title may be somewhat misleading in that it’s really not about Ben Stein running for president, because he’s not. But as far as I’m concerned, IMHO, after seeing his movie “Expelled”, he could. I am seriously thinking of writing him in, just so someone can be said to have done that. Somehow I believe I would not be alone.

The Movie: It has quite a few great points. Ben’s movie is at once funny, brilliantly written, wonderfully edited, with just the right amount of pathos and humor. It was very well balanced. It is a documentary style, and if you know me, you know I don’t even believe in documentaries. There is no such thing as a true documentary. If you were in my “Wag the Dog” class a couple of years ago you would remember that as a keystone to understanding the material of the class. Documentaries don’t exist because it is impossible to turn on a camera without having a point of view. Instead, what we have is a documentary STYLE, and there are certain characteristics of that style that place it in that category. But all films have a point of view, and the truly artful filmmaker in the documentary style will craft a work that demonstrates their point of view in such a fashion that will completely convince us of that point of view, and challenge opposing notions. This is done via the Interview, the reality shot (or cinematography that comes from the “live” event), the structure of opposites which places opposing material side by side for what appear to be glaringly different comparisons, and appropriate music and sound that is not obtrusive or overly dramatic or draws attention to itself, and matches the subject matter. Expelled meets all of these qualifications.

Although it employs artfully persuasive tactics, I don’t know how anyone could possibly conclude that this movie was anything but fair. Here before our eyes and ears are the words and representations of BOTH sides of an issue; the issue of freedom of speech, and the squelching of that freedom by the bureaucracy of the official Scientific establishment, protecting their multi-billion dollar industry. Expelled clearly and succinctly draws the picture for us of the situation that we face in our particular culture of the impending loss of our freedom due to the overwhelming presence of the staunch belief in Darwinism, not just as a worldview, but as policy and law. One particularly astute observation by the representation of the scientific community in Poland stated that the problems we face in the US over the issues in science is directly because of the representation that science has in our legal and political structures. The point is taken to the extreme near the 2/3 crux of the film (where all great filmic stories take on their most powerfully prominent moments of truth) when we visit the results of Darwinistic thought in the remnants of Nazi Germany. The most powerful moment in the film, I thought, was after that whole sequence.

Ben Stein is visiting the large shrine and museum of Darwin’s thoughts and writings, called Down House, and is facing the seated statue of Darwin at its entrance, staring Charles in his stony face, and there is silence. Very powerful, and compelling us to draw the conclusions for ourselves of the “origin” of his thinking, and where it might lead us to if allowed to go unchecked by the freedom to investigate as we please, speak as we please, and in the words of one scientist interviewed, “..follow the evidence wherever it may lead us”.

There could be no more perfect comparative metaphor than that of the Berlin Wall, as used by Stein in this film. The two different sides of this issue are truly at that great of a distance from one another, yet also in close proximity, and the results of the division are showing themselves to be exactly the same. I believe what Stein is attempting to take on here is not so much the “proof” (such a scientific word in itself) of the legitimacy of the particular claims of Intelligent Design theory or its constituents, or Creationism, as he is simply pointing out the dangers of the persecution and hostility towards those who openly investigate ID, site ID scientific-based research or conclusions, or espouse ID-ology as part of the basis for their work. Ben Stein is clearly on solid ground in his understanding and portrayal of the particular American situation within our scientific policy and community, and potential effects that it has on not only our decisions regarding the legal treatment of professors or the inclusion of alternative ideas in the classroom, but is striking right at the heart of who we are as a people and a nation; a nation founded on the ideas of freedom, and what taking those basic freedoms away could mean.

Ben Stein for president? Maybe he’ll read my blog and consider it. He would do much better than Michael Moore, I’m sure.

SC