Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (2008)

Let me preface this review by stating that I plan on watching this documentary again in order to give it a more accurate rating. Oftentimes documentaries are tricky things. Anymore, they almost always promote some kind of viewpoint or stance on a certain issue. Very few documentaries since the Michael Moore era began have been truly objective. This makes it very difficult to review the artistic merits of a documentary because the subject matter can present a major barrier. If you happen to be opposed to its subject matter, you risk dismissing the entire product outright. If you agree with the subject matter, you may gloss over its shortcomings in the name of supporting the subject.

No bones about it, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed is not a truly objective documentary. It supports the idea of intelligent design- a controversial concept that means different things to different people depending on their viewpoint. For supporters, it is a way of acknowledging that science is limited in explaining some things through straight evolutionary theory and that an intelligent, supernatural designer may or must be involved. For skeptics, it’s merely a thinly-veiled front for Christian fundamentalists to push a new breed of creationism onto the masses. There’s actually an immense grey area between the two, but this is a review of a documentary, not a treatise on intelligent design.

Expelled does not address intelligent design on a scientific level. Instead, Ben Stein leads a series of interviews with adherents and skeptics alike into the stigmatization of the concept that has developed within the scientific community. Stein makes the observation that there are scientists who believe in God and intelligent design concepts, but these people often times have to cover up their beliefs out of fear of reprisal from their academic and institutional peers.

Stein highlights the cases of five individuals who feel that they lost their positions, were rejected tenure, or were passed over for promotional opportunities due to their belief in intelligent design theory. These stories require a little extra research because the filmmakers only convey how these highly-credentialed scholars and researchers suddenly found themselves barely capable of finding work or subject to intense harassment once their beliefs came to light in one fashion or another. Few if any responses from the offending institutions accepted the filmmakers’ invitation to rebut the claims. Rather, most provided written accounts for what they claim happened in each situation before or after the film’s release.

This, along with several of the skeptics interviewed, provides Stein ample opportunity to use his trademark dry sarcasm while ‘exposing’ the scientific community’s unwillingness to be ‘truly scientific’ and explore all avenues in regards to the origins and development of life on earth. While it is true that some hardcore atheists cling to evolution in an attempt to refute religion, Stein does a disservice by painting opposition to intelligent design as an institutional plot by the scientific community to do the very same thing. By referring to the elite, string-pulling members of the scientific community and ardent atheists almost interchangeably, Stein & company themselves become guilty of engaging in smear tactics.

The last third or so of the film changes direction and goes into the history of what has happened when Darwin’s concept of natural selection is taken out of the realm of natural science and applied socially. When placed on the pedestal of societal progressivism, you get the eugenics movement and genetic engineering. When abused in conjunction with hyper-nationalism, you get dangerous political parties such as the Nazis. Stein fails to fully connect all the relevant dots in these cases, so this tangential segment may strike some lesser-educated folks as implying that the theory evolution led directly to Nazism.

It is this last portion of the documentary that leaves me with uncertain feelings about Expelled. It’s such a radical departure from the earlier focus and takes up a serious chunk of time. This leaves the documentary feeling a bit scattered. Interesting points and observations are made in each part but both sections feel as if they belong as subjects for two different stand-alone films. I don’t know of anyone who would actually argue in favor of social Darwinism, so the latter segment serves mostly as an effective and spooky cautionary tale.

While this review may seem mostly negative, I actually enjoyed watching Expelled. The filmmakers made a terrific choice in selecting Stein as their narrator. Just about everyone remembers him from his supporting film and TV work, and his sense of humor is delightful. He may be a bit too dry for some people to understand but his intelligent wit and subtle sarcasm are employed to maximum effectiveness here. Those who disagree with the film’s subject will likely think he’s just being a smart aleck but isn’t that what detractors usually say of Michael Moore as well?

In fact, Expelled owes its craftiness and structure to the success of Moore’s infotainment documentary style. Like Moore, Stein and the filmmakers plays loosey-goosey with facts and cherry pick the best sound bites from those both for and against their argument. Stein comes off as more reserved and intelligent than Moore but he has his tongue placed very dryly in his cheek nearly the whole way through. As with Moore’s work, the end result is a murky mix of fact, opinion and flat-out exaggeration.

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed tries to do too much in 97 minutes. It showcases what it believes is a not-so-secret conspiracy to marginalize scientists who don’t hide their religious beliefs while also providing a lengthy public service announcement regarding the past evils of social Darwinism. The former doesn’t provide enough detail to satisfy their claims and the latter is oversimplified. Split these two up and give them the full treatment and a more compelling argument may indeed rise to the surface. Until then, Stein smirks his way through a truly entertaining although incomplete documentary.

RATING: 3 out of 5