Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

Netflix! Netflix! Netflix! Netflix!

I love it. I get movies sent to me in the convenience of my home, and there are thousands and thousands to choose from. Offbeat documentaries like yesterday's post about "Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea." Today I am watching "Helvetica." This is a riveting documentary about a typefont. Now, I know that 'riveting' and 'documentary' rarely go together. And to put 'documentary' with 'typefont' has never been done in the history of mankind. But there you have it! Helvetica rocks! Summary from the movie's website:

"Helvetica is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. It looks at the proliferation of one typeface (which is celebrating its 50th birthday this year) as part of a larger conversation about the way type affects our lives." How cool is that, a movie about a typeface! And it's interesting!

Another movie coming out, this one in the national theaters April 18, is "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed." Do you remember Ben Stein from Ferris Bueller's Day Off? Anyone? Anyone?



Ben Stein, in the new film EXPELLED: No Intelligence Allowed, coming to a theater near you on April 18, 2008

"His heroic and, at times, shocking journey confronting the world’s top scientists, educators and philosophers, regarding the persecution of the many by an elite few. Ben travels the world on his quest, and learns an awe-inspiring truth…that bewilders him, then angers him…and then spurs him to action. Ben realizes that he has been “Expelled,” and that educators and scientists are being ridiculed, denied tenure and even fired – for the “crime” of merely believing that there might be evidence of “design” in nature, and that perhaps life is not just the result of accidental, random chance." Needless to say, the idea that there could something more to life than simple, random, monkey chance has sparked conversations around watercoolers from Seattle to Key West.



Yes! According to BlogPulse, "Something amazing happened just over a week ago. The controversy around Premise Media’s upcoming movie Ben Stein’s EXPELLED: No Intelligence Allowed became the hottest topic in the blogosphere. According to BlogPulse, a service of Nielsen Buzzmetrics, the issue held the number one slot throughout the day on Monday, March 24th. There were also over 800 results on Technorati."

The documentary is even-handed and Stein interviewed many, many scientists, from all points of view, and let them speak freely. I understand from reading reviews of those who have been granted advance screenings, that the film is about "the merits of Intelligent Design should be on the same level playing field as Evolutionary Theory. This film is about the freedom of speech, the freedom of ideas and ability to express those ideas...not about whether God created the heavens and the earth. The film’s main point was that Intelligent Design should be taught in conjunction with Evolution" because both have equal scientific merit. Can't wait for April 18! the movie website has a theater locator so you can check to see if it will be appearing in your area.

In the Shadow of the Moon

It's the movie everyone's talking about. So yesterday I went. The documentary focuses on the astronauts who participated in the Apollo program, each in their own words describing what they felt, thought, and did from selection and training to their walks on the moon. Digitally remastered, never before seen footage immeasurably enhances the experience and brings the viewer through a range of emotions.

Initially I felt awe that our country would dare to attempt this major feat, and in such a short time frame, too, 8 years from the date when President Kennedy challenged the United States to put a man on the moon and bring him safely back to earth. The scene of the engineers feverishly figuring out how to do this thing with slide rules, graphite pencils, and mock capsules made of popcicle sticks brought home just how much brainpower was behind it as the astronauts' bravery.

Then I felt pride, watching these men who sat atop thousands of gallons of liquid fuel inside a tiny capsule, knowing something could go wrong at any moment and their lives would be lost. And indeed, in 1967 Apollo 1's crew of Grissom, Chaffee, and White were lost in a flash fire. Yet the commitment to pursue the dream of visiting another heavenly body remained intact and the program continued.

Then I felt such excitement as the movie brought the viewer toward the moon and the men who piloted a capsule to its shadow, leaving the "surly bonds of earth" and for some of the men who came to Jesus afterwards, "to touch the face of God." Here, the images are tremendous, and Lovell's reading of Genesis 1:1 on their Christmas Day orbit was moving in the extreme.

The astronauts' return illustrated clearly how the world looked up to America, with peoples from all nations at the four corners of the earth crying and waving and exulting together at the moment of landing. Buzz Aldrin was especially humbled to hear over and over again as he toured the world: "We did it" and "We landed on the moon." One French woman said "I trust America and I knew we could do it." This segment brought pride and also sadness, because yes, it is true, at one time our country had the capacity to unite all of humanity, not in technology, not in science, but in our hearts. And 38 years later we see how far we have fallen.

The movie is about about boldness, daring, challenge, a power to bring humanity to one united moment at the dizzying pinnacle in July 1969. These men are the best America had to offer, and they are great indeed. Falling from the height of affable, humble, dedicated men of service, to the current low of self-aggrandizing politics and 24/7 porn. What goes up must come down, and for me ultimately it's about the fall of America. God had blessed us with wealth, intelligence, daring, and compassion, but we have squandered them all. Though the movie is absolutely uplifting on many, many fronts, but it did make me think, you know... we coulda been somebody.