"Expelled" can't be expelled?

And now for yet another development in the evolution debate …

The director of a Tallahassee science center said today that the center had no choice but to allow a group to rent the facility for an upcoming showing of the movie "Expelled" – which many scientists consider to be anti-science – to members of the Florida Legislature.

Challenger Center Director Norman Thagard (left) told The Gradebook this afternoon that the center was not in any way endorsing the movie, and that not allowing its IMAX movie center to be rented for the showing of "Expelled" could open the door to a discrimination lawsuit. "I just don't want the center to be portrayed as sponsoring this," Thagard said. "We're just allowing our facilities to be used per our policies."

The Challenger Center in downtown Tallahassee is an educational outreach facility for the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, where Thagard, a former astronaut, is a tenured professor. "Expelled" is a new documentary by Ben Stein that posits 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."

The showing in Tallahassee comes as the Legislature is set to consider "academic freedom" bills that would allow teachers to veer from new science standards passed last month by the state Board of Education.

The connections here were first reported late Friday night on the Florida Citizens for Science blog, which had obtained an email from Rep. Alan Hays (right), R-Umatilla (the House sponsor of the academic freedom bill), inviting member of the Legislature to "an exclusive pre-screening to be held by Motive Entertainment" at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Motive is marketing the movie. And given the Challenger Center's scientific bona fides, the disclosure promptly led to criticisms like this one on the FCS blog: "That Florida State or FAMU should essentially be allowing facilities they've created to be used by Creationists in order to push propaganda in an effort to influence legislators to vote against improved education is outrageous." Some have compared the situation to a 2005 flap involving the Smithsonian and "The Privileged Planet," a movie supported by intelligent design proponents at the Discovery Institute.

Thagard said Motive asked to rent the facility last week, and was granted permission. He said the Challenger Center allows its facilities to be rented for screenings as long as the movies are not pornographic, excessively violent or in violation of the law. "We can't say person A or group A can rent, and group B can't, without getting involved in lawsuits," he said.

After complaints arose about "Expelled," Thagard said he ran the issue past the FSU legal department "to make sure we had not anything wrong." He also said any chatter suggesting legislative arm-twisting is "nonsense."

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Comments

[grafixer]

I would urge all to go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedge_strategy and read about the Wedge Strategy and The Discovery Institute. Also do a quick wikipedia search for the people behind the bill - Rhonda Storms and Alan Hays. Education (be it Science or general) is key to understanding. This is not about Academic Freedom. Their definition of the phrase is neither academic nor free. It is Academic FreeDUMB!

[Mike]

My concern is why the movie was pushed back several months after preview screenings have already occurred late last year. I'm sure the film producers have hundreds of hours of interviews to mine through, but there is a looming curiosity as to if the release was delayed for some other event?

"Expelled" is a new documentary by Ben Stein that posits 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."

The interesting part of this quote is the "belief of evidence". There is no claim to evidence. Just belief that it could exist somewhere. Science has no problem with personal belief until it is used to bias work. As far as I've read, no person has a claim of being fired or denied tenure solely on the grounds of a faith. The ridicule would more than likely come on a more personal level, but if the movie was reduced to finger pointing, it would look like a high school drama.

[grafixer]

Perhaps the Challenger Center would consider showing PBS's (NOVA)broadcast, "Intelligent Design on Trial"? It is an excellent balance to the propaganda show that they "have no choice" in showing. Let's all hope that this fine facility lives up to its name! http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/id/defense-ev.html

[Nick]

Fair enough.

[Chris W]

It isn't playing anywhere local, so I can't go "see it for myself". I have to rely on reports of people who *have* seen it. Read the whole article and follow the links.

I've been a creationist-watcher for more than ten years, so it's not like I've just come to the party. There isn't really anything new in how they operate, nor is there anything new in their complaints.

If it ever comes anywhere local, I'll go see it and post a review. But based on the (muted) buzz it's getting, I'm not holding my breath. This has the sound of a straight-to-Christian-DVD special.

[Nick]

Chris, this is a bias blog... it's an opinion piece, not a report... come on. Dude, you can do better than that!

Why don't you keep an open mind, see the movie, and if you feel the same way, then your posts will have merit. Until then, your disdain and penchant for drowning out and dismissing your opposition is showing -- big-time!

[Chris W]

1. Looked at the trailer
2. Looked at who was promoting it
3. Recognize a limp attempt to create a buzz around something bogus. (Remember "Blair Witch Project"?)
4. Looked at who was invited and who wasn't (see http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2008/03/expelled_gets_more_bad_press.php for a cogent and link-sourced recap).

[Nick]

Chris,
A silly propaganda piece? How would you know that, if you didn't see it?

[Pete Dunkelberg]

One might note that the faux academic freedom bill is a Discovry Inst. product and the film is a melodramatization of D I delusions. Stein didn't make it up himself.

[Chris W]

Actually, Nick, they're trying to stop the appearance of Florida A&M and Florida State endorsing a silly propaganda piece. If the movie was being shown in a church or any other public, nobody would care.

[Nick]

So what we have here, are members of the scientific community trying to stop a movie about members of the scientific community trying to stop members of the scientific community. Why would they do that? They are proving the movie maker's point!

[Chris W]

So there's a creationist whine and cheese party there, hmm? Methinks there is the opportunity to steal their thunder with a better conference before *and* after.