Ben Stein’s Trojan Horse Mobilizing the State House and Local News Agenda MATTHEW C. NISBET ack in April 2008, as the docu- mentary Expelled: No Intelligence BAllowed premiered in more than 1,000 theaters across the country, I gath- ered with friends for a Friday-evening screening in downtown Washington, D.C. The medium-sized Regal Cinemas theater was about 80 percent full, with an audi- ence that appeared to be the typical urban professional crowd for the surrounding arts and entertainment district, a demographic that is more likely to read the New York Times at a coffee house on Sunday than to attend church. As I watched the film and monitored audience reaction, I grew convinced that although Expelled’s claims have been thor- oughly debunked (NCSE 2008; Scientific American 2008; see also the critique in SI, May/June 2008 by Dan Whipple and Nathan Bupp’s piece in SI, July/ August 2008), the documentary’s long- term impact remains dangerously under- estimated. In the film, the comedic actor Ben Stein plays the role of a conservative Michael As I watched the film and monitored Moore, taking viewers on an investigative journey into the realm of “Big Science,” audience reaction, I grew convinced that an institution in which, Stein concludes, although Expelled’s claims have been thoroughly “scientists are not allowed to even think thoughts that involve an intelligent cre- debunked, the documentary’s long-term impact ator.” Expelled outrageously suggests that remains dangerously underestimated. Darwinism, as Stein calls evolution, led to the Holocaust. He also suggests that scientists have been denied tenure and that research has been suppressed, all in the common to political advertising. First, to atheism, fascism, and communism. As service of hiding the supposedly fatal flaws Stein’s narrative relies heavily on the use a corollary, if Americans can join Stein in evolutionary theory. of metaphor. For example, his version of in tearing down the wall of censorship in Expelled employs several techniques the “3 A.M. phone call” is to bookend science, it would open the way to religious Matthew Nisbet is an assistant professor in the film with historic footage of the Berlin freedom and cultural renewal. the School of Communication at American Wall and a repetitive emphasis on freedom Expelled also strategically manipu- University in Washington, D.C. as a central American value. The sinister lates emotions while playing to ignorance implication is that “Darwinism” has led among movie-going audiences. For exam- 16 Volume 32, Issue 5 SKEPTICAL INQUIRER ple, as a way of triggering anger, Stein Me.) bias and ideological reinforcement (Nisbet misleadingly defines celebrity atheists such Premise Media, Inc., the production 2008; Kaiser 2007). Although similar data as Richard Dawkins, P.Z. Myers, Daniel company that marketed Expelled, targeted is not yet available for Expelled, according Dennett, and Christopher Hitchens as two key demographics for the film. Pre- to news reports, Premise Media’s own representatives of “establishment science.” dictably, a main segment included evan- exit survey data from theaters in six states In interviews, as these scientists compare gelicals and social conservatives, with the showed that 80 percent of the film’s view- religion to fairies, hobgoblins, and knit- production company advertising heavily ers during opening weekend considered ting, the implication for viewers is that in order to leave room for God in society, intelligent design (ID) needs to be taken seriously. In the screening I attended, some- Since the 2005 Dover court decision, what predictably there were chuckles and positive laughter in reaction to Stein and intelligent design had been off the audibly negative emotion directed toward national news radar, yet Expelled the comments of Dawkins and the other scientists. As the film credits rolled at the helped restart the media conversation, end, there was even a strong round of at least temporarily. approving applause. Expelled’s misleading emphasis on atheist punditry as representative of sci- ence even had film critics bristling. In reviews otherwise harshly dismissive of the documentary, Jeffrey Kluger of Time on political talk-radio stations and by themselves “born again” Christians (Hall magazine described Dawkins and Myers’s way of Christian media and church net- 2008). performances as “sneering, finger in the eye works. But in running advertising spots Yet, Expelled’s influence stretches well atheism,” while Justin Chang of Variety during The Daily Show and on CNN, the beyond the theater and any ideological referred to Dawkins’ commentary as “athe- company also hoped to appeal to less reli- impact on viewers. As I reviewed in a ism taken to hateful extremes.” gious twenty- and thirty-somethings, an recent report to the Ford Foundation, There is no way of telling how repre- audience more familiar with Ben Stein as these indirect influences can be tracked sentative the Washington, D.C., audience a comedic actor and satirist than with the across several different dimensions, with might be of the nation at large, although I recent political skirmishes over evolution. the most important impacts related to the have observed similar emotional reactions Despite these savvy marketing ef forts, general news and policy agenda (Nisbet among university students with whom I Expelled was unlikely to break the forces of 2007). have tested Expelled’s YouTube clips. At ideological selectivity that have snared even For example, although many main- various other locations across the country, the most successful documentaries. For stream film critics have savaged the docu- several bloggers reported that they were example, polling data shows that the the- mentary, Stein’s arguments have received the only person in the theater for a Sunday ater audience for Fahreinheit 9/11, which either uncritical or positive coverage in matinee or a weekday evening show. One earned $120 million at the box office, reviews at Christian or conservative Web thing, however, is certain: by documentary skewed heavily liberal and was more likely sites, in appearances on CNN with Wolf box-office standards, Expelled has made to live in “blue” rather than “red” counties Blitzer, ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live, and its mark. of the country (Pew 2004). Moreover, a by way of strong endorsements on conser- With more than $7.5 million in ticket recent study finds that rather than con- vative talk radio and cable news programs sales according to the Web site Box Office verting movie-goers to support John Kerry such as Rush Limbaugh, Headline News’ Mojo, Stein’s propaganda film ranks as during the 2004 election, the effects of Glenn Beck, and Fox News’ Hannity and either the sixth or seventh top grossing the film were most likely to reinforce and Colmes. public affairs documentary of all time. intensify already strong anti-Bush senti- Since the 2005 Dover court decision, Only Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth, ment (Stroud 2007). In short, Fahrenheit intelligent design had been off the national Morgan Spurlock’s SuperSize Me, and 9/11 helped activate and mobilize the news radar, yet Expelled helped restart the Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11, Sicko, existing anti-Bush segment rather than media conversation, at least temporarily. and Bowling for Columbine have gross ed persuade new converts. Perhaps most importantly, by way of col- more than Expelled. (After adjusting for Survey data specific to Inconvenient umns, op-eds, uncritical features, and let- inflation, add Moore’s 1989 Roger and Truth and Sicko reveal similar selectivity ters to the editor at local newspapers across SKEPTICAL INQUIRER September / October 2008 17 the country, the film offered an opening here in Washington, D.C., including a References and a new “authoritative” reference point special screening for Congressional staffers. Bailey, Ronald. 2008. April 16. Flunk this movie. for ID proponents to once again mislead- When the film moves to DVD dis- Reason. Available online at www.reason.com/ news/show/125988.html. ingly argue that there are holes in evolu- tribution, expect more of these types of Box Office Mojo. Gross earnings for documen- tionary theory and censorship in schools. Expelled screenings, house parties, and tary genre since 1982. Available online at Perhaps most troubling has been the church gatherings across the country, all www.boxofficemojo.com/genres/chart/?id =documentary.htm. advanced screenings for policymakers, aimed at mobilizing a political move- Chang, Justin. 2008. April 11. Review: Expelled: interest groups, and other influentials. ment in favor of anti-evolution bills. As No intelligence allowed. Variety. Available Expelled’s producers have previewed the Reason magazine’s Ronald Bailey (2008) online at www.variety.com/review/VE111793 6783.html?categoryid=31&cs=1. film for the Missouri and Florida state reports, at an April 15 press conference Hall, Cheryl. 2008. April 28. Intelligent design documentary creates stir. Dallas Morning News. Available online at www.dallasnews.com/ sharedcontent/dws/bus/columnists/chall/ stories/DNHall_27bus.ART0.State.Edition1. 4655452.html. Kaiser Family Foundation 2008. Awareness and perceptions of Sicko. Available online at www.kff. org/kaiserpolls/pomr082707pkg.cfm. Over the next few years, Expelled’s Kluger, Jeffrey. 2008. April 10. Ben Stein dukes it out with Darwin. Time. Available online at enduring impact will be to serve as a www.time.com/time/magazine/0,9263,76010 80414,00.html. vehicle for recruiting and mobilizing Julian, Liam. 2008. March 28. Academic anarchy. Tampa Bay Tribune. Available online at www2. anti-evolution activists at the state tbo.com/content/2008/mar/28/na-academic-an- archy. and local level across the country. National Center for Science Education. 2008a. Ex pelled exposed. Available online at www.expelled exposed.com/. National Center for Science Education 2008b. Louisiana’s latest creationism bill moves to House floor. Available online at www.ncseweb .org/resources/news/2008/LA/66_louisianas_ latest_creationism_5_23_2008.asp.