In the film, Ben Stein asks predictable questions, and exploits an unending capacity for counterfeit astonishment. Example:
Scientist: “But Darwin did not title his book On the Origin of Life. He titled it, On the Origin of Species.”
Ben Stein (nods, grateful to learn this): “I see!”
The more you know about evolution, or simple logic, the more you are likely to be appalled by the film. No one with an ability for critical thinking could watch more than three minutes without becoming aware of its tactics. It isn’t even subtle. Take its treatment of Dawkins, who throughout his interviews with Stein is honest, plain-spoken, and courteous. As Stein goes to interview him for the last time, we see a makeup artist carefully patting on rouge and dusting Dawkins’ face. After he is prepared and composed, after the shine has been taken off his nose, here comes plain, down-to-earth, workaday Ben Stein. So we get the vain Dawkins with his effete makeup, talking to the ordinary Joe.
I have done television interviews for more than 40 years. I have been on both ends of the questions. I have news for you. Everyone is made up before going on television. If they are not, they will look like death warmed over. There is not a person reading this right now who should go on camera without some kind of makeup. Even the obligatory “shocked neighbors” standing in their front yards after a murder usually have some powder brushed on by the camera person. Was Ben Stein wearing makeup? Of course he was. Did he whisper to his camera crew to roll while Dawkins was being made up? Of course he did. Otherwise, no camera operator on earth would have taped that. That incident dramatizes his approach throughout the film. If you want to study Gotcha! moments, start here.
That is simply one revealing fragment. This film is cheerfully ignorant, manipulative, slanted, cherry-picks quotations, draws unwarranted conclusions, makes outrageous juxtapositions (Soviet marching troops representing opponents of ID), pussy-foots around religion (not a single identified believer among the ID people), segues between quotes that are not about the same thing, tells bald-faced lies, and makes a completely baseless association between freedom of speech and freedom to teach religion in a university class that is not about religion.
That’s just a bit of Ebert’s review. He completely owns Stein.
He makes $35 to 50K per speaking engagement, owns (as of 2007) seven homes, an empty lot in Malibu and considers himself a member of the middle class:
Ben Stein also gave an interview in 2005 where he was asked about a financial mistake he regretted. His regret? At some point he purchased stock in Berkshire Hathaway for $900 and at the time of the interview the stock was valued at $82K.
He regretted that he failed to purchase more of the stock when it was “cheap”.
Do the math. Even if he only owned one share at the time the value of that share was nearly twice that of the median income in America in 2005. If he still owns that single share it’s now worth $115K.
Now don’t get me wrong. I am not one of those liberals who whines about people having money. I do not begrudge Stein his money. I hope he and his family enjoys it for all it’s worth.
However, I do have a problem with people who seem to have willfully decided to ignore reality. Ben Stein is clearly one of those people.
As you may be aware, Ben Stein is starring in the movie “Expelled”, a pseudo-documentary about how creationists are being systematically shut out of American academics by evolutionists. The whole thing has been a shady affair with the producer Mark Mathis lying to people such as PZ Myers, Richard Dawkins and Eugenie Scott in order to get them to agree to interviews.
Now it seems they’re bribing “Christian” schools to have their students, faculty and adult community members watch the movie by offering up to $10,000 to the school that returns the most ticket stubs:
To engage Christian schools to get as many students, parents, and faculty from your school out to see Ben Stein’s new movie Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (opening in theaters April 2008).
Here are some suggestions as to how to do that:
Organize a school field trip and invite parents to attend as well.
Offer extra credit to your students to go on their own time.
What is the reward?
Generous donations can be awarded to schools according to the number of movie ticket stubs they turn in. By accepting this challenge, your school could be awarded a donation up to $10,000, just for bringing your kids to see this film!
Your school will be awarded a donation based upon the number of ticket stubs you turn in (see submission instructions in FAQ section). That structure is as follows:
0-99 ticket stubs submitted = $5 per ticket stub
100-299 ticket stubs submitted = $1,000 donated to your school
300-499 ticket stubs submitted = $2,500 donated to your school
500 ticket stubs submitted = $5,000 donated to your school
Each school across the nation will be competing for the top honor of submitting the most ticket stubs with that school having their $5,000 donation matched for a total donation of $10,000!
I’ve never liked Ben Stein so I’ve lost no respect for him, but damn. Is he expecting the movie to bomb so bad he’s got to pay people to see it if just to come out even??
