I Want to See It
There a movie I want to see. The only problem is, it’s only showing in one theater at a time. It’s called Flock of Dodos and is a documentary on the evolution / intelligent design issue in our culture. (Follow that link… Watch the trailer!)
I’ve read good things about the movie. Apparently, it takes the position of supporting good science (hardly a suprise there, it’s made by an evolutionary ecologist and filmmaker, Randy Olson), but it also points to the very disturbing possibly that evolutionary biologists might be the flock of dodos for doing such a poor job of talking to the public and explaining their ideas.
Again, from what I’ve read, Olson has an interesting perspective on the issue. He studied biology at Harvard under Stephen J. Gould, one of the most influential evolutionary biologists of our time, but he grew up in Kansas and identifies with the people there. (As you’ll recall, Kansas has been flip-flopping back and forth on the issue as residents have voted in and out people to the school board supportive of good science.) He decided to the make the film after realizing that his mom lived on the same block as one of the biggest supporters of intelligent design in Kansas.
Apparently, as close as this movie will come to me is Rice University, scheduled for March 9th. It might be hard to make it, but I’m thinking about it…
Speaking of films about flightless birds, what did you think of _March of the Penguins_?
I actually haven’t seen March of the Penguins
But I have seen Winged Migration, and I liked it.
We saw Danish movie a few years ago called “Facon’s Eye” or “Kestrel’s Eye.” It traced the activities of a falcon family living in the bell tower of a church over a complete year.
The contrast between the falcon activities and the human activities–and the similarities–was really enchanting. Almost no dialogue in the movie. Just the visuals.
Highly recommended.
Jay,
I was lucky enough to see the screening at Yale during my grad school visit there last week. I definitely enjoyed the movie but felt is was a little unpolished. Although it is mostly a fair reporting of both sides, you can definitely tell it was made by an evolutionary biologist. The best point, though, as you mentioned, is that evolutionary scientists have done a horrendous job in educating the public about their position. The arrogance and impatience is pretty astounding. It’s incredibly frustrating to me b/c all we’ll do is turn people away or piss them off by talking down our noses at them. I just wish scientists would lose their isolationist viewpoints and start patiently explaining evolution. Again, this is why I love your blog (although I have not been following it lately, unfortunately). The movie honestly made me think of you b/c you’re one of the few out there trying to reconcile both sides of the debate.
Thanks again,
Nick