I’m opening a thread for those who would like to report their impressions of seeing the movie Expelled as well the numbers of viewers and their reactions to the movie.
Here is my report:
Location: Memphis, TN Stage 13 Cinema, just north of Cordova Tennessee
2:00 PM Friday Showing
I expected to see only 3 people at the 2PM showing, but there were 60 people! I asked what people thought, they said they would recommend the movie to their friends. They braved bad weather to get here.
The ticket manager said she had a steady stream of positive comments from the movie goers.
The audience was laughing at Richard Dawkins. They seemed in awe of the cellular animation, and they gasped at the images of the Nazi death camps.
In the movie, Uta George, the director of the Hadamar Gas Chamber Memorial explicitly said that the Nazis drew inspiration from Darwin. Darwinism was associated with atheism, eugenics — along with various macabre images. ID was associated with freedom, morality, and heroism. That went over well with the audience….
Will Provine’s interview was very noteworthy. Provine is a good friend of Phil Johnson, and has shown himself to be honorable in treatment of pro-ID students even though Provine himself rejects ID. Some of his statements brought a chill. He said that life has no meaning, no free will, no morality. He said he may put a gun to his head one day because he faces the possibility of terminal illness. I was very sorry to hear this. Up until today, I was not sure that part of Will’s interview would air….
You’ll see Will at the end of the movie saying he applauds students who, after weighing the evidence, decide to become creationists. Thus, Will came across as the most honorable of the non-ID side. In contrast, Dawkins looked like a buffoon. When Berlinski called Dawkins a “reptile” the audience was in stitches laughing….
I also attended the later 4:50 showing, and about 70 people were there.
I asked people what they thought and how they heard about the movie. Much of the word spread through the churches and radio. The negative reviews such as USA Today were ignored by those buying tickets….
It is hard to say whether what is happening here in Memphis can be extrapolated anywhere else. So I hope some of you from other parts of the world will report. My thanks in advance to those providing reports….