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Mix-Ansicht- Mittelalter lässt grüssen: Ultrarechte US Christen verhindern Filmvorführungen - CRASH_GURU, 21.06.2005, 23:02
- Re: Ach, wie schrecklich! (o.Text) - Theo Stuss, 22.06.2005, 09:15
Mittelalter lässt grüssen: Ultrarechte US Christen verhindern Filmvorführungen
-->US RADICALS BLOW THEIR TOPS OVER VOLCANO MOVIE AS DARWINISM DEBATE RAGES
AFP
June 21, 2005
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20050621/lf_afp/afplifestyleusr
eligion_050621144941
WASHINGTON - Culture wars raging in the United States are reaping new
victims as monster-screen IMAX cinemas and top museums are dragged into the
fierce debate over the origin of life.
Pressure from ultraconservative religious groups has prompted some theaters
equipped with the high quality panoramic IMAX screens to cancel showings of
several movies which refer to Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.
Some politically powerful religious groups dismiss the theory, despite its
widespread acceptance throughout the rest of the world.
Instead, they advance a hypothesis that holds that the universe is so
complex that it must have been designed by an"intelligent" being, i.e. God,
and is not the result of random natural selection.
Many scientists have savagely attacked"intelligent design", arguing the
theory is not significantly sound, and is simply the latest political shot
from religious creationists.
Since the beginning of this year, numerous movie theaters in highly
religious states in the US south have refused to show documentary films like
"Cosmic Voyage,""Volcanos of the Deep Sea" and"Galapagos" named after the
islands Darwin used to showcase his theory.
The films crimes? Mentioning the idea that the Universe is the product of a
"Big Bang" explosion or that the origin of life is in the oceans.
"Volcanos of the Deep Sea" has prompted some radical religious conservatives
to blow their own tops.
But oceanographer Richard Lutz, who collaborated on the movie, said the
controversy centered on"a reference in the film that life may have
originated in the deep sea."
Lutz, a professor of Marine Ecology at Rutgers University, said he was
troubled to see other film producers steer clear of scientific subjects that
risk controversy and low box office receipts.
Earlier this year, the Museum of Science and History of Fort Worth, Texas,
refused to show the volcano film after a screening for a test audience.
"At the time, we had better choices that scored better in our screening
tests," said Margaret Ritsch, the museum's Director of Public Affairs.
She admitted, however, that some people had made comments about the theory
of evolution.
Valentine Kass, a science education program director at the National Science
Foundation (NSF) which helped finance the film, hit out at the campaign
against the IMAX movie.
"It is very troubling if science museums don't want to promote what we
consider totally accepted ideas of science. It is not a positive trend at
all."
Blocking scientific movies from IMAX theaters is only one part of the
creationists' agenda; they also promote their own films that document their
theory of a cosmos-crafting higher intelligence.
"The Privileged Planet: The Search for Purpose in the Universe," is one such
film, based on work by University of Iowa astronomy professor Guillermo
Gonzalez.
Stirring outrage from the scientific community, the Museum of Natural
History at Washington's world-famed Smithsonian Institution agreed to show
the movie.
The Smithsonian, however, was forced to issue a statement making clear that
it did not consider intelligent design geled with scientific fact.
"We have determined that the content of the film is not consistent with the
mission of the Smithsonian Institution's scientific research," the statement
said.
But the Smithsonian still plans to show"Privileged Planet" as scheduled on
June 23.
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