Flock of Dodos : The Evolution-Intelligent Design Circus

Flock of Dodos: The Evolution-Intelligent Design Circus explores the Darwin vs. intelligent design controversy. Filmmaker/ evolutionary ecologist/ surfer Dr. Randy Olson travels to his home state of Kansas, the top battle ground for evolution, where he challenges top advocates for intelligent design, and with a sense of scientific inquiry tries to understand a movement that so misfired that in Dover PA., a Republican-Bush appointee judge labeled local efforts to teach intelligent design as "breathtaking inanity." School districts are now grappling with the efforts to introduce intelligent design, the movement evolutionists prefer to call "creationism in a cheap tuxedo." However Olson also paints an unflattering portrait of his fellow scientists. Pulling together eight evolutionists for a night of poker, he reveals them to be arrogant, condescending, and self-certain until they eventually turn on themselves in a spat that sounds like ... a flock of dodos.

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"Evolution and intelligent design circus"
"Evolution and intelligent design circus"@en
"Evolution-intelligent design circus"

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"Flock of Dodos: The Evolution-Intelligent Design Circus explores the Darwin vs. intelligent design controversy. Filmmaker/ evolutionary ecologist/ surfer Dr. Randy Olson travels to his home state of Kansas, the top battle ground for evolution, where he challenges top advocates for intelligent design, and with a sense of scientific inquiry tries to understand a movement that so misfired that in Dover PA., a Republican-Bush appointee judge labeled local efforts to teach intelligent design as "breathtaking inanity." School districts are now grappling with the efforts to introduce intelligent design, the movement evolutionists prefer to call "creationism in a cheap tuxedo." However Olson also paints an unflattering portrait of his fellow scientists. Pulling together eight evolutionists for a night of poker, he reveals them to be arrogant, condescending, and self-certain until they eventually turn on themselves in a spat that sounds like ... a flock of dodos."@en
"Tweaks egos and pokes fun at both sides in the evolution vs. intelligent design debate. From the shadowy, well-funded headquarters of the pro-intelligent design Discovery Institute in Seattle to the rarefied talk of scientists around a late-night poker table."
"A humorous look at the debate between proponents of biological evolution and adherents of intelligent design, focusing especially on legal opinions about the issue."
"Explores the Darwin vs. intelligent design controversy. Randy Olson pokes fun at both sides of this debate and uses his own mother, Muffy Moose, to make sense out of the issue that both Time and Newsweek recently featured on their covers."@en
"Flock of Dodos: The Evolution-Intelligent Design Circus is the first feature length documentary to explore the Darwin vs. intelligent design controversy. Filmmaker/evolutionary ecologist/surfer Dr. Randy Olson pokes fun at both sides of this debate and eventually uses his own mother, Muffy Moose, to make sense out of the issue that both Time and Newsweek recently featured on their covers. He travels to his home state of Kansas, the top battle ground for evolution, where he sits down with his mother's neighbor, John Calvert, one of the top lawyers backing intelligent design, for a confrontation that leaves audiences squirming in their seats. "It's a reflection of the current culture wars," Olson says. "It's the age old split between science and religion, with a few new twists." Labeled by early audiences as "a polite Michael Moore," Olson challenges top advocates for intelligent design (including Dr. Michael Behe, author of Darwin's Black Box). With a sense of scientific inquiry, he tries to understand a movement that so misfired last year in Dover, PA., a Republican-Bush appointee judge labeled local efforts to teach intelligent design as, "breathtaking inanity." School districts are now grappling with the new efforts to introduce intelligent design, the movement evolutionists prefer to call, "creationism in a cheap tuxedo." However, Olson, in a surprising turn given his evolution background, also paints an unflattering portrait of his fellow scientists. Pulling together eight evolutionists for a night of poker, he reveals them to be arrogant, condescending, and self-certain until they eventually turn on themselves in a spat that sounds like...a flock of dodos. From the opening statistic (a pie chart in the form of an apple pie) the film provides equal amounts of laughter, guffaws, and eventually enough serious thought to prompt hours of discussion. And unlike recent political rants, the film maintains an atmosphere of fairness, allowing audiences from both sides to watch it together."@en
"Presents a documentary film by American evolutionary biologist and filmmaker Randy Olson that pokes fun at both sides of the evolutionary debate."