Charles Darwin film 'too controversial for religious America'

  
A British film about Charles Darwin has failed to find a US distributor.  Darwin's theory of evolution is still too controversial for American audiences, according to its producer.

Creation, starring Paul Bettany, details Darwin's "struggle between faith and reason" as he wrote On The Origin of Species. It depicts him as a man who loses faith in God following the death of his beloved 10-year-old daughter, Annie.

The film was chosen to open the Toronto Film Festival which recently had its British premiere. It has been sold in almost every part of the world, from Australia to Scandinavia.

However, US distributors have passed on a film which would prove hugely divisive in the US because of Christian conservatives. A Gallup poll conducted in February indicated that only 39 per cent of Americans believe in the theory of evolution.

Movieguide.org, an influential site which reviews films from a Christian perspective, described Darwin as the father of eugenics and denounced him as "a racist, a bigot and an 1800s naturalist whose legacy is mass murder." His "half-baked theory" directly influenced Adolf Hitler and led to "atrocities, crimes against humanity, cloning and genetic engineering", the site stated.

Such histrionics are to be expected from evangelical web sites. Francis Galton, was actually the founder of eugenics. Herbert Spencer is considered the father of Social Darwinism that Charles Darwin never supported.

Of course,  Moviegude.org doesn't mention the 1000 year blight that Christianity brought to Europe during the Dark Ages, the Crusades and the numerous religious wars that occured in Europe for centuries. Nor did the evangelicals mention the Spanish Inquisition that didn't end until the 1830's.

Jeremy Thomas, the Oscar-winning producer of Creation, was astonished that such attitudes still exist years after On The Origin of Species was published.

Darwin was a religious man who didn't write On The Origin of Species until many years after he visited the Galapagos. He was very concerned about the effect his book would have on religion.

Most scientists consider evolution to be closer to science fact than theory although many new discoveries have been made such as epigenetics. DNA studies have proven the relationships between different species. Human and chimp DNA is 96  per cent similar.

In fact, the typical human protein has accumulated just one unique change since chimps and humans diverged from a common ancestor about 6 million years ago. More than 50 genes present in the human genome are missing or partially deleted from the chimp genome.

Ardipithecus ramidus (A. ramidus) was discovered in Ethiopia and the results of years of study of this fossil were released last week. The fossil find was dated to 4.4 million years ago based on its interval between two volcanic strata. Anthropologist believe this creature is close to the missing link from which humans, apes and chimps developed.

It is a shame that the American distributors don't have bigger cojones. Paul Bettany is wonderful actor. Middle Class Warrior really liked his portrayal as Chaucer in The Knight's Tale, one of first movies that Keith ledger starred in.

source: http://www.genome.gov/15515096

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