Identifying Enemies of Freedom
By Will Brooks
Many people see the movie ‘Planet of the Apes’ as an allegory for the conflict that exists between faith and science unaware that the ruling elite in Academia operate some of the despicable protectionist methods depicted in this film.
Darwinian evolution triumphs in the movie and faith is shown as emotion driven, unreasonable and mere fantasy. There is, however, another more valid interpretation of this distorted upside down back to front story that polarizes faith and science. The major vital issue is that of “Freedom to Think” and the right to ask questions denied to scientists by the ruling elite in Academia.
The ruling elite in Academia are a powerful influence in our world and by extension this issue of freedom denied to scientists affects the freedoms of people in all walks of life.
Planet of the Apes is based on the book by Pierre Boulle a former Free French Resistance fighter during WW2 who was captured and made a POW but who escaped and joined the British Special Operations Executive (SOE).
Boulle had been raised a Catholic but his wartime experiences deeply affected his outlook changing him into an agnostic. He wrote a number of books that reflects his pessimism about man’s inhumanity to man and the futility of life with its many uncertainties, absurdities, and contradictions.
Boulle said of the characters in his book: “I wouldn’t even know how to define science fiction…I think it’s the genre where you can deal with and imagine inhuman characters, but in my book my apes are men, there is no doubt.”
Probably everyone has seen the movie at some time but here is a brief overview with certain key points to highlight the major themes which demonstrates certain Academia protectionist methods in operation today. A brief summary follows this overview.
Main characters
Taylor (Charlton Heston), an astronaut who volunteered for space travel into the future is cynical and disillusioned with his fellow humans for whom he has no love. He says: “There was much love making but no love.” He is an adventurer and a seeker who says he hopes there is something better in the Universe than Man.
Dr Zaius, an Ape, Head of Science and Chief Defender of the Faith, is a bigoted hypocritical control freak motivated by power, self-interest, self-preservation, and fear of loss.
Dr Zira, female Ape, scientist, open minded, kind, considerate, adventurous and motivated to discover truth. Dr Cornelius, an Ape, fiancé of Zira, fellow scientist, kind, considerate, sceptic, cautious, motivated by ambition, and fear of loss.
Act 1
Taylor and crew land on what he believes to be an unknown planet two thousand years into the future. He and one of his fellow astronauts are captured by Apes. Another astronaut is killed during the chase to capture humans all of whom are mute and Taylor receives a throat wound which renders him temporarily speechless. He attracts the attention of Zira with whom he manages to communicate via sign language and later in writing. Zira, although initially unsure eventually believes the evidence of her own eyes and comes to believe that Taylor is what he claims to be.
Zira involves Cornelius who, despite the evidence of his very own eyes in which he sees Taylor responding to his questions by writing the answers which requires the ability to reason and by making a very simple paper airplane to demonstrate flight, says it is all trickery.
Zira, talking to Taylor, says: “Cornelius discovered traces of a culture older than recorded time. To which Cornelius responds: “The evidence was very meager.”
Zira: “You didn’t think so then!”
Cornelius, demonstrating his fear of loss, replies: “That was before Dr. Zaius and half the Academy said my idea was heresy.”
Dr Zaius enters, observes Taylor, and listens to Zira’s arguments on behalf of Taylor who is still unable to speak. Zaius is adamant that it is all nonsense and breathing fire and thunder warns of the consequences of talking heresy. Undeterred, Zira bravely tells Zaius about the model airplane which he picks up, crumples into a ball, and dispatches into the rubbish bin.
Taylor is taken back to his cell. Later, an ape jailer approaches his cell saying to Taylor: “If only you knew what they are going to do to you.”
Taylor understands that he is to be emasculated and not surprisingly is a not too keen participant who gives him the strength to overpower the jailer and escape. He is quickly recaptured but stuns the Apes by recovering his voice and shouting at his captors.
Act 2
Taylor appears before a Court Hearing of 3 Ape Judges to determine his fate. Cornelius and Zira are present to represent Taylor and are swiftly told he is a non-Ape and has no rights.
Zaius: “He is not being tried, he is being disposed of. It is scientific heresy that is on trial. Let us warn our friends (Zira and Cornelius) they endanger their careers by defending this animal.”
Taylor starts speaking on his own behalf. But is swiftly gagged and silenced.
Prosecutor: “Certain young cynics have chosen to study Man. Yes, perverted scientists who advance an insidious theory called (Darwinian) evolution.”
Cornelius overcomes his fear and speaks on behalf of Taylor telling the Court there is evidence of a culture that existed long before the sacred scrolls were written. This produces a hilarious scene.
Zira: “If he did not come from another planet we have to conclude that he sprang from our very own. He could be the missing link in an (Darwinian) evolutionary chain. “
One judge covers his ears with his hands, another covers his eyes, and the other his mouth.
Deaf. Blind. Dumb. Hear no evil. See no evil. Speak no evil.
Zira continues speaking, but the judges demand: “Silence!” Zira and Cornelius are charged with scientific heresy for daring to challenge the current scientific belief. The court adjourns. Later, Taylor is taken to see Zaius in his private quarters. He is told Zira and Cornelius are to be tried and found Guilty of heresy and that Taylor has done the State a favour in providing the excuse to have them charged and disposed of. Taylor is told that he is to be emasculated and lobotomized but there is a way out of this fate. If he tells Zaius where he came from and the location of the other humans, that he assumes must exist in large numbers, he will be spared. Taylor protests to no avail and is given only 6 hours to reconsider.
Act 3
Taylor and Nova, female human, are sprung from their cells by Lucius a nephew of Zira. Taylor, Nova, Cornelius, Zira, and Lucius head for the cave in the Forbidden Zone as they figure the only way to have the charges of scientific heresy dropped is to obtain irrefutable evidence for Cornelius’s theory.
They are followed and at the cave Zaius shows up and tells Cornelius and Zira they are charged with heresy and if they are not careful will be charged with High Treason and Hanged.
Cornelius: “Up there in that vast cave is a fabulous treasure of fossils and other artefacts.”
Zaius “I’ve seen your fossils and artefacts. Worthless.”
Taylor: “There’s your Minister of Science for you. Honour bound to expand the frontiers of knowledge. Except that he’s also Chief Defender of the Faith.”
Zaius: “There’s no contradiction between faith and science. True science.”
Taylor: “Are you willing to put that statement to the test?”
Zaius: “What are you proposing?”
Taylor: “When were those ancient scrolls of yours written?”
Zaius: “Twelve hundred years ago.”
Taylor: “Alright. Now if they can prove those scrolls don’t prove your whole history. If they can find some real evidence of another culture from some remote past will you let them off?”
Zaius: “Of course.”
Taylor: “Let’s go up to the cave.”
In the cave Taylor discovers a human doll that can talk which is evidence that supports Cornelius’s theory for a culture older than that of the Apes.
Resolution
Zaius, in keeping with his character, reneges on his promise to Cornelius and Zira.
Taylor, along with Nova, sets off to find his destiny. He discovers Liberty destroyed and lying in ruins.
Summary
Planet of the Apes screenplay was written by Michael Wilson who was a member of the Communist Party during the Depression years and Rod Serling who was a naturalistic humanist.
The movie is an excellent example of the Hollywood propaganda machine in action which in this case is a vehicle for promoting Darwinian evolution by mocking religious faith and polarizing it with science.
Major themes in the movie are Denial of Freedom, Bigotry, Power, Censorship, Irrationality, and Fear.
Zaius and his close circle of followers, represent religious faith, have no redeeming qualities and are bigoted simpletons, ignorant, self serving, motivated by self preservation, power, control, and fear of loss.
Cornelius and Zira, represent science, are kind, gentle, caring, compassionate, loving, intelligent, objective, courageous, and seekers after truth. They are how scientists wish the public would perceive them.
Many will see Planet of the Apes as points scored for Darwinian evolution. But many others will see behind the veil and have a different and valid interpretation. Freedom is a natural human desire. Americans proudly sing, O’er Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave, in their national anthem. Denials of and even obstacles in the way of individual freedoms are causes of misery, conflict and violence.
In the UK, Press Freedom is under attack due to certain malpractices and the Political Parties have jumped on this using those instances as an excuse to try to impose restrictions on reporting rights. No prizes for guessing who benefits if certain gagging orders are put in place. Freedom is something we all cherish and attempts to gag the Press quite rightly faces stiff opposition.
In times past the Roman Catholic Church had a stranglehold over people and dissent was not tolerated. The Reformation changed all that,Rome, lost its monopoly, and today within Christian denominations, except for a few minority sects, there is no ruling elite with either the power, as in former times, or the inclination to exercise any form of censorship.
However, the same cannot be said of contemporary Science.
Just as Dr Zaius, Head of Science and Chief Defender of the Faith, in Planet of the Apes, ruthlessly exercised power by issuing threats, gagging orders, silencing and censorship so too do the Darwinist ruling elite in Academia.
Proponents of Intelligent Design have been threatened, gagged, silenced, and fired from their positions which are effective ways of disposing of them as they are unlikely to find new positions. Articles written by scientists who advocate intelligent design and creationists are turned down by science magazine editors who believe in evolutionary naturalism and the control freak elite in Academia hypocritically pour scorn on those writers as (non-Apes) nonscientists because they cannot get their science articles published in science magazines approved by the elite in Academia!
Just as Dr Zaius dismisses evidence that contradicts his beliefs, Darwinists dismiss Information Science, Microbiology and other lines of evidence as the product of a Highly Intelligent Creative Mind.
Zaius ignored fossil evidence for ‘evolution.’ Darwinian paleontologists invent the rhetorical device ‘punctuated equilibrium’ to stand in place of transitional fossils which are nonexistent.
Boulle is not alone in using anthropomorphisms to make his point. So too does Chief Defender of the Darwinian Faith, Richard Dawkins.
Richard Milton, a non-creationist agnostic wrote, ‘Shattering the Myths of Darwinism’, in which he expressed his skepticism of mainstream claims of the old-age of the fossil record.
Milton also wrote, ‘The Facts of Life,’ of which dear old kind caring objective Richard Dawkins said, “twaddle that betrays, on almost every page, complete and total pig ignorance of the subject at hand.”
“Science has always been elitist and undemocratic, whether in Monarchies, Communist states or liberal democracies. But it is currently becoming more hierarchical, not less so. In the nineteenth century, Charles Darwin was one of many independent researchers who, not reliant on grants, did provocatively original work. That kind of freedom and independence is rare today. Science funding committees determine what can happen in research. The power in those communities is concentrated in the hands of politically adept older scientists, government officials and representatives of big business.” ‘The Science Delusion’ by Rupert Sheldrake.
Given the circumstances, it is evident the Darwinian ruling elite are empowered to decide who are (real Apes) real scientists and who are (not real Apes) not real scientists and with the power to decide who gets offered Academic positions and research grants. This, to fair minded reasonable people, is not a healthy situation and the evidence shows that (Zaius) Stalinist practices operate in Academia. ‘Expelled’ DVD by Ben Stein exposes shocking examples of abuse of power in Academia.
To the best of my knowledge no IDers or creationists demand that either of those sciences is taught exclusively in schools. Speaking personally I most certainly would not want either ID or Creation taught in schools by teachers who believe in evolutionary naturalism. IDers and Creationists ask for a level playing field where ID and Creation Science is taught alongside Darwinism and schoolchildren are granted their rights and the freedom to evaluate the evidence and come to their own conclusions. This position is in contrast to (Zaius) Darwinists who insist that only their particular faith is exclusively taught in schools. If this is not a case of Academic indoctrination Stalin style, what is?
There is nothing free or brave in academic censorship whilst denying certain unalienable rights of people to Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.
When Zaius tells Taylor he has 6 hours to consider his position Taylor, knowing that Zaius is a bully and a coward, shouts loudly as he is dragged away: “What are you afraid of?!”
If Richard Dawkins and other Darwinists are so sure of their beliefs: “What are they afraid of?!”
Please check out the following references.
Why Censorship at Ball State Matters, and What You Can Do About It www.evolutionnews.org/2013/09/why_censorship_076491.html
Censorship in Texas: Fighting Academic and Religious Discrimination www.icr.org/article/4598
UK Atheists Push to Censor Academic Freedom www.icr.org/articles/view/6400/202
Suppression of alternatives to evolution –
Conservapedia www.conservapedia.com/Suppression_of_alternatives_to_evolution