Today we had a chance to screen "The Pirates - Band Of Misfits" in 3D. While I was less than thrilled about a claymation-esque pirate movie - out tickets were free and my kid was excited so, we went.
Before proceeding, please know that I accept that everyone believes something different and that's ok. BUT - when mounting, proven science is thrown out in the face of religious hypothesis, it REALLY pisses me off. IE - Creationism vs Evolution. This is not a debate. It is the one area where I get most worked up. Evolution, and the Earths age - are proven scientific facts. If you think that the Earth is 6,000 years old and that we were all created by God and took a ride on Noah's Dinghy, then don't read on, you'll just piss me off for having wasted my words.
I thought that the high point would be the sultry voice of Hugh Grant as the main character, "Pirate Captain". Let's face it, 80 minutes of pirate claymation are really not a mother's high point in life. From imdb.com, this is the jist of the movie:
After years of humiliation and failed attempts to win the coveted Pirate of the Year Award, Pirate Captain and his oddball crew take on the cream of the pirating crop - Black Bellamy, Peg Leg Hastings and Cutlass Liz - in a race to pillage the most booty. They soon cross paths with lovelorn scientist Charles Darwin, who persuades the Captain that the crew's prized 'parrot', Polly, could be the answer to the 'untold riches' they are searching for. Their adventure takes them to Victorian London where they meet Darwin's sidekick 'man-panzee' Mister Bobo, and the notorious pirate-hating Queen Victoria herself. It soon unfolds that Darwin's motives for helping the crew are not what they seem, and the Queen has an evil hidden agenda of her own. The Pirate Captain must choose between basking in the glory of being crowned Pirate of the Year, or staying faithful to his trusted crew.
Basically, the pirate captain thinks that his parrot is a parrot, when she is in fact the last living specimen of Dodo bird. Darwin persuades PC to bring Polly to London for a science fair (essentially) with the likes of Edison, etc. Countless great scientific minds are in attendance with their life changing discoveries and inventions.
I won't ruin the whole thing for you but rather, I'm pretty jacked to get to my point.
As Atheist parents, it's not as though I feel like there is an underlying Christian current to everything that is produced for children anymore but rather - we treat children like idiots. There are far too few movies and programs that reflect anything scientific beyond "Sid the Science Kid" (which is all well and good but, past the age of 3, loses it's luster). I really am in awe of just how happy I was to see Charles Darwin portrayed in a movie. He's a less than sympathetic character at times and really, I could give a shit less. There is a great message in there about how precious resources, specimens, and science are to future generations.
My son happens to already have a "Who was Charles Darwin" book and he was actually excited to see Darwin in the movies because he knew who he was. Now granted, my child is only 7. I can't help but wonder though, without my influence - how long would it take him on his own, to learn about the likes of Charles Darwin, Richard Dawkins, and Christopher Hitchens - to name a few.
I'm just excited. I may have rambled a bit too long but, that's sadly a freethinking parent's life these days. To be excited over something as small as this - because it is one of the few mainstream victories we get in the pursuit of real, fact based knowledge of evolution and where we really, truly came from.
Love. Each. Other
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