W E D N E S D A Y , S E P T E M B E R 1 4 , 2 0 0 5"The Passion Of The Penguins"by Michael in New York on 9/14/2005 02:02:00 PMIf you had any doubts that far right religious radicals are goofy,banish them now.</p><p> The New York Times reports that "March ofthe Penguins" -- a documentary about emperor penguins andtheir mating rituals -- has been embraced by the far right as apaean to monogamy, a stable family, intelligent design, and aChrist-like parable.</p><p> The movie -- a word-of-mouth hit -- is thesecond biggest grossing non-large format documentary inhistory (right behind "Fahrenheit 9-11)."To Andrew Coffin, writing in the widely circulated Christianpublication World Magazine, [the movie] is a winningargument for the theory that life is too complex tohave arisen through random selection.Rich Lowry, the editor of National Review, told the youngconservatives' gathering last month: "You have to check out'March of the Penguins.' It is an amazing movie.</p><p> And Ihave to say, penguins are the really ideal example ofmonogamy.</p><p> These things - the dedication of these birds isjust amazing."For anyone who hasn't actually seen the film, let me tell you howludicrously wrong they are. (The filmmakers are politely aghast thatanyone could draw these absurd conclusions from it.) Coffin'scomments are just bizarrely ill-informed (he's a film critic and not, Iassume, a scientist).Indeed, Coffin misleads about the very few facts the film offers up.The movie states at the very beginning that emperor penguins havelived in the Antarctic for millions of years; Coffin ignores that andsays only that they've been coming to this particular breeding groundfor "thousands of years."What's truly hilarious is their assertion that emperor penguinsrepresent a lovely example of monogamy.</p><p> Here's what you actuallysee/learn in the film:*Emperor penguins mate once, guard the egg until the baby ishatched and then -- once the season is over -- never see each otheror the child again.*Emperor penguins stand by and don't raise a flipper when theirchildren are attacked by a predator -- one baby penguin is killed andtaken away (survival of the fittest, kiddo!), a scene that makes themovie a tad too graphic for young and sensitive children.*An emperor penguin who loses her egg is seen trying to steal theegg of another.*Emperor penguins take a different lover every mating season.These facts are the central focus of the film.</p><p> To watch this film andsomehow see it as an ode to monogamy is to ignore the entire film.It's sad and funny and ludicrous to imagine these people struggling topull out a "Christian" message and morality from a nature film.</p><p> Theycan do it -- if they ignore 95% of the film and the facts.</p><p> Saying"March of the Penguins" celebrates monogamy is like saying"Wedding Crashers" celebrates the institution of marriage.</p><p> HuffPost PoliticsMark Joseph: Nice Try Mr.</p><p> President; Hold The Beer& Get The Tape - So, President Obama wants theProf and the Cop to come to the White House, havea beer and make nice? 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