Inherit the Wind Analysis - Movie Review Example

Inherit the wind (1960) Inherit the wind is a 1960 Hollywood film written by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Lee, adapted from a play of the same name. The film is a parable fictionalizing the “Monkey Trial”, a 1925 scope as a way of discussing the McCarthyism. The film was critical to creationism as it was written as a response to the effects of McCarthy investigations on intellectual discourse.The film depicts the trial of a teacher arrested for teaching the theory of evolution of Charles Darwin, placing two lawyers in a fight to defend their values and morals on Darwinism.

There is considerable evidence suggesting that the film is not only biased, but rather highly biased in its intent. That is to say there was no fairness in the elements of trial. This is because the inaccuracies are systematic and of the kind presenting consistent biasness against a particular class of people and what they believe in. For instance, prior to the trial, no one outside the school cared what Scope taught in school, and he maintained to his death that he never taught evolution but rather reviewed the students for their final examinations.

Drummond, the defense lawyer argues for the issues of belief as he chose to defend the accused from being prosecuted. It was not fair that none of Drummond’s expert witnesses were allowed to testify in court as this undermines the need for a fair trial. Cates wins over the audience by claiming that the students placed on the stand could not remember what he taught three months age as they were coached by the lawyers. Cates even declined to say a word until the Supreme Court passes his appeal claiming that his lawyer would kill him if he does so (de Camp 432).

‑­Contrary to the film, it should be emphasized that scope was never jailed for teaching evolution as he was immediately released on bond. The film tries to invoke sympathy in portraying Cates as a prisoner, a man prosecuted for his beliefs by the fundamentalists. De Camp (490) claims in his book that the trial was not a witch hunt as the accused and the defendants, the witches, were the hunters who were stocking the law with an aim of making it unenforceable (de Camp 490). State law against teaching of any idea or hypothesis undermines the purpose of education as students are meant to be enlightened about the universe.

Drummond loses in the trial when he was denied the chance to use his expert witnesses to challenge the trial. In addition, his client was acting against the law that prohibits teaching of the hypothesis or other ideas in public schools. However, he won by the fact that he was within the law to exercises his rights of believing. Following the ruling, their next step would be fighting for the need for education reforms. In today’s contemporary issues of conservative forces between religion and liberal secular world of science are experienced.

Work CitedDe, Camp L. S. The Great Monkey Trial. Garden City, N.Y: Doubleday, 1968. Print.