Shutting out science films

Dallas Morning News: The fierce opposition of many fundamentalist Christians to Darwinism is well known, especially in Texas. We were surprised, however, and dismayed to discover that this sentiment is having a surprising effect in a tiny corner of the film industry: the production of IMAX science films.
According to The New York Times, IMAX theaters throughout the South report that significant numbers of their patrons pan science films that suggest that Darwinian evolution accounts for the origin of life. Though the anti-Darwinists are small in number, the relatively few IMAX screens nationwide means that they have a disproportionate impact on what science films get made.
Just business
It's hard to blame these exhibitors, who after all have a business to run. Still, what a shame that, given the realities of the specialized IMAX film market, all Americans may be denied access to basic scientific information because of the objections of some conservative Protestants. Many Christians have reconciled Darwinism with Christianity, among them Pope John Paul II, who in 1996 affirmed a half-century of papal teaching holding that Darwinian theory doesn't necessarily violate Christian revelation.
We certainly hope parents recognize that they cannot shield their children indefinitely from science. Isn't it better to see these films and talk the content over with one's children, rather than hiding out in a bunker?
But those opposed to the fundamentalist boycott of these films would do well not to waste time fulminating. Rather than curse the darkness, why not show your support for scientific filmmaking by taking your kids this weekend to the IMAX movies? The power of the consumer dollar to influence the marketplace of ideas works both ways.