Product Details

• Actors: Liam Neeson (narrator)
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: PBS
• DVD Release Date: November 20, 2001
• Run Time: 120 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005YUPX
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #144,157 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "The Mind's Big Bang" and "What About God?" on "Evolution 4", June 14, 2004

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Evolution: Parts Six and Seven (Minds Big Bang / What About God) (DVD)

The PBS series on "Evolution" is as much about the profound impact the evolutionary process has had on our understanding of the world around us as it is on the various versions of the theory that have been expounded in scientific textbooks for the past century. The series basically focuses on five key concepts regarding evolution, sandwiched between episodes that constitute a dramatic introduction and a controversial coda:

This final DVD in the series has the final pair of episodes. Episode 6, "The Mind's Big Bang," addresses the question of why humans are the dominant species on earth. The answer is found in the past, when something happened to primitive humans to trigger a creative, technological, and social explosion, which ultimately allowed humans to dominate the planet. The episode tries to uncover (literally) the primitive forces that contributed to the emergence of the mind of the modern human being.

Episode 7 "What About God?" is the coda to the series in that it returns to the initial question of Darwin's day regarding the conflict between evolution and religion. The debate is presented within the context of a college student whose family is not happy with what he is learning about evolution at Wesleyan College, a group of high school students trying to get their local school board to allow the teaching of creationism, and the activities by adults on both sides of the question to win this pivotal battle. I consider the episode to be remarkably even-handed, but then I do not think there is an inherent conflict between the two, which invalidates my opinion for true believers on both sides.

Overall I like the fact that "Evolution" goes for depth rather than breadth. The case studies, at least to my uneducated mind, come across as being representative of the issue under discussion. The DVD series also features access to the Evolution Web site with its interactive games, activities, and biographies, so those who would like to get additional information and insight on any one of these topics can easily do so. There are also student lessons for teachers who want to work these episodes into their science classes and a printable teacher's guide (remember, "Evolution" was produced by WGBH Boston, which means we are talking--surprise--public television).

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why create? Why speak? Why us? & Why do humans believe in God?, July 4, 2007

By 

Stephen Pletko "Uncle Stevie" (London, Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Evolution: Parts Six and Seven (Minds Big Bang / What About God) (DVD)

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"The Mind's Big Bang" and "What About God?" are parts 6 & 7 respectively (on one disc) of the seven-part "Evolution" series. Part 1 (on a disc by itself), parts 2 & 3 (together on a disc) and parts 4 & 5 (together on one disc) don't have to be seen in order to understand these two parts. However, I strongly recommend viewing part 1 entitled "Darwin's Dangerous Idea" first before viewing these two parts.

I actually feel that parts (1 to 6) should be viewed first before viewing the last part, part 7 (entitled "What About God?") in order to get the maximum impact from this episode. However, you can easily understand this part without viewing the other parts.

Briefly, the sixth and my favorite part entitled "The Mind's Big Bang" (8 scenes, 55 min) traces the possible forces that may have contributed to the emergence ("Big Bang") of the modern human mind. Actually, this part's "prologue" or introduction is more informative. Here it is as said by the narrator, actor Liam Neeson:

"A [startling] discovery [was] made in 1994 where others found underground caverns adorned with over 300 images, some printed 34,000 years ago, the oldest rock art known...But finding art is not the only goal. [We want] to find something bigger--how the human mind was born. Where once people had looked at bare walls and had seen only walls, now others saw astounding possibilities. And with art came human technology, human communication, human culture. The question is, `What happened to make all this possible?' How could it be that a species opened its mind and burst into a new realm? How is it that [our] human ancestors evolved a whole new way of seeing themselves and in time transformed the planet?"

The seventh, last, and perhaps most controversial part entitled "What About God?" (6 scenes, 55 min) allows the viewer to encounter two types of people: those who believe religion only and not evolutionary fact and those trying to find a balance between religion and evolution. Here is the prologue:

"The majesty of our Earth, the beauty of life--are they the result of a natural process called `evolution' or the work of a divine creator? This question is at the heart of a struggle that has threatened to tear our nation apart. For Fundamentalist Christians like Ken Ham, evolution is an evil that must be fought...For all of us, the future of religion, science, and science education are at stake in the creation-evolution debate. Today, even as science continues to provide evidence supporting the theory of evolution, for millions of Americans, the most important question remains-- "What about God?"

Brief comments are made throughout both parts or both programs by such people as professors, biologists, teachers, confused students, etc. Part 6 has some excellent photography and animation. Richard Dawkins of Oxford University and Steven Pinker of MIT are two big names that give brief comments in part 6.

These programs alone sold on this single disc are for those who don't want to shell out the $90.00 (the price at the time this review was written) for the entire boxed set "Evolution" seven-part series.

Finally, the DVD itself (the one released in 2002) is perfect in picture and sound quality. There are no extras.

In conclusion, if you want to understand two intriguing facets of evolution--namely, the emergence of the human mind and the conflict between religion & science--this is the film to see!!

(2001; 1 hr, 50 min; made for TV ("Nova"); wide screen; 14 scenes; closed captioned)

<<Stephen Pletko or "Uncle Stevie," London, Ontario, Canada>>

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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The amazing evolution, capabilities and and self imposed limitations of the human mind, March 28, 2009

By 

Rasih Bensan (Istanbul, Turkey) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Evolution: Parts Six and Seven (Minds Big Bang / What About God) (DVD)

In the first part of this brilliant documentary we are taken to archaeological and cave explorations around the world in search of the answer to what happened 40 thousand years ago that caused a sudden development in the human mind evident in changes in the way humans lived. The development and importance of language is emphasized. One central theme is that it is not biological evolution alone that explains humans' adaptation and survival as a species. Cultural evolution created by human intelligence has an equally important role.

The second part of the documentary is especially interesting , it is yet another amazing demonstration of the never ending controversy between Darwinian evolutionists and Intelligent Design Creationists. This time the battle scenes are Wheaton College and Jefferson High School in the USA. The documentary approaches the issue unbiased; it tells the story without taking sides. It is amazing to see how the most intelligent species on the planet ; humans can be caught up in dogmatic irrational thinking that refutes scientific method of thought. The fundamentalist Christian belief that creation by God took place in 6 days as described in the Bible not as Charles Darwin explained in his book named The Origin of the Species 200 years ago is a dogma that some people are brainwashed with since early childhood. In the documentary we see that even if these people become scientists in adult life and are exposed to scientific evidence that contradicts their religious beliefs about evolution they still hold on to their dogmas. Scientific evidence is not enough to change the irrational beliefs formed early in childhood as a result of fundamentalist religious education. Only a few of them are able to question the dogma and accept the possibility that perhaps Darwin may be right. As seen in this documentary the fundementalists try to dock the first amendment of the American Constitution that stipulates the separation of church and state by claiming that Intelligent Design is not a religious teaching but another scientific theory that should be taught alongside Darwin's theories in schools. However, their intentions are religious. I recommend that you also watch the documentary named " Judgement day : Intelligent Design on Trial " which clearly demonstrates underlying hidden motives of Creationists.

It is ridiculous to equate the study of and belief in Darwin's theories with atheism. A person can believe in God and Darwin's theory of evolution simultaneously. He / she does not have to believe the 6 day creation dogma with no scientific basis to be a believer in God. Perhaps God designed evolution the way Darwin described it. Perhaps not. The only way to find out if Darwin was right or wrong is through scientific research. Not by refuting the scientific method and replacing it with some kind of religious dogma. Darwin's theory of evolution does not imply that God had no role in evolution, just that God's role is not the way Creationists describe it. It is amazing that the human mind which developed so much that it made humans the most intelligent species on Earth can be so conditioned in early childhood that it becomes a self imposed under achiever of its intellectual potential.

The mentality that has been trying to replace Darwin's theory of Evolution with Intelligent Design since the beginning of the 20th century is the same mentality that convicted Galileo hundreds of years ago for claiming that it is the Earth that revolves around the sun not the other way around as claimed by the church.

I don't know if fundamentalist Christians and fundamentalist Moslems around the world who hate one another so much realize that they are 100 % in agreement on this issue. It is not in just the USA and not just in the Christian world that Darwin gets regularly attacked and Intelligent Design tryes to take hold of education. For example just a few weeks ago as I am writing these lines the following things happened in Turkey, a Moslem country with a secular State : anti- Darwinist Islamist Creationists made a move against Darwin in Turkey ; the monthly magazine of a government sponsored Turkish Scientific Research Organization in Turkey put Darwin's picture on the cover of the March 2009 issue and devoted 16 pages to him in commemoration of Darwin's 200th birth year. Immediately after this, the director of the organization purged the editor from the organization and had Darwin erased from the cover of the magazine. His justification was that the current situation in Turkey was too sensitive to tolerate Darwin on the cover of the magazine. For many days after this event a strong reaction continued from the secular organizations and press in Turkey and internationally. Some Turkish secular organizations conducted protest demonstrations demanding the resignation of the directors of the government sponsored Scientific Research Organization who they claimed were Islamist Creationists. The directors backed down and denied they had anything against Darwin. But the editor of the magazine who was purged subsequently claimed that the directors were lying, that she was told that she was fired for putting Darwin's picture on the cover of the magazine and that she would take the matter to court. Several days later under severe pressure from the Turkish secular community the editor was reinstated.