SEC. HUM.: "Planet of the Apes"

Before we started the movie, I really thought that I wouldn't like it. Now, I'm not sure that I liked it, but it was certainly very interesting and even enjoyable to watch because of that.

I could really see the secular humanistic worldview throughout. Evolution was portrayed as the truth and the character who upheld the more "Christian" perspective of existence was the evil villian Dr. Zaius and furthermore, he deliberately hid the truth. This parallels with the secular humanist belief that there is no God and their strong foundation on evolution, survival of the fittest, natural selection, etc. It follows locially that they would be against the church and religions that teach about God. Thus they depict the church and religion as bad, bigoted, and very rigid. The belief that there is no God is certainly a core part of the secular humanist foundation.

Also, science is upheld as a means to acquire truth in secular humanism. In the movie, Cornelius discovered truth via scientific finds and although scientific advances (ie. the revelation of the truth) were hindered by religion, those who were "true scientists" came accross and recognized the truth by science. This movie centers very much around the scientific community.

Another big aspect of secular humanism is the veneration of nature and the tendancy to be naturalistic in ideology. They often value nature as equal to or above human existence. The movie definitely intended to send the message that mankind is destroying their earth, or is the culprit and the responsible party for the destruction of their world. The message is that the world would be better off without humans and that humans should not be allowed to damage the earth further. As Dr. Zaius says, to this effect, "I may have just saved the world" by sending man away (possibly to his ultimate doom).