Not that such a view did not long precede the film, as it's kind of inevitable since the advent of cultural analysis that most population groups that feel they are marginalized are going to have members promoting the idea that it is due to hegemony or systemic oppression.
Expelled: "The film contends that there is widespread persecution of educators and scientists who promote intelligent design, and a conspiracy [...] The film contains interviews with educators and scientists in which they describe this persecution."
However, the general concept itself of structured (and feral) persecution certainly isn't "expelled" by this article:
It indeed seems to have been inspired by or more about remorse: "I do have significant regrets about how the film itself turned out, the distrust it sowed amongst viewers regarding the scientific establishment, and the deceptive practices we engaged in to make the film happen."
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Expelled: "The film contends that there is widespread persecution of educators and scientists who promote intelligent design, and a conspiracy [...] The film contains interviews with educators and scientists in which they describe this persecution."
- Expelled! The True Story Behind Ben Stein’s Anti-Evolution/Pro-Intelligent Design Film Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed
https://www.skeptic.com/reading_roo...n-steins-anti-evolution-documentary-expelled/
INTRO (excerpts): The 2008 documentary film Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed was released to widespread media coverage and hype. [...] the film argued there was a conspiracy within academia to censor Intelligent Design (ID) and to cover up evidence that belief in evolutionary theory led to everything from atheism to the Nazi Holocaust. ... In addition to ID theorists, the film included interviews with noted proponents of evolutionary theory such as Richard Dawkins, Eugenie Scott, Christopher Hitchens, and Michael Shermer.
[...] throughout the long production process, my feelings about the project and the ID movement underwent a significant shift. But I stayed on board in the hope of providing a counterbalance to the producers’ desire to create what amounted to a piece of pro-ID propaganda. I eventually realized, however, that whoever controls the money controls the point of view, so there was only so much that I could do as a fledgling screenwriter.
In the years since Expelled came out, the transformation of my views has continued apace, so I wrote to Shermer to apologize for the damage the film did and the duplicitous circumstances under which some of our interviews were obtained. In response, he invited me to write an article describing my experience on Expelled as well as my subsequent reflections on the ID movement and the larger issue of the relation between science and religion... (MORE - details)
However, the general concept itself of structured (and feral) persecution certainly isn't "expelled" by this article:
- EXCERPTS: If Expelled had been made today, it probably would have been called Canceled or Blocked instead because too often when we encounter ideas that offend our philosophical presuppositions, our emotional sensibilities, or our fragile sense of identity, that’s exactly what we do.
And unlike the way the scientific establishment is portrayed in Expelled, it’s not just those in authority who do this. More often than not, mobs of regular people are leading the charge. Driven by a sense of self-righteousness and/or a weaponized form of compassion, they summarily destroy people’s lives, due process be damned.
[...] If we continue to expel, cancel, and block each other over our differences of opinion rather than dialogue and partner together to share our unique perspectives, there really is no hope for science, freedom, or truth.
It indeed seems to have been inspired by or more about remorse: "I do have significant regrets about how the film itself turned out, the distrust it sowed amongst viewers regarding the scientific establishment, and the deceptive practices we engaged in to make the film happen."
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