Yoko Ono has taken the makers of a new film promoting intelligent design to court in an effort to have her late husband John Lennon’s song “Imagine” removed from the final cut.
The film “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed” is intended to promote the idea of intelligent design – the theory that God created the universe. The film uses a section from “Imagine” to soundtrack the depiction of the evils caused by a Godless universe, thereby arguing against the song’s lyrics “Nothing to kill or die for, and no religion too”.
The filmmakers argue that their use of the song is legal under the “fair use” doctrine, which permits small parts of a copyrighted work to be used without the owner’s permission under certain conditions. Ono is arguing that she doesn’t want the film removed from theatres, merely for “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed” to be re-edited to exclude her husband’s song.
“Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed” stars Ben Stein and was released in the US in April. It is set to come out in Canada on June 6th, with a British release date as yet unknown.
