What the #$*! Do We Know!? | |
---|---|
Directed by | William Arntz Betsy Chasse Mark Vicente |
Written by | William Arntz Matthew Hoffman Betsy Chasse Mark Vicente |
Produced by | William Arntz Betsy Chasse Mark Vicente |
Starring | Marlee Matlin Elaine Hendrix Barry Newman |
Cinematography | David Bridges Mark Vicente |
Edited by | Jonathan Shaw |
Music by | Barry Coffing Christopher Franke Elaine Hendrix Michael Whalen |
Release date | 2004 |
Running time | 109 min |
Language | English |
What the Bleep Do We Know!? (also written What tнe⃗ #$*! Dө⃗ ωΣ (k)πow!? and What the #$*! Do We Know!?) is a controversial 2004 film that combines documentary interviews and a fictional narrative to posit a connection between science and spirituality.
The topics discussed in the film include neurology, quantum physics, psychology, epistemology, ontology, metaphysics, magical thinking and spirituality. The film features interviews with individuals presented as experts in science and spirituality, interspersed with the story of a deaf photographer as she struggles with her situation. Computer-animated graphics are featured heavily in the film.
The film has received criticism from several scientists, such as Dr. David Albert, who was featured in the film.
Synopsis
Filmed on location in Portland, Oregon, What the Bleep Do We Know blends a fictional story line, documentary-style discussion, and computer animation to present a view of the physical universe and human life within it, with purported connections to neuroscience and quantum physics. Some ideas discussed in the film are:
- The universe is best seen as constructed from thought (or ideas) rather than from substance.
- What has long been considered "empty space" is anything but empty.
- Our beliefs about who we are and what is real are not simply observations, but rather form ourselves and our realities.
- Peptides manufactured in the brain can cause a bodily reaction to an emotion, resulting in a new perspective to old adages such as "think positively" and "be careful what you wish for."
In the fictional segments of the movie, Marlee Matlin portrays Amanda, a deaf photographer who acts as the viewer's avatar as she experiences her life from startlingly new and different perspectives.
In the documentary segments of the film, a few scientific experts in quantum physics, biology, medicine, psychiatry, and theology and some spiritual commentators discuss the roots and meaning of Amanda's experiences. The comments of the scientific experts focus primarily on a single theme: "We all create our own reality."
Production
The film includes over three hundred visual effects shots—a very large shot count for an independent, privately-financed film. Budget constraints required an international effort with the work being split between Toronto-based Mr. X Inc., Lost Boys Studios in Vancouver and Atomic Visual Effects in Cape Town, South Africa.[1]
The visual effects team, led by visual effects supervisor Evan Jacobs, worked closely with the filmmakers to create visual metaphors that would capture the essence of the quantum concepts while still being attractive. The script required representations of effects such as a forest of nerve cells in the brain, a sea of subatomic particles, an elaborate dance sequence involving human cells of emotion, and the concept of quantum superposition.[1]
The wedding was filmed in St. Patrick's Catholic Church, which was built in 1888 and is located on the corner of 17th and Savier in northwest Portland, Oregon. St. Patrick's is not a Polish parish, as was shown in the movie; historically it has provided services for a primarily Irish congregation.
Some of the interviews were filmed at the University of Washington in Seattle. Most notably, the grand staircase and reading room of Suzzallo Library, the quad and in front of Denny Hall.
Promotion
Lacking the funding and resources of the typical Hollywood film, the filmmakers relied on "guerrilla marketing" first to get the film into theaters, then to attract audiences. This has led to accusations, both formal and informal, against the film's proponents of spamming online message boards and forums with many thinly veiled promotional posts. Initially, the film was released in only two theaters: one in Yelm, Washington (the home of the producers), and the other (The Bagdad Theater) in Portland, Oregon, where it was filmed. Within several weeks, it was in a dozen more theaters (mostly in the western United States), and within six months it had made its way into 200 theaters from coast to coast.[citation needed]
According to the makers of the film, "Bleep" is a bowdlerization of "fuck". William Arntz has referred to the film as "WTFDWK" in a message to Bleeps' "Street Team")[citation needed]
Reviews of the movie
The critics offered fairly mixed reviews as seen on the movie review website Rotten Tomatoes.[2] Dave Kehr of the New York Times described in his review of the movie, the "transition from quantum mechanics to cognitive therapy" as "plausible", but went on to state that "the subsequent leap—from cognitive therapy into large, hazy spiritual beliefs—isn't as effectively executed. Suddenly people who were talking about subatomic particles are alluding to alternate universes and cosmic forces, all of which can be harnessed in the interest of making Ms. Matlin's character feel better about her thighs."[3] [neutrality is disputed]
Featured individuals
- Dr. Amit Goswami "One of the rare scientists that do not leave out consciousness in explaining quantum physics."[4] He appears in What is Enlightenment magazine, authored the book The Self-Aware Universe: How Consciousness Creates the Material World (ISBN 0-87477-798-4), and has worked with Deepak Chopra and is employed by the Institute of Noetic Sciences[5].
- Dr. John Hagelin is the Director of the Institute of Science, Technology and Public Policy at Maharishi University of Management,[6] where he has been a professor of physics since 1984.[7] He is also the Minister of Science and Technology of the Global Country of World Peace.[6]
- Dr. Stuart Hameroff, an anesthesiologist, author, and associate director of the Center for Consciousness Studies at the University of Arizona. He has worked with Oxford mathematician Roger Penrose, on a speculative quantum theory of consciousness.
- JZ Knight, scientist and spiritual teacher; also identified as the spirit "Ramtha" whom Knight is channelling.
- Dr. Andrew Newberg, assistant professor of radiology at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital, and physician in nuclear medicine. He is coauthor of the book, Why God Won't Go Away: Brain Science & the Biology of Belief (ISBN 0-345-44034-X).
- Dr. Candice Pert, a neuroscientist who discovered the opiate receptor, the cellular bonding site for endorphins in the brain, and wrote the book Molecules of Emotion in 1997.
- Dr. Fred Alan Wolf, a doctor of philosophy in theoretical physics, who recently wrote The Yoga of Time Travel: How the Mind Can Defeat Time. (He is also known by the name "Captain Quantum" — an animated character that was created for the movie but not used in the released version.) He is also author of The Eagle's Quest, The Dreaming Universe and The Spiritual Universe.[8]
- Dr. David Albert, a philosopher of physics and professor at Columbia University, speaks frequently throughout the movie. While it may appear as though he supports the ideas that are presented in the movie, according to a Popular Science article, he is "outraged at the final product," because the filmmakers interviewed him about quantum mechanics unrelated to consciousness or spirituality, which was then edited in a way that he feels misrepresented his views.[9]
Other interviewees in the film include Joe Dispenza, a chiropractor, author, and a devotee of Ramtha's School of Enlightenment;[10] Miceal Ledwith, author and former professor of theology at Maynooth College in Ireland; Daniel Monti, physician and director of the Mind-Body Medicine Program at Thomas Jefferson University; Jeffrey Satinover, psychiatrist, author, and member of the scientific advisory committee of the National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality (promoting reparative therapy); and William Tiller, Professor Emeritus of Material Science and Engineering at Stanford University, author of over 250 scientific publications, and employed by the Institute of Noetic Sciences.[5]
Controversy
According to Physics Today Online, the film invokes quantum physics to promote pseudoscience.[11] The article also states that the movie does this by starting with recognized concepts from quantum physics, but then "gradually moves to quantum 'insights' that lead a woman to toss away her antidepressant medication, to the quantum channeling of Ramtha, the 35,000-year-old Atlantis god, and on to even greater nonsense."
John Gorenfeld reports that three directors are devotees of Ramtha's School of Enlightenment and JZ Knight/Ramtha.[12]
Hagelin's meditation study, published in 1999 in the peer-reviewed journal Social Indicators Research, showed that the rate of violent crime in Washington, D.C., decreased by 23% during the period of the study.[13] According to the study, the murder rate constituted 3% of the violent crime rate. Critics have pointed out that the number of murders increased during the study.[14] Hagelin won the Ig Nobel Peace Prize for this study in 1994.
According to an article posted by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Emoto's work with water crystals has been criticized as unscientific, and has not been peer-reviewed. Skeptic James Randi has offered Emoto his Million Dollar Challenge to prove his claims to Randi's satisfaction, but Emoto has not accepted.[14] The September 2006 issue of Explore The Journal of Science and Healing reported a study by Dean Radin, Gail Hayssen, Masaru Emoto, and Takashige Kizu, in which water crystals were judged under double-blind conditions to have greater aesthetic appeal than a control group.[15]
The Guardian Unlimited published an article summarizing the reactions to the film by some British scientists. Richard Dawkins states that "the authors seem undecided whether their theme is quantum theory or consciousness. Both are indeed mysterious, and their genuine mystery needs none of the hype with which this film relentlessly and noisily belabours us", concluding that the film is "tosh". Professor Clive Greated writes that "thinking on neurology and addiction are covered in some detail but, unfortunately, early references in the film to quantum physics are not followed through, leading to a confused message". He also questions whether modern physics cannot be married with institutional religion as the film implies. Simon Singh called it pseudoscience, and said the suggestion "that if observing water changes its molecular structure, and if we are 90% water, then by observing ourselves we can change at a fundamental level via the laws of quantum physics" was "ridiculous balderdash." According to Dr Joao Migueijo, reader in theoretical physics at Imperial College, the film deliberately misquotes science. [16]
Credits
Filmmakers
- William Arntz: Producer, Director, Screenwriter
- Betsy Chasse: Producer, Director, Screenwriter
- Mark Vicente: Director, Director of Photography
Cast
- Marlee Matlin as Amanda
- Elaine Hendrix as Jennifer
- Barry Newman as Frank
- Robert Bailey as Reggie
- John Ross Bowie as Elliot
- Armin Shimerman as Man
- Robert Blanche as Bob
- Jeff S. Dodge as Extra (on train)
Physicists
Neurologists, anesthesiologists and physicians
- Dr. Masaru Emoto
- Stuart Hameroff M.D.
- Dr. Jeffrey Satinover
- Andrew B. Newberg, M.D.
- Dr. Daniel Monti
- Dr. Joseph Dispenza
Molecular biology
- Dr. Candace Pert
Spiritual teachers, mystics and scholars
- JZ Knight speaking as Ramtha
- Dr. Miceal Ledwith
Visual effects
- Evan Jacobs – visual effects supervisor
- Atomic Visual Effects – brain animation
- Mr. X Inc – cells animation
- Lost Boys Studios – basketball sequence, rabbit-hole effects
Awards
- Awards given in 2004:
- Ashland Independent Film Festival – Best Documentary
- DCIFF – DC Independent Film Festival – Grand Jury Documentary Award
- Maui Film Festival – Audience Choice Award – Best Hybrid Documentary
- Houston World Fest – Platinum Remi Award
- Sedona International Film Festival – Audience Choice Award, Most Thought-Provoking Film.
- Pigasus Award – Media outlet that reported as fact the most outrageous paranormal claim. [17]
See also
- The Absolute
- Absolute Infinite
- Conceptions of God
- Cosmos
- Consciousness causes collapse
- God
- CSICOP
- Do Jump who performed in this movie.
- Idealism
- It from bit
- Many-worlds interpretation
- The Matrix
- Meaning of life
- Observer effect
- Oneness (concept)
- Parallel universe
- Philosophy of science
- Protoscience
- Quantum metaphysics
- Solipsism
- The Secret (2006 film)
- The Tao of Physics
- Vacuum energy
References
- ^ a b "Cinefex article detailing the visual effects for the film".
- ^ http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/what_the__do_we_know/
- ^ Kehr, Dave (2004-09-10). "A Lesson in Harnessing Good Vibes". The New York Times. Retrieved 2006-11-30.
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(help) - ^ http://www.beyondtheordinary.net/amitgoswami.shtml
- ^ a b Wagner, Annie (2006-02-08). "David Albert: 'What the BLEEP' Is Wildly and Irresponsibly Wrong". The Stranger. Retrieved 2006-11-30.
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(help) - ^ a b "Hagelin.org".
- ^ "Faculty for the Physics Minor of Maharishi University of Management". Retrieved 2007-06-30.
- ^ http://www.thinkingallowed.com/2fwolf.html
- ^ Mone, Gregory (October 2004). "Cult Science: Dressing up mysticism as quantum physics". Popular Science. Retrieved 2006-11-29.
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(help) - ^ http://www.beyondtheordinary.net/joedispenza.shtml
- ^ Kuttner, Fred (November 2006). "Teaching physics mysteries versus pseudoscience". Physics Today. 59 (11). American Institute of Physics: 14. Retrieved 2006-11-29.
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suggested) (help) - ^ Gorenfeld, John (2004-09-16). ""Bleep" of faith". Salon. Retrieved 2006-11-29.
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(help) - ^ Hagelin, J.S., Rainforth, M.V., Orme-Johnson, D.W. Cavanaugh, K. L. , Alexander, C.N., Shatkin, S.F., Davies, J.L, Hughes, A.O, and Ross, E. 1999. Effects of group practice of the Transcendental Meditation program on preventing violent crime in Washington D.C.: Results of the National Demonstration Project, June-July, 1993. Social Indicators Research, 47(2): 153-201.
- ^ a b "What the Bleep are they on about!?". Retrieved 2007-07-24. Australian Broadcasting company
- ^ "Double-Blind Test of the Effects of Distant Intention on Water Crystal Formation" Explore The Journal of Science and Healing September 2006
- ^ "The minds boggle".The Guardian Unlimited'
- ^ 2004 Pigasus awards James Randi Educational Foundation
External links
- What the Bleep Do We Know!? - Official site
- What the #$*! Do We Know!? at IMDb
- La Física cuántica se pone de moda - Tendencias21, Spanish (see also the English translation accessed 08 July 2007)
- Review by The Skeptics Society/Skeptic magazine
- Critique at Intuitor's Insultingly Stupid Movie Physics
- Review by Anna Darrah, www.noendpress.com
- E-Philosopher debate on the validity of the claims put forth in the movie
- Interview on radio show The Connection with co-director Mark Vicente, Dr. Fred Alan Wolf and Dr. Michael Shermer, October 14, 2004
- "Bleep of Faith": Dr. Albert describes his experience of being interviewed for the film, and describes how he feels he was misrepresented
- Further comments from Dr. Albert on his involvement with the film (Permalink), in The Stranger blog
- Review by Joel Gilmore, www.illuminatingscience.org
- Review by Dr. Michael Clark, www.earthpages.org
- Interview with director William Arntz on Beyond The Ordinary
- Bleep Study Guide from Institute of Noetic Sciences
- MP3 of teleseminar with Will Arntz — from Shift in Action, sponsored by Institute of Noetic Sciences