Tuesday, July 20, 2004
Cultural Diversion: What The #$*! Do We Know?
Well, it's different.
The Valley Art is showing a movie called What The #$*! Do We Know? Or, as it is affectionately known, What The Bleep? And what it is, is, well... that's the hard part. It's part science lesson, part self-improvement project, part New Age whatever, part spiritual tract.
The movie cuts back and forth between a fictional story starring Marlee Matlin as a divorced photographer with, well, issues and real talking heads discussing quantum physics. As they talk about what they claim are the latest advances in quantum physics research (e.g., and I'm sure I'll mess this up here, that an object can be in two, nay, multiple places at the same time), Matlin's character experiences the research results for herself. At some point in the movie, the science lesson morphs into the self-improvement/spiritual implications of the research and Matlin, well, absorbs these, too.
Too reveal too much would, well, that would imply that I understood much of what was being discussed, which would be wrong. It's not that I didn't understand what they were saying, it's that at times it was too incredulous to take on face value (regardless of its truthfulness) and at times I kept wondering what the filmmakers were trying to sell me. (Please note, I'm not saying that what's discussed isn't true; just that the relatively paradigm-shifting nature of the discussion can lead to skepticism.)
I realize this sounds like a negative review, but it's not. It's an entertaining movie -- I always find a movie that makes you think in the summer quite refreshing -- and it's obviously struck a chord with audiences. (It's been showing at the Valley Art for 3 months now and the Saturday night showing I saw was at least 80% full.) It's sort of a non-fiction version of The Matrix. Go into the movie with an open mind, think about it afterward with a skeptical mind, and I think it'll be worth your time.
The Valley Art is showing a movie called What The #$*! Do We Know? Or, as it is affectionately known, What The Bleep? And what it is, is, well... that's the hard part. It's part science lesson, part self-improvement project, part New Age whatever, part spiritual tract.
The movie cuts back and forth between a fictional story starring Marlee Matlin as a divorced photographer with, well, issues and real talking heads discussing quantum physics. As they talk about what they claim are the latest advances in quantum physics research (e.g., and I'm sure I'll mess this up here, that an object can be in two, nay, multiple places at the same time), Matlin's character experiences the research results for herself. At some point in the movie, the science lesson morphs into the self-improvement/spiritual implications of the research and Matlin, well, absorbs these, too.
Too reveal too much would, well, that would imply that I understood much of what was being discussed, which would be wrong. It's not that I didn't understand what they were saying, it's that at times it was too incredulous to take on face value (regardless of its truthfulness) and at times I kept wondering what the filmmakers were trying to sell me. (Please note, I'm not saying that what's discussed isn't true; just that the relatively paradigm-shifting nature of the discussion can lead to skepticism.)
I realize this sounds like a negative review, but it's not. It's an entertaining movie -- I always find a movie that makes you think in the summer quite refreshing -- and it's obviously struck a chord with audiences. (It's been showing at the Valley Art for 3 months now and the Saturday night showing I saw was at least 80% full.) It's sort of a non-fiction version of The Matrix. Go into the movie with an open mind, think about it afterward with a skeptical mind, and I think it'll be worth your time.
Comments:
Interesting to hear your comments, as we've tried to see WtB! ourselves, but the screening was sold out. Seems to have become a bit of a phenomenon. Guess it's nice to get your brain stretched by a movie now and again - the equivalent of a workout session after eating Hollywood pizza all week... :-)
Jim McLennan
But It's a DRY Heat...
Jim McLennan
But It's a DRY Heat...
Comment posted by 
: 2:31 PM
: 2:31 PM
While still popular, I'd think you'd be able to get a seat now as it's not like we bought our ticket an hour beforehand.
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