Manjir Samanta-Laughton

What the Bleep do we Know ?

If someone were to tell you that a film featuring quantum physics is selling out in cinemas across America you may well ask, 'what the bleep is going on?' In this case, you would be right, as the independent film 'What the bleep do we know?' is causing a sensation and defying film industry wisdom.

Anyone who has attempted to gain public interest in science will know that it is not always an easy task. So what is it about 'What the bleep' that has people flocking? The film blends science, drama and animation, bringing difficult topics such as quantum theory and neuroscience to the public in an accessible way.

THE FILM
The film tells the story of Amanda, played by Oscar winning actress Marlee Matlin. Her everyday experiences are blended with some out-of-the-ordinary experiences, such as a basketball game that explains Heisenberg's uncertainty principle!

Far from dumbing down science, the live action cuts to a blend of the talking heads of various physicists, neuroscientists, psychiatrists and doctors who are the leading lights in the field of consciousness studies. In case this sounds too heavy, the hilarious animated sequences, which include cute cartoon neuropeptides, break up the information with laughter.

This combination of philosophy, information, real human emotion and special effects creates a film experience like no other - and the public are lapping it up. Despite the fact that Hollywood rejected this film, the rising numbers in theatres are leading to a general release in the U.S.A. with plans for a European release in a few months. Plans for the DVD are characteristically different for a film featuring quantum principles; the DVD will run differently every time you play it.

THE TEAM BEHIND THE FILM
The producers and directors of the film are William Arntz, Betsy Chasse, and Mark Vicente. Members of the team have maintained a level of personal inquiry alongside their filmmaking career. Arntz actually started out as a physicist and Vincente was drawn to the work of physicists such as Fred Alan Wolf in his personal exploration of the nature of reality.

THE STAR
Actress Marlee Matlin plays Amanda, our protagonist. Although Matlin is deaf, this was not something that was part of the early intentions of the filmmakers and, in fact, she approached them. Her deafness gives us a new perspective on the nature of consciousness throughout the film that may not otherwise have been present.

Some of the more difficult scenes for Matlin were the ones dealing with body image and the negative emotional reinforcements that many people, especially women, give to themselves. With the help of some animated scenes and some explanations from top neuroscientists such as Candace Pert, we start to understand how we can get stuck in these emotions and how we can break through them. This is one of the ways in which the film delivers an empowering personal message using bona fide science.

THE SCIENTISTS

The identity of the scientists is not revealed until the end of the film. As I was already familiar with many of them, it was a veritable 'who's who' in the field of the science of consciousness. Indeed, the scientists featured represent a broad range of perspectives. Amit Goswami, for example, is a physicist who has concluded that consciousness is fundamental to matter, Stuart Hameroff is exploring the link between the fabric of space-time and our microtubules, Andrew Newberg uses functional brain imaging to explore meditative states, and Candace Pert (pictured) is a well-known neuroscientist who works on how the mind and body interact.

THE JOURNEY
One can only speculate on what the makers of this film have been through and how they are feeling now. Having been through the rejection of Hollywood, the experience of funding the film themselves to the scale of $4 million and now with increasing audiences and many theatres extending the run, they must feel vindicated.

They have demonstrated how much the media underestimates the public understanding and demand for science. After all, what is science but a human invention to answer the big questions about our world? Questions that have timeless and universal appeal like who we are, why we are here, and what is the nature of reality.

- June 2005

About the Author

Dr Manjir Samanta-Laughton (also known as Dr. Munchie) qualified as an NHS GP before embarking on a career bringing the science of consciousness to the public. She attended one of only two showings of 'What the bleep do we know?'.