A Reluctant Review

I am kind of hesitant to write the review about the 3rd movie I mentioned in the first movie review post. I don't want to give the movie a whole lot of crediblity. But it was so out there that I gotta write about it! It's called "What the Bleep do We Know?" It stars Marlee Matlin. Yep, that deaf actress who has been on a few TV shows like the Practice, Law and Order and a couple bad movies. (One which had TTY relay operators as part of the plot...) "What the Bleep do We Know?" is a story about a frustrated photographer (Marlee Matlin) who learns about quantum physics and it revolutionizes her life.

The movie intersperses Marlee Matlin’s story and a LOT of computer graphics with scientists talking about quantum physics. This movie starts with a couple of basic scientific facts--or should I say theories (?)--and uses them to discuss New Age philosophy that I don’t agree with. The facts and quantum theories meander into New Age philosophies that negate the Christian concept of God and say that either god is an anonymous universal force, is in everything, or we are god. I think it’s a bunch of mumbo jumbo. (Yes, that's a scientific term!)

One of the main scientific facts discussed is that all matter is made of atoms. Atoms are made of nuclei and the electrons which whirl around them. Between the electrons and nuclei is empty space. The “What the Bleep do We Know?” scientists admit that the electrons are so small and fast that they don’t actually know where those electrons are, but they have potential paths. From this the scientists conclude that all objects and are potentialities rather than realities. The theory is illustrated during a basketball game between Marlee Matlin and an African American boy who speaks like a quantum physics guru. When Marlee Matlin turns her back to the boy, he is in 20 different places on the basketball court all at once; when she turns back toward him, he is in one spot. They also say that our minds create everything that we see and experience. I just can’t agree with that. I didn’t create the desk and chair that I am sitting at or the laptop computer that I am typing on! They are not products of my brain. They exist outside of my perceptions!

The second scientific fact discussed in “What the Bleep do We Know?” is that thoughts and emotions are the result of neurochemicals in the brain. It was part of the “the mind creates reality” theory. The movie makers used some pretty cool graphics to illustrate the chemicals going from neuron to neuron in the brain. In a nutshell, the movie scientists say that we can choose how to react to the perceptions and emotions we have. I can agree with that because it’s basic cognitive psychology. Choosing how to think about our emotions or circumstances in life can help us get over anger, anxiety or depression.

For example, last Saturday I had to work at Reserve America. A coworker got on the bus a few stops after me. When I saw her I said “So you’re putting in your time on the weekends, too, huh?” The lady rolled her eyes, frowned at me and said “I work every weekend.” It was pretty rude. I could have taken what she said a number of ways. I could think that she was a bitch and never talk to her again. Years ago I probably would have thought that I was a stupid person who deserved to be treated rudely for talking to her. Now I can be more objective and think that she must've been unhappy about working on the weekend.

“What the Bleep do We Know?” is a movie that is supposed to cause us to question reality. I guess it is supposed to enlighten us and change our perceptions. It made me want to clean the bath tub! I stopped the DVD and actually gave it a scrub. (Eventually I finished watching the DVD.) I fast forwarded thru the "Polish Wedding" scene because the animation was dumb. At the end of the movie, the scientists gave their credentials. A couple of them were actually physicists and psychologists! They all had written quantum physics books which they plugged, of course. One of them was a chiropractor and another was a lady who called herself “Ramtha.” If you follow the link, you'll find that Ramtha is a spirit that J.Z. Knight channels for a "School of Enlightenment." J.Z. Knight has been on Coast to Coast AM. (Feel free to laugh at the show synopsis I linked to!) The movie directors are Ramtha devotees, by the way. I rented this DVD from Netflix out of curiosity. I pretty much knew that it would be a bunch of New Age crap. I was right.

Movie Review Redux

The other movie I recently saw was “Beyond the Gates of Splendor.” It told the story of 5 Christian missionaries, among them Nate Saint and Jim Elliot, who reached out to the Waodani Indians of Ecuador. They lowered gifts to them from their airplane. After a time of reaching out they landed and gave a couple of the Indians rides in their airplane. Because of a series of lies the Waodani killed the 5 missionaries with spears. (Hence the name "End of the Spear," the fiction movie based on the documentary.) Their wives continued to live in Ecuador, first in a nearby village and later among the Waodani themselves.

This was a two sided DVD. One side was a condensed version that was more like a family scrapbook. The wives talked about how they met their husbands. They told the basic story of the missionaries. They also talked about the loss of their husbands and how it affected them and their children. Steve Saint, son of Nate Saint, explained that when his mother told him that his father was killed by the Indians they lived among he felt a kinship with them because Steve knew that just about every tribe member had family who were murdered.

The other side of the DVD filled out the story. A pair of sociologists explained that conflict resolution was not a part of Waodani culture. They simply murdered each other during disputes! I was touched by the sadness that the missionary crew still show when talking about how they recovered the bodies of Nate Saint, Jim Elliot and the others. Steve Saint’s daughter wanted to be baptized in Ecuador. The Saint family moved back to the jungle, and she was baptized by Mincaye and another of the Indians who killed her grandfather in the 1950s. The best part was the story about Mincaye. Steve Saint and his family took Mincaye with them back to the U.S., and he experienced an utterly different world from the rainforest. Mincaye’s interpretations of commonplace American things like fast food drive thru windows were funny!

“Beyond the Gates of Splendor” was a good movie, but it did leave me wanting. The most obvious thing missing was any reference to God! The 5 missionaries said that they would not take guns to defend themselves from the Indians because “We are ready for heaven and they are not.” Elisabeth Elliot mentioned having church with the Waodani Indians. That’s it. I was kind of puzzled why they used sociologists in the movie. I was disappointed that there was no mention of Jesus Christ. There was no explanation of what caused the Waodani to stop their murderous ways, either. I really wished they would have talked about how Steve Saint and his family came to love the people who killed Nate and the other missionaries. Steve’s children think of Mincaye as their grandfather. A natural human reaction would be to avenge the murder, or at least feel anger toward the killers! I heard part of an interview on Focus on the Family with Steve Saint when “End of the Spear” was released. He talked a bit about these issues, but I wish it would have been in the documentary. A testimony of God’s grace to overcome would have made the movie more powerful, that’s for sure!

Movie Review

I watched a few good movies recently. Specifically one of them was great, one of them was so-so and the third was crap! Here are a couple good points about the movies. (I'm no professional movie critic, but I know what I like!) Edit: I think I may have to make these movie reviews into separate posts! I have a lot to say and I don't like making enormous posts!

The great movie I watched was called Mad Hot Ballroom. It was a wonderful documentary about 5th grade boys and girls in New York City learning how to ballroom dance. Three groups of children are followed as they qualify for and compete in an all-city ballroom dancing competition. The movie captures segments with the children being themselves. The boys talk about what they think of the class. They kind of talk about girls, but it seems they haven't yet reached the point that they are "girl crazy." The girls talk about how they want to have careers, get married, have children and especially how they want to have boys treat them with respect. The directors do a wonderful job of capturing the innocence of childhood in these segments.

The rest of the movie focuses on some of the gym classes where the children learn the form and poise of dancing rumba, merengue and swing. It is all proper and innocent, not sexualized like you would find in a club or bar. It's not quite as flashy or complicated as Dancing with the Stars, but the children need to practice to get the moves down well. They learn to cooperate with each other inspite of being awkward and disliking the opposite sex. One phrase from a teacher sticks out "I'm smiling! I may not like you at all but I'm smiling!" That brings me to the teachers. I admire their positive attitudes as they illustrate and guide the children. The movie shows what being a teacher really is, with discipline issues and all. A couple of the female teachers openly cry when they express how proud they are of their children. They are truly dedicated.

I found myself rooting for these kids. My heart went out to the team that didn't make it to the finals. A few of the girls grabbed each other and started crying. I was happy for the girls as they went by subway with their teacher to find just the right outfits for their competitions. It's a rite of passage for the girls to find something pretty and feminine to wear rather than the jeans and sweatshirts in their regular wardrobes. The male teacher at one school helped the boys with their button down shirts and ties as well.

I loved how the film captured the spirit of the teams during the competition. The camera's view cut back and forth between all of the teams performing a particular dance on the floor and reactions of the children along the sidelines. The girls on the sidelines get pretty excited about how well their teammates perform. Some of the children did very well, others weren't as good. One tall hispanic girl danced with flair. She swept her arm dramatically over her head at the end of a turn which illicited quite a reaction from a nearby judge. Another short blond boy danced with a girl who was quite a bit taller than him. He moved his hips, but he wasn't that light on his feet. They really did put a lot of effort and energy into the competition, though. The only thing that I would change about this movie would be to make it a little less obvious which team was going to win. The directors seemed to give more attention to the team that ultimately won the competition. I was hoping for a surprise ending. All in all, I really enjoyed this movie.