‘Bleep’ focuses on science of possibility

Quantum physics – the words paralyze most people. In the film, “What the Bleep Do We Know?!,” an olive branch is extended to the layperson from physicists, neurologists, spiritual teachers and scholars.

The movie gives the audience a ramp, up which those with handicapped minds can easily reach a firm grasp on quantum physics, the science of possibilities.

“Bleep” is about planting seeds. It plants the idea that there are in fact an infinite number of possibilities and that nothing, from our deepest religious beliefs to our own eyes, should be trusted to give us any definite answers.

Marlee Matlin (“The Linguini Incident”, “Children of a Lesser God”) plays Amanda, a photographer coping with a failed marriage and the onset of a mid-life crisis.

Amanda’s perceived view of herself begins to fall apart and life as she knows it changes around her. The movie uses the cusp Amanda is on to explore the possibilities that await her and draws parallels between Amanda’s infinite choices and the possibilities of quantum physics.

Her story is seamlessly woven with the ideas of various authorities and scholars in the field of quantum physics. When a main point about quantum physics is explained “Bleep” cuts back to Amanda’s life and watch as she tackles that idea.

“Bleep” moves through the layers of her consciousness from the brain and the chemicals it produces, which makes people feel sad, happy and bored, down to the smallest part of consciousness, the cell, which accepts and ultimately depends on those chemicals. Amanda’s feelings are chemical reactions and thus the idea of addiction and chemical dependency are tackled.

Love and depression, “Bleep” points out, are chemical reactions with the potential for addiction. These intimate and self-destructive feelings are likened to street drugs and prescribed mood enhancers, such as anxiety pills.

As anyone who has ever had to suffer separation from a loved one knows there is physical and mental pain. The film draws a parallel between that suffering and the detoxification and recovery of an addict.

What makes separation so painful, the film points out, is that we assume there is only one path for us. One way. When humans are knocked of that path, whether it be through a failed marriage and a mid-life crisis like Amanda’s they lose their sense of self and then must go through the process of creating our own self image over again.

What quantum physics offers humans is a basic idea that few seem to prescribe to. There are infinite possibilities. To assume that one there is one way to move through life only leads to “deplorable results.”

The movie takes on religion through the idea of infinite possibilities, calling religion a “poor description for life.” The film is especially hard on Western religions, where there are only two “paths” instead of eastern religions, most of which have multiple possibilities.

As Amanda struggles with her realizations and begins to see that her life can go anyway at anytime, the viewer watches her fall further and further into her breakdown of self-loathing, confusion and dependency.

Through quantum physics and Bleep’s scientists and scholars, which seem to be guiding Amanda through her breakdown like the Fates, viewers watch as someone who is desperately trying to hang on finally lets go only to realize she was on the ground the entire time.

If the movie has done its job, by the time the lights come up you should leave the theater with a profound, fresh outlook. You should be able to recognize that what you see in front of you is real, the uncomfortable chairs, patrons filing out, and smell of old popcorn. But just beyond the exit or even directly behind you, there is no telling what of the infinite number of possibilities awaits you.