If you’ve ever been at a loss concerning why the world functions in such an illogical manner, it’s time to go to the movies. Visual stories are, after all, one of the few things in this world that seem to be able to hold our attention. Currently, Portland is playing host to a film both on and off screen, that one day might be seen as the catalyst for a paradigm shift in how humans interact with one another and the reality that we create. What the F***k Do We Know, a film by William Arntz, Betsy Chasse, and Mark Vicente and starring Marlee Matlin, seeks to explore the most asked questions in the universe: What is it? Where do we fit in? And, why do we do what we do?

 

Utilizing both documentary and narrative styles, the film opens with an array of visual effects that grabs the audience and proceeds to lead us into a world of human perception, quantum physics and how it all seamlessly ties together. Without being preachy or condescending, viewers are given a very basic understanding of the fundamentals in quantum physics and how relevant it is to understanding why we do that things we do. Interviewing a significant number of scientists and experts in various fields of the human mind, the filmmakers consider new possibilities about the human experience. For example, during the film an amazing experiment is shared in which we actually see how water is affected based on thought! With humans being composed of 95% water, this film might be worth your time.

 

Currently, humans view the world as a reality in which we claim already exists. The filmmakers explore the nature of reality as we know it and cleverly guide us to a realm in which we reconsider reality. The power of human thought is explored, and concrete examples are given that demonstrate how incredible the human brain is in its functions. It is suggested that the reality we live in is not even real (a lure for Matrix Fans). Reality is what we make it to be. This might not seem like a revolutionary idea, but the manner in which this film presents the ideas in relation to quantum physics, using quirky animation, grand visual effects and a story about one woman’s search for her true self, might lead filmgoers to reevaluate this concept of reality is what we make of it.

 

Being the creative force in your own personal life is the ultimate message here. We live our lives bound by ideas of religion and law that determine right from wrong and, in turn, fact from fiction. For those who sit on the fence when it comes to ideas of religion and god, this film will coax you into climbing down to consider: I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use. - Galileo Galilei

 

This film subtly begs the viewer to consider, Why do we lack such belief in ourselves and the immensely beautiful world we can create? Instead we spend much of our time on this planet doubting ourselves, doubting possibility and thus helping to contribute to the state of our perceived reality. In this film no one is an innocent, and every single human being on this planet plays a part in determining our world.

 

If this concept is difficult to believe or just sounds like a new age hippie mushroom trip, then I strongly urge you to consider the experiment that proves the power of human thought presented in the film. During the summer of 1993 over a thousand meditation experts from all over the world were gathered in Washington D.C. for an experiment aimed at reducing D.C.’s murder rate. The experiment involved intense meditation over several days. The murder rate dropped 25% and prompted the chief of police to endorse the study’s findings, which were presented to the media. More information about this experiment can be found at

http://www.istpp.org/crime_prevention/voodoo_rebuttal.html

 

Ultimately, the paradigm shift in human existence that this film proposes, I believe, is still several hundred years away. For those individuals who sometimes stray from the masses and ponder the nature of our existence, you’ll find inspiration in this film. Trust me, if you see this film it’s impossible to leave the theatre as the same person you were. Possibility will open inside your mind in a way you never thought existed and lead you to ask, What the f***k do any of us know?

I choose to reprint someone's else review of this film so that you would know that it is not just me who is saying these things - note what this film says about water. This reviewer says that your body is 85% water - it depends on how you measure it. Your body and this planet are about 75% water.