A “Bleep” Heard ‘Round the World

The suits in Hollywood-and the critics-don't seem to know it, but audiences are hungry for more than popcorn movies, says What the BLEEP Do We Know?! maker Betsy Chasse.

By Betsy Chasse & Cate Montana

Can one film make a difference in the world? The short answer is "yes." The definitive answer is: "Hell yes."

When Will Arntz, Mark Vicente and I decided - against the good advice of the sanest minds in Hollywood - to produce a film that would make the cutting-edge findings in quantum physics, molecular biology and neurophysiology not only available to, but understandable by, the general public, it was with the specific intent of making a difference in the world.

The knowledge that our individual thoughts and intent have been scientifically proven to affect the quantum levels of reality and, thus, eventually the fabric of our everyday lives, could make an enormous difference to every human being on the face of the planet. This is huge news, and it doesn't do a lot of good if only a few quantum physicists buried in nuclear accelerator labs know about it.

There are thousands of extremely well-documented scientific studies from places like Stanford University that show that one human being's thoughts can be subconsciously felt and received by another person at a remote location. John Hagelin, Ph.D., one of the physicists in the movie and the first scientist to develop a grand unified field theory since Einstein first theorized it, says the discovery of the unified field shows the basis of life's diversity is unity. At our most fundamental, you and I are one. And this is physics, not mysticism, not speculation, not wishful thinking.

So imagine, if one person's thoughts affect another, what kind of a difference could it make if millions of people understood this? What if millions of people - just like our protagonist Amanda, played by Marlee Matlin - suddenly started thinking about the impact of their thoughts on themselves and the people around them? What if they took responsibility for changing their attitudes? Imagine all the wonderful things they could contribute!

Already we estimate over two million people worldwide have viewed What the BLEEP Do We Know?! It's the third most popular documentary ever made in the U.S., and the movie hasn't budged off Amazon.com's Top Ten DVD Sales list since it was released in March of this year. What does this say? It says we are making a difference. We have received thousands of letters from people telling us how this film has changed their lives.

It's also a clear sign to Hollywood that there's an enormous audience for films that educate and uplift and have a real message about people's potential and the future of humanity. It tells us that audiences are smarter than they're often assumed to be, and are beginning to expect more of us. Think about the 2004 film season. It was the year of the documentary, with record audiences for What the BLEEP, Super Size Me, The Corporation and, of course, Fahrenheit 9/11. What do all these films have in common? They speak to people's intelligence, and question how we live, interact and how we might go forward to create a better world in which to thrive.

Yet each of these films had huge hurdles to jump over to have success and an impact in the marketplace.

I was surprised to find that our biggest hurdle wasn't the Religious Right or mainstream scientists. Our biggest naysayers have been in the press. I was prepared to field criticism for the movie cinematically because, like any movie, it could have been better in every way. But the critics went way beyond production criticism - they went for the jugular, and even tried to discredit the scientists and their findings. The attacks were so blindly savage across the board that I was shocked, and yet at the same time amused at the spectacle of all these people with no academic knowledge, let alone Ph.Ds, dismissing some of the world's leading scientific experts.

The level of attack shows the film hit a nerve. And I think that nerve is about responsibility. Fortunately, that is what has made the film critic-proof - it really is a movie about people taking responsibility for their own lives and making up their own minds. But the hyper-critical reaction to the film shows that there is a block in Hollywood against this sort of filmmaking. It wasn't just the critics who didn't know what to do with BLEEP; even people in Hollywood who screened the film and admitted to being personally inspired by it, immediately fell back into the default position of saying the movie had no "perceived value" and would never "make it."

So now, a year and a half and 15 international releases later, I hold up the phenomenal success of BLEEP against this kind of traditional response and scratch my head and think, "What the bleep does that mean?"

There's nothing wrong with pure entertainment - there will always be room for that. But there's also room for something more. Just as each and every one of us is capable of something more, so is the film industry. I'm making films because I want to effect positive change in this world. And I know that, although there will never be another What the BLEEP Do We Know?!, there will be other movies that transcend camera angles and soundtracks and box office numbers - movies that will be about freedom of mind, the power of intent and the greatness found in us all.

And I know I'm not alone. I see and hear about filmmakers everyday who are inspired by what we were able to do with BLEEP. So I say: Go for it, boys and girls. The medium of film is due for a paradigm shift. I can't wait to see what happens next.