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Beyond the Bleep: The Definitive Unauthorized Guide to What the Bleep Do We Know!? (Disinformation Movie & Book Guides)

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3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(2)

 

 

As a physics buff, I generally don't find my way into the new age section of the bookstore, or even watch new-agey films. Wind chimes sound like fingernails on a blackboard to me. But all my friends were lauding about this What The Bleep movie, and so rather than get sucked into another unpleasant movie experience, I picked up this little guide book to get a sense what all their clamor was about.

I was pleasantly surprised to see some really hard science being tackled by the author Alexandra Bruce in a really accessible, welcoming way. And even the New Age stuff was pretty palatable to my rational materialist mindset.

The makers of the film should consider Beyond The Bleep a welcome gift, because not only did I go see the movie, but talked for hours with my friends about it. What a really interesting, thought-provoking film! This book helped to open the door for me to an alternate way at looking at the universe.

This book is a great companion to "What the Bleep?", a movie that opened a lot of doors for me but left so many unanswered questions in its wake. Just like a ship on the horizon that you can't see because you don't have a context for it, "What the Bleep?" went over some people's heads, but luckily this book is here to assist... it goes way farther than the movie, going more in-depth into the science and touching on topics like the Conscious Universe, even magick... and it even examines the "What the Bleep" phenomenon itself, exploring people's reactions to the film and the, er, "cult" that has begun to grow around it. All in all, a very well-rounded and worthwhile look at an important cultural event.

I recently watched and enjoyed the documentary "What the Bleep Do We Know?" but came away knowing that I must have missed a lot of what was said (not being a quantum physicist and all...). This litlte book is like a "Bleep for Dummies," only it doesn't pander! I really appreciate the clarity and rigor that the author, Alexandra Bruce, invested in the work. She also avoids making too many editorial comments, letting her audience draw their own conclusions. I feel I have a much firmer grasp of the film's concepts, and the book has deepened my interest in the field as a whole. I feel really inspired and motivated to keep exploring...

I picked this up on impulse after looking at the table of contents and it really helped me get so much more from the wonderful What The Bleep movie. Alexandra Bruce writes that she's not affiliated with the moviemakers in her intro and the book really benefits from being a little removed from the people in the film. She is clearly a fan of the film and some of the people in it, but not to the extent that she won't describe some of the controversies swirling around it. Two thumbs up - a great complement to the DVD. Watch out for the "official" book coming soon - should be great too!

What The Bleep Do We Know has become a groundbreaking film that has inspired a growing exploration of spiritual, philosophical, and social issues raised by the film. Alexandra Bruce is a rather unconventional writer/journalist, who once produced music videos, prior to her writing career in which she has focused on underground and sub-culture phenomena. This is the 2nd book I've read by the author, the 1st being The Philadelphia Experiment Murder: Parallel Universes & The Physics of Insanity.
So Alexandra continues here in Beyond the Bleep with the theme of challenges to conventional ideas about the nature of reality. In this case, she offers a whimsical tour of the personalities involved in the What The Bleep project, giving a fairly even-handed account of their theories and their professional histories. She does not hide her personal feelings, as she seems to appreciate what the film producers have created and at times gripes against right wing politics and religious fundamentalism in the USA.
This book is small and compact but contains lots of information. I personally find Alexandra Bruce's style pleasant, as she is able to shift gears easily, going from scientific discussions to humorous commentaries. Alexandra is insightful and I tend to agree with a lot of her thoughts. She provides a useful glossary in the book and a list of resources for further study. I find it interesting that she refers to a website associated with a woman named Laura Knight-Jadczyk and her husband Ark Jadczyk, who just so happens to be a quantum physicist -and thus my prime suspect for Alexandra's anonymous physicist commentator.
Alexandra Bruce is quite knowledgeable and familiar with occult and esoteric topics, and she sometimes makes references in this book that could be lost on people who just want to read about the people and science of What The Bleep. Considering all the topics referred to, I was impressed that I only found one that didn't sit well with me - "peak oil," which is alluded to in a bit of social commentary. My problem with that reference involves my conclusion that a supposed peak in oil production is not natural but is an artifically crafted situation serving the interests of oil industry profiteers and global government orchestrators. Anyway, things often become more interesting and complex when you look beyond the surface; and this look "Beyond the Bleep" offers interesting ideas and information underlying the inspiring What The Bleep film. This book is not affiliated with the film producers or anyone connected to the film, and thus looks into some issues that I suspect those involved in the film would rather see ignored, even though this author displays appreication for What The Bleep and the discussions it has fostered. I highly recommend this book for those who want to learn more about the issues raised in the film and who would like to se a level-headed discussion of controversies associated with the film.

Beyond The Bleep: The Definitive Unauthorized Guide to What the Bleep Do We Know!?(Purchased on 08/12/2005)
I heard about the low budget movie "What the Bleep Do We Know?" and went to see it in down town Sacramento movie hall. I enjoyed it so much I purchased the film. I tried to talk to my friends about it. I even bought two more films to pass out to my friends. My "flatland" skeptic friends could not believe that I would even want to see such a film. They found everything wrong with it. I felt like Galileo or Copernicus trying to let them know that the sun does not revolve around the earth. I looked at my film at least ten times trying to write down all the words of wisdom emanating from the great thinkers who were scientist and other academics in the film.

Then I found the book "The Little Book of Bleeps" that had all the words I wanted to ponder that were in the film. As I e-mailed more friends about my excitement knowing that "we create our own reality," most of my friends again put the book down by explaining the fallacies of all the great thinkers who were scientist and other academics in the film---But, what do my friends know?

Then I found "Beyond the Bleep" that goes into detail about all the ideas and the thinkers who came up with these ideas. This film "WTBDWK" is about quantum physics, spirituality---and the meaning of life. This ambitious film attempts to answer existential questions such as: What is God? What are emotions? What is the soul? And what we all want to know why are we here?

I was so caught up with quantum physics; I ordered some lectures about quantum physics for the non-scientist from the Teaching Company. That gave me the vocabulary to understand "WTBDWK."

That wasn't enough for me. Amazon.com was advertising the book "The Spiritual Universe, How Quantum Physics Proves The Existence of the Soul." by Fred Alan Wolf, PH.D. one of the scientist in the film. It took me a month to finish the book and now I'm going to read it again. Quantum Physics is mind boggling, but I think it will change the whole direction of science and bring Science into the realm of spirituality, bring the objective into the subjective. I feel blest that I am moving up the spiritual path intended by the creator. It also proves to me that there is an "Intelligent design."

I watched the movie and was terribly disappointed... So many of my friends had encouraged me to watch it.

NOW, after reading this book, I say "Read the book and forget about the movie!"

Definitely, the book is better than the movie. More informative, more accurate (IMHO) and easier to understand.

The film "What the Bleep do We Know", left me a little disappointed. The claims were outlandish, and I was left somewhat skeptical. But while the film has its weak points, this little book by Alexandra Bruce shines brightly.

Bruce's "Beyond the Bleep" is like a miniature encyclopedia full for a rich content that sets the film right. And her full book is reasonably priced, considering what it contains.

Her first Chapter described the incredible phenomenon that surrounded the film. And she follows it with a highly readable account of quantum mechanics. These would be enough to please the reader, but she follow with additional chapters on each of 12 film personalities. She is very even handed with her accounts, and ends with a short conclusion.

Film personality, David Albert, was treated very fairly. Albert had some disagreements with the trendy claims made by the film (as I did), which is understandable. Bruce set the record straight for him. Fred Alan Wolf, author of many trendy books, is probably also delighted by Bruce's (page 26) presentation: "he is the Teflon physicist, who for over twenty years has managed to purvey his blend of quantum physics, anthropology and spiritualism without stirring up the bile of the orthodoxy". Wolf, no doubt welcomes the trends, and provides a balance to the more conservative Albert.

I really enjoyed reading about Stuart Hameroff with his deep intellect, and with his model of mind and quantum mechanics (the Orchestrated Objective Reduction). Bruce presented the monistic idealism of Amit Goswami in highly credible terms, despite what nay-sayers have said in the past.

Candace Pert's views on emotions and their connection to biochemical molecules was very interesting, hinting at a deep vitalism in nature that is contrary to our dualistic thinking. Bruce (page 174) writes: "What may end up being recognized as the most important aspect of Pert's work is her scientific mapping and understanding of what she calls the bodymind. Pert's revolutionary view is that the three classically separated areas of neuroscience, endocrinology, and immunology, with the various organs, the brain; the glands; and the spleen, bone marrow, and the lymph nodes are joined to each other in a multidirectional network of communication, linked by information carriers called neuropeptides." I refer to Pert's views in my book, "Trinity", which has to do with vitalism.

The chapters are followed by a section called "further reading/viewing" containing general resources, web sites, and references. Next comes a very detailed glossary. Then comes endnotes with important citations, and lastly an index. These, and the entire book, are very well organized, a real pleasure to read.

Disclosure: My agenda is declared in my profile.

This book gives you a good view of the participants in the movie, where they stood, how they relate to the others, and where they are now. Even if you don't understand it, this helps point you toward the people you would like to know more about. And you can attack the book a little at a time.

There is something for everybody in this book because it seems to have been mainly a cut-and-paste editing project without any basis of understanding by the author.

When appearing stuck on a physics issue, Bruce deferred to an "anonymous physics guru" who checked the facts and made the determination of good or bad science.

As a college research project, the glossary does provide a nice definition of terms that is useful.

On the plus side, it did prompt me to read "The Yoga of Time Travel" by respected physicist Fred Alan Wolf. Now there's a provocative read.