It’s funny how a film like this can really be deciphered as. Certainly, the religious will view this as a secularist documentary on quantum physics, and the others will simply view it as an examination in to the human mind. With films like “Waking Life”, so often do we ever see films that actually challenge us to re-think our surroundings and our current settings. “What the…” ultimately explores radical ideas of repressed memories, the immense power of our mind, and alternate universes. And it also questions god, the existence of god, and the existence of god who gave man the ability to think. If we can not question religion, why were we given the ability to reason and wonder, and examine? If a god exists and does not want us to discover the riddles of the universe, why were we given the tools to do so? And “What the…” does indeed humble us calling us “Observers”.
“What the…” examines how there is so much, but so little happening around us and we’re merely the spectators watching the activity before us. Our brain is a fascinating machine constantly encoding and embedding imprints of memories, inherited memories, and past experiences in us forever altering our perception of life and ourselves. Whether or not it’s a promotional film for the RSE, it does in fact offer alternate perspectives into our universe and minds that will scare many whom cling to their own beliefs. Is it so wrong to explore other views of life? Are we forever doomed to be content in our own world without exploring other’s views of the world we live in? Regardless of how we view this world, we still live in it together, and promoting RSE or Ramtha didn’t truly alter my expectations or viewing experience. We, as humans, have the ability to alter reality itself, yet we’re still just insignificant dots, more of a microcosm for the bigger picture. And no, I’m not talking about god. But reality.
So many million particles make up our very being, our very reality, it’s utterly defeating to just subject ourselves to one thought process when so many possibilities await us. It’s utterly defeating to sit down and not attempt to explore an event or significant occurrence and just pass it off as an act of god. Groucho Marx once said “I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn’t arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I’m going to be happy in it.” “What the…” examines human responsibility and our ability to discover our surroundings and how we as dominant objects in this world have the chance to alter our reality and our surroundings without the help of an outside mysterious force. While some would view this as a spiritual film, I tended to view it more as an argument for reason and logic. And it’s an engrossing look at such a concept. I was never sure what the film was attempting to accomplish when all was said and done.
The creators take such lengths to appeal to all the audiences that it really feels scattered. It’s an underwhelming entry in to these existential film entries, but it’s also really scattered. We’re at times bombarded with condescending cartoons involving these blobs in our body representing our impulses which are loud, obnoxious, and basically incredibly unnecessary. It really felt a lot like padding for a subject that couldn’t make up an entire ninety minutes. Was it an attempt to garner interest from children, or just talk down to what is a basically alienating film? And then there were the scenes with Marlee Matlin which completely took me out of the film. She’s a combination of both a discoverer who continues coming across these celestial figures teaching her about the properties of quantum physics while we gradually become more and more involved with her personal life as she attends her friends wedding, thinks back to when her husband cheated on her, dances and enjoys herself, and really just has no point to her presence.
Matlin’s performance seems like an attempt at real acting, but really her segments are really annoying, uninteresting, and just meandering from the actual topic that we should be focusing on. And just when I was sure it was appealing to logic, it begins sneaking in little tidbits of spiritual lectures, and our ability to be in a state of mind where we can ask a higher power for help during the day which was less insightful and more droning. It was almost like watching Manson speak. At first he’s coherent and then he starts rambling which causes you to walk away. Narrow-minds, and short attention spans need not apply, “What the…” is a profound paradigm about alternative thinking, and philosophy, and challenges everything that make up our reality and existence. Though it does influence some spirituality sneakily, and can be pretty ridiculous, it’s still a fascinating account of free thinking.