I rented this not really knowing what it was – as I imagine is the case with most people who’ve seen it. I’d heard buzz from the indie film circles about this strange movie that melds documentary filmmaking and feature film into a cohesive piece. When I found out that the film dealt with quantum physics, I had to see it. I love reading and watching shows on theoretical physics (that’s my inner geek needing his fix.)
Well, to cut to the chase, this is nothing more than a recruitment film for Ramtha’s School of Enlightenment. JZ Knight, a portly middle-aged woman who actually claims to be channeling a 35,000-year-old warrior named Ramtha, runs the School of Enlightenment. I’ll say that again – she claims to be channeling a 35,000-year-old warrior named Ramtha. Knight and her followers are inserted throughout the film, discussing quantum physics. In many cases they are eloquent when speaking about science (although I’m not sold on their accuracy.) We all run into a little trouble when the science stops and the theology begins.
Essentially, the argument is this: Given advancements in our understanding of the universe we can deduce there are multiple universes, all of which we control. Multiple universes translates into there being no right and wrong. You can make it up as you go along because you are god since you are a part of everything and everything is a part of you. Uh, yeah...right...in English that translates to: "There is no right or wrong - except us, we're right!"
I kept waiting for them to tell me to drink the Kool-Aid and join the mother ship.
What is so dangerous about this film is that it is, at times, very alluring. The lies they tell are really half lies. Half lies are more dangerous because they seem more like the truth.
The success this film has had with indie audiences exposes how plain stupid this crowd truly is. Anyone with a modicum of awareness and discernment will see this film for what it is: crackpot junk science and half-baked pretend theology. Apparently there are a large number of people out there who are so lost they will believe anything...even a portly middle-aged woman who actually claims to be channeling a 35,000-year-old warrior named Ramtha.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Leoniceno
Yep, I'd read some about this. They might as well have released a video version of Jonathan Livingston Seagull or something. Well, that book was at least coherent.
Anyway, the cover art is kind of a tip-off.
2 - Triniman
It's pure crap. I can't believe people actually find meaning in it.
3 - Josia
Hi Nehring!
I've been on here posting about this event for the last couple of weeks - Four Bleep Scientists & A Kabbalist -http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/03/09/173740.php
According to reports I've heard the event went extremely well and I suggest watching the news for coverage. It will hopefully clarify all the issues you raised.
You can start reading a bit on www.kabbalah.info if you want in the meantime.
J.
4 - Mike
I thought the film was excellent entertainment and I have watched it twice. If I were expecting a lesson on quantum physics, philosophy, or spiritual mediumship, I might have been sorely dissapointed yet this film was put together as entertainment, nothing more. To present it in review as anything other than entertainment demonstrates a level of ignorance about art.
The references to right/wrong that Nehring makes in her/his review I don't understand. On the one hand it seems that Nehring is making informed statments about the accuracy and scientific content of the the film yet, on the other hand, concludes that either the participants or the film-makers (or both) believe that their's is the only valid opinion. Rubbish.
It is this kind of reviewing that impresses me as biased and manipulative, and in in this case plagurised. Yes, this opinion of Nehring's is not original, with the exception of Indie audiances being "stupid", now that's original, not very scientific and discounts Nehring's position as racially motivated.
Let's not confuse Art/Entertainment with scientific depth and accuracy. For me this was a highly entertaining 90 minutes and has gone further than any other film that I'm aware of in the last 50 years to explaining quantum theory and more.
Let me expose one myth: JZ Knight never channeled a 35,000 warrior named Ramtha in the film. To state otherwise as "fact" is false and unsubstantiated. What she believes she was doing or what she may have been doing can only be speculated.
I highly recommend this film as great value, fun, and thought provoking.
5 - alienboy
I completely fail to understand why some wascky new age religion would be trying to co-opt science.
Are they so swept up in this dizzy idea as to imagine that any rational person would believe this nonsense? Or that their unique logic could withstand (blog)criticism?
6 - Josia
Alienboy - you better start getting your facts straight before you post - wacky new age religion? Come on you can do better than that. Kabbalah is the oldest source - actually the first source in the world and it is not a religion - it is a precise science for understanding everything in reality. And don't worry about not understanding - there's always your next life to look forward to :)
The world's leading scientists are not threatened by this information - just the opposite. I'll be posting about the event within the hour - stay tuned.
7 - richard edwards
I found this film very thought provoking. Any movie that dose that is OK. Yes, there were times when it was hokey and hard to watch but I almost intuitively understood the points that the film was trying to make.
Based on Nehrings "review" I would say that he made up his mind and then closed it in the first ten minutes.
8 - alienboy
Josia, if you actually have any facts, bring them on!
Just cos kabbalah may be old doesn't prevent it from being a wacky new age religion.
And i looked at your kabbalah site and found that "the essence of the wisdom of Kabbalah... provides a practical method for understanding the goal of creation and our purpose in life: achieving tranquility, eternity, and unbounded joy while still living in this world. In this manner a person takes control over his life and transcends the boundaries of time and space.
Our goal is to assist you embark on the first stages of the path to spiritual ascent and attainment of the spiritual realms. Author: Rabbi Michael Laitman"
That sounds exactly like a wacky religion to me. And as we ALL only have one life, I'll take my understanding where I can find it thank you.
Richard Edwards: There are a million films that can make you think, but not all thoughts are good. Any movie that tries to make me believe in some pointless drivel is bad even if it forces me to think to resist the drivel presented.
Just cos some film with an agenda is made, I don't have to give it the respect of watching it or taking it seriously. And that doesn't mean I have a closed mind, just been there, done that; if you want a re-think, give me new information...
9 - Nehring
Well, I guess I've kicked over the theological can of worms...
I need to correct a couple of Mike's claims.
Mike, it is a serious thing to call someone a racist or a plagiarist. The former is socially unacceptable and the latter is a crime.
You inferred I was a racist because I believe Indie audiences are a bunch of dim-eyed goofs for embracing this movie. Indie audiences are actually not a racially specific group. "Indie" refers to Independent audiences - people who partake in the "independent film" movement. I assume you were under the impression I was referring to people from India. To the careful reader, this would be clear.
The charge of plagiarism is ridiculous. My words are my own. My thinking is my own. Are there others out there who share my opinion that this movie is nothing more than diaper lining? Yep. Plenty of people have written about it. This does not make me a plagiarist. Unoriginal? Sure. Plagiarist? No. A plagiarist actually uses someone else's expression of an idea. You should repost and attack me for my lack of original thought.
Moving on, you said, "If I were expecting a lesson on quantum physics, philosophy, or spiritual mediumship, I might have been sorely dissapointed." This movie attempts to offer lessons on quantum physics and philosphy. That is the whole point of the movie. I'm confused on what you thought this movie was about if not that? This is a documentary that uses fictional vignettes to express its points.
This movie is intended to instruct as much as an episode of "Frontline" or "Nova". The problem I have is that the science and the philosphy exposed are weak at best, if just not outright wrong.
10 - goblover
My boyfriend and i have watched the movie 3 times now and are fasinated with it each time. Before doing so we had watched the Nova Specials The elegant universe which kept us looking for more information. Finally something that is based on math. Albert Einsteins hopes for General relativity is the basis of string theory, quantums physics is derived from string theory. The ideas behind this movie where scientifically and mathematically proven ( I might not be able to cite an example of this in the movie off hand But if you understand the true meaning of the m theory and general relativity you already know the corelation.) Anyways we are all naive' to think of these ideas as cult like, The phillosophers and scientists are very well spoken and educated and regaurded as reliable. Sure there is the crazy ramtha bitch but that is just stereotyping the show as unreasonable, when if taken in the right context with an open mind it can be a trully enlightening thing.
11 - Mike
Re: Nehring's retort
You cannot "correct" anything that I say Nehring and to imply so demonstrates an arrogant behaviour.
When you used the words "how plain stupid this crowd truly is", whether Indie or Indian, represents a generalisation and therefore a prejudicial and biased belief about a collective group of people. The judgement of any person or group of people as "stupid" further offers a glimpse into the way you characterise and marginalise others in your own thinking in order to make a point. If you check your American history you might discover that this is one of the reasons the civil rights movement was established.
I'm not sure what "crime" you are referring to. In a country where litigiousness is as common as a "Big Mac" there probably is a case of law that might cover this exchange in the US. I don't agree with your original review because it seemed to communicate biased and prejudicial opinions.
I'm not convinced that you or anyone other than the film makers have the ability to say what the intention of the film was on any level. Perhaps what you mean is that your opinion or beliefs are "this and that". Rather than simply stating this directly, you seem (to me) to write as an authority on such things as: the intention of the film makers, the mental prowress of Indie audiances, or the meaning of the film, none of which you present as your opinion but rather as the all-knowing, all-seeing, prophet of film critique. Therefore I assert "plagiarism" in the meaning of:
1. A piece of writing that has been copied from someone else and is presented as being your own work.
2. The act of plagiarising; taking someone's words or ideas as if they were your own.
12 - Jon
This entire subject has everything to do with ancient Babylonian Mystery School. From re-incarnation to Atlantean entities that are channelled through mediums....there is nothing new under the sun as Solomom so eloquently stated. Yes, the spirit entity calling itself, Ramtha, does know quite abit about the fabric of reality since he's been existing for thousands of years and has an angelic intellect. Please understand, the concept of evo;ution didn't start with Darwin , it's as old as the tower of Babel and Nimrod. Listen closely.....mankind..spiritual enlightenment...progress...acheiving Godhood....That is the LIE of the serpent in Genesis 3. Same old B.S. Far from self-realization and getting control of my life and thinking that I'm a god....I willingly bow my knee to the truth of Jesus the Messiah and champion of mankind. Only through knowing Him by the seed (word) of God can we ever be freed from the prison of SELF and become joined with Him in His perfection. Ramtha is a fallen angelic entity that is out to deceive and turn people from REPENTENCE and FAITH in the one true God. With the Mystery Schools of Babylon there is no SIN, DEATH JUDGEMENT or HELL. Wrong. Very wrong. The New World Order will institute this as the only religion that's acceptable in the coming age. Mystery Babyon.
13 - sinneD
Goblover,
The Elegant Universe is an excellent show, but you missed one of the main premises in the show: String Theory cannot yet be "proven" as it is not falsifiable. There are currently no experiments that can be done to test it, and thus far, it more closely resembles a philosophy similar to Ramtha or Jon's Messiah. Most of the ideas in this film are a pseudo-science, like "intelligent design", they don't offer tests that can be performed that can prove the theory wrong, and therefore cannot be proven. Speaking of philosophy, hey Jon, when Jesus comes back, can I have your house. Oh wait, he's not coming back. Sorry.
14 - jon
Yes, thank you. He is my Messiah. I need a savior, you see, because I realize that I have sinned.
The fact that Jesus is the Christ is PROVABLE unlike String Theory, but most people don't have a love of the truth. Their eyes are blinded and they are under a God sent delusion. (see 2 Thess.)If you are an evolutionist, you are waaayyy behind in current scientific evidence. But then again, you do not want to know the truth because it will lead you to the knowledge that you will give account of your life to a Holy God....not the universal-pantheistic-non-personal god of J.Z. and all other New Age expounders, but the God of the Bible. All science leads to this truth....a single cell is far more complex that New York City...chemical systems that must all be in operation for the cell to live....impossible to evolve step by step...but...you must LOVE THE TRUTH....your eyes are closed.
"Professing to be wise they became fools and their foolish hearts were darkened." "The fool has said in his heart, there is no God." Are you willing to be chipped? To take the subdermal implant RFID microchip that is being used internationally? Oh, first it will be the National I.D. card that has the chip in it.....but soon, as in Europe and Mexico and New Zealand...you will be required to take the chip. The sciptures are true and the Beast is a ruling world government. Cashless society. Can't buy or sell without it. This is FACT. It is happening right now. You will take the mark because you reject "Jon's Messiah". Wake up and do some research in the scriptures then in the news....Earthquake activity is one of the main warnings that Jon's Messiah gave as a sign. Ramtha and all other evolution/reincarnation teachers are nothing more than the entities that the scriptures warned us about. They actually prove the bible is true if you will cl;osely listen to what they are trying to make you believe/ not believe.
15 - rvz
kabbalah is a sect, and it took my father. kabbalah is not a science, it is only a sect!!!and this film was very very big nonsense!
16 - Eric Olsen
I found the micro-science and dramatized aspects fascinating and not without some truth. We all can live without the Ramtha pyscho-bitch
17 - Eric Olsen
rvz, tell kabbalah to give him back
18 - Concerned
I am very disturbed at the quickness of some people to accept the hucksters in this film as “phillosophers and scientists.” Why did you decide that these nitwits are “regaurded as reliable?” Do you really believe that anyone deserving of your respect would help produce an infomercial for a dangerous cult? Have you never seen a real philosopher or a real scientist?
David Albert, the one actual physics expert in the film, says that he was "edited in such a way as to completely suppress my actual views about the matters the movie discusses. I am, indeed, profoundly unsympathetic to attempts at linking quantum mechanics with consciousness ... Had I known that I would have been so radically misrepresented in the movie, I would certainly not have agreed to be filmed."
After reviewing the qualifications of the other so-called experts, I found one to be a chiropractor and another a child molester. Calling these nitwits “phillosophers and scientists” is deeply insulting to people who have worked hard to deserve the title.
It is also disturbing when people think that they learned a lot about science by watching this film. You haven’t learned anything! Water molecules cannot crawl out of a bottle, read the label, crawl back in and translate the language for their friends. Your body is not 90% water. The crime rate cannot be lowered by sitting on your ass and chanting. Quantum effects do not affect our consciousness because the distance between the nerve synapse in our brain is two orders of magnitude too large for quantum effects to be influential.
The real message of the movie is that nothing is real and we can change reality merely by consciously choosing it to be different. If you really believe that you can do this, I invite you to jump off a tall building and chose a different outcome than the inevitable splat.
Isn’t it funny how we can send a space probe to Saturn and find that the same natural laws apply in a place where no human has ever been to establish them? Shouldn’t an insane asylum be a chaotic place of changing architecture and variable physical laws if the inmates were choosing the reality?
It’s no wonder that our country is in so much trouble when so many of our citizens are willing to swallow a turd like this just because it is presented in a pretty package.
http://willametteweek.com/print.php?story=5860
19 - DrWho
Well coming late to the party... but..I said I’d respond to Nehring.. :-)
I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed the show. To me the central theme of the show is we control our reactions to the world. To me the movie said, we have control. I loved the scene where she is looking in the mirror and decides not to hate her self for her short coming, but love herself, not because she purchased the right toothpaste, but because she decided too! Wow… many people are still stuck in the idea that they only victims of the world. That theme alone buys a plus from this reviewer.
And the polish wedding reception, Ufda! I was sucking air as everyone was dancing with there IV’s full of chemical peptides. Just thinking of it makes me smile. The little figures for hate, shame, lust, anger, ect... If we could only truly seem them in real life, in other and ourselves. I haven’t has so much fun with inner dialog since reading Dune!
Well how about he more questionably parts of the film, like we’re all gods, or there is no right or wrong (but thinking makes them so) and additions are bad. I found it interest to look at the ideas ( I can see you rolling your eyes on this one). Language is important, and I’m not a lawyer so bear with my fit of fancy. Instead of saying were all gods, how about where all CEO’s of our own life? And a lot of the rights and wrong in the world have been told to us by some authority. Isn’t it time we start making those decisions for ourselves. I mean at one point in our countries history , it was wrong for women to vote and right to own people as things/property.
….
I cant understand why people object to this movie. With all the movies filled with crap and violence, I found this one refreshing and enjoyable. And as for people worrying about this being a recruiting film, how about Sin City, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, the 10pm news or Van Helsing… (ok I liked Sin City, but still)
In the end were all just 'product' being sold to advertisers
Worred about what on TV/Movies check out
http://www.mediafamily.org
I think I’ll get back to reading ‘As a man thinketh’….
20 - Neal from Florida
I'm receiving a message from my 35,000 year old conscience that this movie is best BELIEVED if you're not willing to do SOME critical thinking.
Yeah, I know. I'm closed minded. Beats being dilusional.
21 - Teressa
I was not sure what to expect from this film, after seeing it, my husband and I were not too surprised by what they said, we already knew through expirence that you effect everything in the universe with your thoughts. That is the difference between KNOWING and BLIND BELIEF. One is spiritual, the other is a popular religion slowly going downhill.
22 - pkosbill
After reading jon, Im glad to live far away from the US.
By the way, I have read Brian Greens book "The Elegant Universe", it has a looot more content than the TV documentary.
I´d like to say more, but I have to get up early, tomorrow I have take my subdermal implant chip for a check up in my local Bigbrother dealer.
:)
23 - Duane
... a 35,000-year-old warrior named Ramtha
Holy shit! What's his secret? Does he work out, is it his diet, some combination of the two? This guy could make a boatload of cash if he wrote a self-help book. Hell, if I could make it to 1000, I'd be pretty happy. Is Ramtha his first name or his last name? What do Creationists think about some guy who was born before the beginning of time? Does Ramtha know God? If so, I wish the channeler chick would ask Ramtha what God is like in "person."
24 - Jeremy
Well, I think there is a basic message that is being brushed aside, and in some cases over stated (by those that are critical of the "philosophy" of the film). That message is that people too often let their emotions define their realities. I don't think the idea here is that by thinking, you can completely alter the world around you, i.e. turn matter from one state to another. Instead, the message is that you can choose how you respond to things, and that you can control, at least to some degree, what happens in your life. The film gets hokey by trying to state a simple idea in a very fancy way. The quantum physics and water "experiment" seem like smoke and mirrors to me. A better synopsis of this concept for me at least, is in The Four Agreements. The author's name escapes me, but I think it eloquently states the intended message of Bleep. I would hope that most people are able to see the good message of the film while avoiding the fairly obvious gaffes. Unfortunately, I think most people will likely dismiss this as drivel, and that is in large part the responsibility of the film makers. By the way, most of you are taking each other way too personally. Let it go!
25 - Phillip Winn
This film was such an extensive collection of nonsense, I couldn't believe anybody had ever given it a good review. Deep thoughts? Yeah, if you're 18 and smoking weed in a college dorm, reveling in the independence of it all (never mind the parents fronting the tuition).
If people can take away something useful from the film, great. I'd be surprised if any two people took away the same useful thing, though. In other words, people will take away what they bring, and nothing more.
Jeremy, try an experiment. Find a dozen people who haven't seen the movie, give them no hints, and show them the film. Again, giving no hints, have them each write down what they saw as the message of the movie. I'd be shocked if any two were even remotely similar.