THE DIVIDED BRAIN HITS TORONTO

Dr. Iain McGilchrist is a soft-spoken psychiatrist who has raised the eyebrows of those who have aligned or have opposed him of his controversial theory.  In his book The Master and His Emissary, he reveals that the left hemisphere of our brain is taking over the world especially in Western thought.  This part of the brain is much responsible for many of the systems and hierarchies that have been placed today.  In addition, technology has helped this progress to levels of where the fate of humanity is in question.   His journey of sharing his theories to the world and exploring it more further with some of the best experts and intellects is documented in the film The Divided Brain which is set to premiere in Toronto on April 9th at the Isabel Bader Theatre.  The film will be followed by a panel discussion with Iain McGilchrist, Norman Doidge, Jordan Peterson and producer Vanessa Dylyn.  FERNTV recently spoke to producer Vanessa Dylyn about what brought her to study Dr. McGilchrist and the making of The Divided Brain.

FERNTV:  When did you first hear about Dr. McGilchrist? 

Vanessa:  In 2012, I read a book review on Iain McGilchrist’s book The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World.  I was intrigued because some of the reviews out of the UK heralded it, as the most important book about the brain and society in 25 years.  McGilchrist was being compared to Freud and Darwin. I started reading the book but I assumed other people were already making a film.

FERNTV:  What part of The Master of the Emissary inspired to go ahead with the film?

Vanessa:  Two parts : where McGilchrist  gradually builds a scientific case to show that the left and right hemispheres of the brain see the world very differently and then later in the book he builds a case for the left hemisphere of the brain gaining dominance over the right and how this is affecting how we live as individuals and a society. I knew then that people had to hear about this idea and that I had to make this film.

FERNTV:  Why do people feel that he is controversial in regards to his theory?

Vanessa:  His theory is controversial because it uses brain science to draw a link from left hemisphere dominance in the brain and how we behave and make decisions in our society today. His work asks a new question: there an imbalance in our brain hemispheres that is affecting how we live in our Western world and how to deal with large problems in our society?

FERNTV:  How did you select the subjects and other experts in the film and was it a collaboration with Dr Ian McGilchrist of selecting these subjects?

Vanessa:  The creative team – myself,  the director Manfred Becker, the writer Stephen Milton, in collaboration with Iain, decided who we should visit in terms of the scientists who had directly affected Iain’s research. Each scientist had to serve a role – illuminate Iain’s work or sow doubt about it.    For the section of the film where we deal with modern problems such as the economy, the environment,  the creative team selected who the experts were, working today who could illuminate some of the planet’s problems and how we may be influenced by using one way of thinking – left hemisphere.  And the anthropology people were in the film to show us that we don’t really have the same brains as the ancient Romans – that our culture influences how our brain perceives reality.

I suggested John Cleese be included in the film because I found out he was a fan of McGilchrist’s work and had recommended his book to his corporate clients to whom he gave seminars on creativity.  So we thought it would be a great idea to film them meeting at the Hunterian Museum in London, which is full of odd skeletons and jars of brains of famous people.  I think it works – it’s a funny scene. Since then, Iain and John have appeared with and without the film at several talks in the UK and the US.

FERNTV:  What are your primary thoughts on his theories about the divided brain?

Vanessa:  I’m not a neuroscientist but McGilchrist has based his theory on thousands of scientific studies and made a credible link to left-hemisphere dominance in our society.  So yes, I’m a convert.

FERNTV:  What was the most challenging aspect of putting The Divided Brain together?

Vanessa:  That is the million dollar question. That was a great struggle.

The director, writer and I worked at it for many months – how could we translate a book that took 20 years to write into a film?  The book does not lend itself to the visual medium so one must create a compelling visual way of constructing the story.  We couldn’t make a dull science-based film.

There are two parts to the book – the science of the left and right hemisphere – the scientific basis of Iain’s thesis.   And then the evolution of human history and its link to brain science.

So we had to cover both parts and then also a  third part, which was:  where were the clues in our modern world, of left brain dominance?  And could we regain some balance in our world?

Creatively, the biggest challenge was how to take the thesis of left brain dominance and link it to some of the problems of our society.  In a nuanced and credible way.  So we revealed the science behind Iain’s thesis by following Iain visiting scientists who had influenced his work.  In this way, we could tell a visual story and have Iain on the move, instead of always in a sit-down interview.   Iain couldn’t be the only link to each scene so we used a narrator to link the scenes whenever necessary.

FERNTV:  Why were Jordan Peterson and Dr. Norman Doige selected to speak in this panel? 

Vanessa:   Dr. Jordan Peterson interviewed  Iain McGilchrist when he was on his London book tour.  Dr. Norman Doidge has written the most popular brain book of all time and he knows both Jordan’s and Iain’s work. They all know each other personally also. So it’s quite a treat for the audience that these three wonderful brains will be able to appear together.  And what a bonus that Norman and Jordan live in Toronto!

FERNTV:  Do you feel that these intellects such as those who are speaking at this panel are the result of the left hemisphere living?

Vanessa:  No, they likely have a fine balance between the right and left hemisphere of the brain.  Anyone who achieves a high level of competence in their field likely has a good balance between both hemispheres.

FERNTV:  How do you see this panel going?  What do you want the audience to take away from the panel and the film?

Vanessa:  People who have bought tickets are already very excited and looking forward to the film and the discussion. I expect It will be an unusual experiencefor the audience – both the film and the stimulating discussion.  They will never see their brain and their world in the same way again.

www.thedividedbrain.com

Buy Tickets by clicking on the link below

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/film-screening-talk-with-dr-norman-doidge-dr-jordan-peterson-tickets-57435405845