Koyaanisqatsi: Life Out of Balance
The movie Koyaanisqatsi was directed by Godfrey Reggio in 1982. Koyaanisqatsi is a word that comes from the Hopi Indian Tribe and it means “life out of balance”. Reggio uses different moving scenes to communicate his arguments. He starts out with different scenes of nature and gradually moves to scenes with people and different forms of technology. Each scene is either sped up or slowed down to help Reggio prove his point; he was trying to prove that even though modern technology can be great and helpful and beautiful, it can not compare to the beauty found in nature.
As the movie starts out, Reggio shows clips of moving clouds and of the oceans tides to show the calmness and the beauty of nature. He goes on to show how beautiful the lines are on the canyons and mountains. He also gives images of different plants growing. Each image is either sped up or slowed down to really show the beauty that all of them have. The beauty of nature is over looked most of the time because people are so used to seeing these images every single day. I believe that Reggio is trying to not only show that beauty in nature, but to also make people realize that they need to pay more attention to the beauty that nature has to offer.
Throughout the movie, Reggio starts to add in images of technology. He shows how technology tries to mimic nature, whether it is in its lines or in its chaotic movement. He shows the reflection of the clouds on the skyscraper, trying to show how modern building structures can show the beauty of nature. The chaotic movement of the cars on the streets, going through the street lights and moving along on the highways mimics the quickness of nature.
I agree with the argument that technology can not compare to the beauty found in nature. Although modern technology can try to imitate the beauty of nature, it is not the same as actually experiencing the beauty first hand in nature. I think that is important that people appreciate the beauty nature has to offer and to not take it for granted. I think that Reggio does an excellent job with putting the different scenes in the order that he does because it shows how the calmness and beauty of nature has turned into the chaotic, busy life that we have today.
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