A discussion of Koyaanisqatsi
Jeroen
Not all those who wander are lostNetherlands Veteran
Last night I found myself unexpectedly awake and ended up chatting, as you do, to ChatGPT about the 1982 documentary Koyaanisqatsi. I thought I knew the film pretty well, having watched it several times, but my chatbot partner still managed to surprise me with some good insights. For those who don’t know the film, it’s a documentary without voiceovers or characters, showing a progression of scenes from natural desert to industrial locations to various places inside an unspecified city.
What I found fascinating about the film is how it tells the story of humanity and its environment. In the beginning there is the old world, the natural world, and then slowly we come across the world mankind is making for himself. Terence McKenna once said “humankind extrudes artefacts” and I think there is some truth in that, by making artefacts we are setting the world more to our hand, storing up the work of today for the convenience of tomorrow.
But are we creating a world that is liveable, and allows for finding depth and meaning? Through the process of speeding up time, the film reveals that by creating a patterned world, mankind is condemned to live in those patterns, and he becomes something of an automaton. Productivity replaces meaning, efficiency becomes the ultimate virtue, everything has to be done at breakneck speed. Towards the end of the film a number of people are shown in slow-motion, commenting visually on how the little things we value, a cigarette or an ice cream, keep us going through a day where we otherwise sleep walk.
The film ends with showing a rocket launch, which explodes spectacularly as it heads up into the atmosphere. This is the films metaphor for humanity, that by destroying the natural world and creating our own world, we are losing key parts of our humanity to do with slow living, contemplation, the unexpected in our lives. The title, Koyaanisqatsi, comes from the Hopi language and means “life out of balance”.
The quest for speed, efficiency, the optimising of the processes of living so that more profit can be generated, this is the heritage of the Industrial Revolution driven by capitalism. The pursuit of wealth is what ultimately is at the root of this ‘rocket launch’, this rapid and dangerous evolution of our society and indeed our world. Through all kinds of interacting parts of society we are losing sight of what it means to live slowly and contemplate.
It is also interesting that the film doesn’t show any outsiders, or a path out of the modern society’s patterns. Perhaps it does not want to give the viewer hope that there is a way out.
Comments
I’m slowly becoming convinced that once you go deeper with an analysis of Koyaanisqatsi the film reveals itself to be a profound philosophical work on a par with the greats of history. Because the tendencies that are revealed by the film originate from the Western mind — the search for truth begets science, science begets industry, industry leads to the encoding of behaviour in machines and ultimately computer technology.
There is a certain inevitability to this, a kind of Greek tragedy that our defining characteristics lead to a state where automation invades the human spirit, and machine virtues like efficiency and productivity take over from human virtues.
Non-narrative documentaries like this, the other two installments + also Baraka, Samsara are powerful works, but of course Koyaanisqatsi was the most groundbreaking one and it is thought provoking.
I’m familiar with Baraka and Samsara, they are visually arresting works and technically much better than Koyaanisqatsi, but I do not think they carry the same coherent vision as the earlier film. Baraka is a visual exploration of the spiritual, while Samsara explores Buddhist visions of suffering and stress.
Baraka stands on its own, as a quieter, less narratively intense cousin of Koyaanisqatsi, but it also provides an answer to the first film’s prophecy. It shows the religious experience as still being a valid life direction in many parts of the world, although it also drives conflict.
And what do you think about the other two qatsi films?
I’m having some trouble finding them… they are not on iTunes, where I usually buy digital films, and I haven’t seen them on YouTube either.
You want to check them on Letterboxd. It usually lists all kinds of streaming and rental services where a movie is available.
I just rewatched Samsara, and I have to say if you have watched and thought about Koyaanisqatsi it becomes a different (and better) experience. Both films are a commentary on modern living, and while Samsara also draws parallels with indigenous communities the comparison with nature in Koyaanisqatsi is a much more dominant theme.
In a way these two films are in a dialogue with each other. Koyaanisqatsi warns of life out of balance, and Samsara talks about why it is out of balance, how desire and craving lead people on to convenience-filled automated lives in cities. It’s a fascinating comparison.
I'm down with Greek Tragedy - I suppose your topic includes such timeless themes as the protagonist wanting to have sex with his mother and to kill his father, unknowing, of course, but the final revelation of this, is truly tragic. And let's not forget the perennial, and so-called Greek Chorus.