Koyaanisqatsi

Whether or not we can fully trust an artist’s verbally stated intention, I don’t think Godfrey Reggio’s reflections regarding his Qatsi trilogy should be overlooked. Indeed, technology has increasingly become the universal platform upon which social change occurs. This phenomenon–the pervasive but often unnoticed role of technology in our lives–emerges as a dominant motif in Reggio’s Koyannisqatsi. Beachgoers sprawled against the backdrop of an enormous power plant, drivers hurtling through rush hour traffic in time-lapse, or laborers picking mechanically at an assembly line–the multitude of humans laboring through these dramatic scenes suggest a certain unawareness, a languor. Perhaps Reggio’s critics’ most compelling evidence for a “negative” Koyannisqatsi are the multitudes of worn faces that skate like zombies through the frame. However, a great number of them appear happy, and a particular few, such as a the fighter pilot, stand beside technology heroically, not to be dominated by the machines that are so essential to their lives. Overall though, the human attitude toward technology in Koyannisqatsi seems ambivalent. That neutrality would coincide with the notion that most people view technology much more as a passive medium than an autonomous being. However, Reggio’s emphasis on the machine gives it character, and a range of emotions on par with that of the humans in the movie.