You’d think that after seeing this film for a second time that I’d be less interested and not overwhelmed, but that was proven false on Monday. Seeing it through older eyes and with more environmental knowledge under my belt, I was even more moved and transfixed by the cult film. My heart rate increased, I was greatly affected by the music, and I had a hard time peeling my eyes from the screen. It’s hard to describe my initial reaction, but after reading my blog post from last year’s class, I had similar feelings of being overwhelmed and angry. This time I was less angry. Does that mean I’ve come to terms with the film and/or with society? There are so many grand and memorable moments that create an out of body experience. In the first section of the movie we are presented with tons of beautiful nature shots and pans along with intensifying Hopi music. The combination of the two make the scene so intense and pure that my thoughts are racing a mile a minute even though I’m only looking at a waterfall or the desert. When normally looking at these things, we are peaceful and calm.

I’m curious to know why the director chose to use lower and slower music during some scenes. What do these moments offer? One scene where this occurred was a shot of the dam, so were the film makers giving us a second to breathe to take in the human impacts on the land? A different scene that was difficult to watch was the plane moving slowly towards the camera. It was happening at an uncomfortable pace, but coupled with intense music made it almost unbearable. The film overall gives the idea that humans through industrialization/machines/technology have altered this landscape so quickly after so many years of it being pristine. We are made aware of tribal peoples at the beginning and end through the cave paintings. This gives the message that the land was taken away from these people and then absolutely slaughtered by our industry. I don’t like to think about it because it happened so long ago and there is little to do about it now.

The built environment has allowed Americans to recreate indoors, shop indoors, move from city to city indoors, and basically do everything with a roof above our heads. Our views of the moon are obstructed due to buildings and bright city lights, and there is no way of escaping what we’ve created/built. We move too quickly through life, and that is displayed when the cars are moving north/south/east/west in the city in sped up time. The lights are moving so fast before our eyes, like a video game or TV cartoon. You feel as if there is no way out, you’re trapped in this maze. So what does this film want to accomplish? I left feeling overwhelmed and exhausted after enduring this 1.5 hour sensory overload. The end of the film ends with words, the five Hopi definitions for Koyaanisquatsi which are almost an environmental call to action. Number 5 is the most intriguing which says “A state of life that calls for another way of living”. We aren’t told how to alter our ways, but this movie instills so much fear that maybe it can be possible? Is this film capable of changing our life styles?