Koyaanisquatsi- Melissa Faller

Life out of Balance is the perfect title for the film Koyaanisqatsi. In the beginning of the film the cinematography was spectacular. There were beautiful shots of nature that made me want to explore the earth and its unknowns even more than I ever have before. I was ready to get up out of my chair and go on a hike right then and there. It reminded me off the beauty of the earth and the wonderful spiritual feeling I get when I go for a hike or just the sense of peace when I sit outside and appreciate the world for what it is. As the movie continued on the visuals were no longer as beautiful. I no longer felt comfortable in my chair—I wanted to run out of the room again but not to go for a hike but rather to run to the bathroom to throw up. I remember specifically telling Susan Watkins after the class that I felt as if I was going to throw up. I don’t know if it was the visuals of the world being taking over by humans and losing their beauty that made me nauseas or if it was the fast moving images that made me motion sickness. Either way the film accomplished what I believe it was trying to accomplish. It made me feel as if my life was out of balance. It made me realize the influence technology and humans are having over the world. This influence is making our society a lot more marterialistic and with that we are losing the truth that nature gives us. I was reading an article in the newspaper the other day about how society is full of narcissist and how we are proud to be narcissists. We are no longer concerned about others or the truths that the spiritual offer us but rather about what we can do to improve ourselves. We want a fast paced world and don’t care who we hurt or run over in the process. I feel that this film did a great job portraying this. For society today truly is out of balance.