Return to Steve Franklin Home PagePowaqqatsi Presentation
Powaqqatsi, or Powaqqatsi: Life in
Transformation, is the 1988 sequel to the 1982 film Koyaanisqatsi,
by Godfrey Reggio and Phillip Glass(Our
February selection. It is the second film in the trilogy.
As before, the filmmakers created a movie with no dialogue,
no narration. It is simply a marriage
of beautiful, powerful cinematography and musical composition.
(Koyanisqatsi was about the Northern Hemisphere: hyperkinetic and industrial). Powaqqatsi is … About the
Southern Hemisphere (cultures of orality, a “handmade” living … of tradition)
From Hopi mythology
“Powaqa is a black magician, an entity that eats the life of another
person .. to advance [its] own life… operates through seduction, through
allurement”
Qatsi—a way of life
Powaqqatsi: a way of life that consumes another way of life
to advance itself.
Reggio’s viewpoint, expressed in the film, “This world is a
mysterious unity held together through the web of diversity” But, he is concerned, “Our world is getting
consumed by the norms of progress and development.”
I believe he is not, so much, presenting a point of view
that vilifies industrialization, but expressing concern that it runs the risk
of destroying diverse ways of life.
But, in any event, he encourages you to have your own
experience, to develop you own viewpoint.
There are numerous scenes of such beauty and fascination
that I am tempted to stop and replay them over and over. What holds me back is the knowledge that
there are always more coming, right to
the end.
I encourage you, as you observe the locations, to imagine
what it might be like to live in those places, with those lifestyles, with the
beauty, the simplicity, the ancient ways, or the poverty. Notice the connection between some of the
cultures’ ceremony-art-dance, and the work they do.
The Spiritual/Positive Psychology principles presented
include: Perspective—see all
the different lifestyles depicted
social intelligence,-- look at some of the traditions
represented
humility,-- humility in the diversity of values that caution
us to avoid believing there is only one best way
appreciation of beauty--- in the scenic world,.
.. and transcendence, as we appreciate the inspiration in
this work
Locations we will travel through include
Peru
Brasil
Kenya
Egypt
Israel
Hong Kong
Nepal
India
& inexplicably in this “southern hemisphere” work,
Berlin and France
Opening scene: Open pit goldmine in northern Brazil,
15,000(Glass; “40,000”-Reggio men
carrying dirt (Serra Pelada") half kilometer deep (Glass; 60
stories, Reggio)..Man hit on head with rock.[slow motion… also intercut with a
sort of visual overture
As we leave that scene, with it’s
frentic score, the music shifts to a piece called “Anthem”, returns in
several variations throughout the film.
You may find it familiar, as it was used in The
Truman Show and several film trailers, including Dead
Man Walking.
This film sits on
my short list, perhaps at the top, of my favorite works of art.
Wikipedia
Powaqqatsi, or Powaqqatsi: Life in
Transformation, is the 1988 sequel to
the experimental 1982 documentary film Koyaanisqatsi, by Godfrey Reggio. It is the second
film in the trilogy.
Powaqqatsi is a Hopi word meaning "parasitic
way of life" or "life in transition". While Koyaanisqatsi
focused on modern life in industrial countries, Powaqqatsi, which
similarly has no dialogue, focuses more on the conflict in third world countries between
traditional ways of life and the new ways of life introduced with
industrialization. As with Koyaanisqatsi and the third and final part of
the 'Qatsi' trilogy, Naqoyqatsi,
the film is strongly related to its soundtrack, written by Philip Glass. Here, human voices
(especially children's and mainly from South America and Africa) appear more than in Koyaanisqatsi, in harmony
with the film's message and images.
In the beginning
chapter, "Serra Pelada", men from Serra Pelada (a gold mine in
Brazil) are seen carrying bags of dirt up to a destination. In the middle of
the chapter, various shots outside of Serra Pelada are shown. Near the end of
the chapter, a few men are carrying another man who was struck by a falling
rock (mentioned in the "Impact of progress" feature on the DVD)
uphill along a procession of workers who are carrying dirt filled sacks. After
that, several discordant layered exposures of the dirt carriers are shown. The
scene cross fades to show the image of a head, with multiple exposures of the
same head rapidly rotating and layered upon to give a manifold appearance. This
is an apparent allusion to Janus,
the god of beginnings, endings and transitions, keeping with the film's central
themes of progress and change. After that, the film's title is shown in red.
The juxtaposition
of the traditional and the modern in Powaqqatsi
In Anthem: Part
1, the sun rises up above an African village. Later, a man raises a sail
for a boat. The next chapter, That Place, starts zooming out from a
waterfall. Children can be heard laughing. Villages are shown as well as
children and upside down water reflections. Anthem: Part 2 has various
shots of villages and islands shown.
Mosque and
Temple shows various
natural shots as well as religious scenes. Some of these scenes are a
transparent inside a church with someone walking by, a black man praying, a
monk sitting while a bird flies off his stick, the same monk walking by the
river, a bird flying by a sunset, more children (similar to the final scene in
"That Place"), crows flying above a river, two men rowing their boat
in that river, a woman praying in the Ganges River, two men doing yoga, another monk, and a temple in Nepal.
Influence
Composer Phillip
Glass more deeply involved from the beginning, traveling to the locations,
sometimes with Reggio, sometimes not.
conflict in third world
countries between traditional ways of life and the new ways of life introduced
with industrialization
more human voices
on soundtrack
“Janus”/”Titles, Anthem
1 (Heard in Truman Show, Dead Man Walking, numerous film trailers
Sun rising on
African village
Women carrying
baskets on head
Boat (s)
(Other carrying)
Various scenes…
villages, farms
That Place
Waterfall (stream
through house, for cooling) with children’s voices
Woman stepping
elegantly into walled enclave
Milling grains
Reflected water
street scene, Tree with rising heat distortion
Grain carriers
Running boys, Quiet
(sullen?) children
Anthem Part 2
Aerial/Village/Farm/Boats/Water
village/Farming/tools
People Doing work/
Washing/Market
Mosques and Temple
Sunrises
Religious scenes
Urban scenes
Dancing/ritual/Color!
(mostly slow motion) work as dance/ritual
Passing Coal train
Urban Aerial
Commmerical
Dream sequence
Apartment complexes
Crowd scenes,
Police or military
World percussion
piece
Urban scenes (Some
reminiscent of Slumdog Millionaire)
Anticipatory/Horn
Music
Urban/Carrion
Birds/Mass transport
Mass washing
village
Dumping/Burning
Urgent Music
Feet, urban
Carrying
Repeats numerous
urban/industrial themes
Boy/truck
Arabic Singer
Junk Car
Faces
Ghostly Images
Boy emerges from
dust by road
Anthem/Credits
Images photographed
as they happened; only one set up: boy walking down road in Luxor with truck
passing by, stirring up dust (Actually occurred naturally, but equipment not
ready, so boy was asked to wait for next truck.
Don’t need to have
seen Koyaanisqatsi
This is a reminder
that next Friday’s Unity Spiritual Movies showing will be “Powaqqatsi“(Friday,
August 13 Unity Christ Church, 33 N. Skinker Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63105. Admission is free, although donations are
accepted. As usual, we will start at
7:00 with a brief introduction and follow with an optional group conversation.)
Powaqqatsi is the
follow-up to Koyaanisqatsi, which was our selection in February . As before, the filmmakers created a movie
with no dialogue, no narration. It is
simply a marriage of beautiful, powerful cinematography and musical
composition. Again, I believe, the viewer
has an unusual opportunity to create an experience of unconscious connection to
the people and our world through the mind and heart. It can create a direct
experience of beauty and emotion.
(There are no plots, themes or characters established or carried over
from the previous movie; you won’t be at a disadvantage starting with the
second movie in the sequence)
The title comes
from the Hopi language, translated as "life in transformation”. Powaqqatsi
is more international in flavor, and more focused on people in their
environments rather than other structures of nature or human construction. We
see people at work, in celebration or in repose.
It was released in
1988, again created in collaboration between Director Godfrey Reggio and
music composer Philip Glass.
This film sits on
my short list, perhaps at the top, of my favorite works of art.