Saturday, November 8, 2008

Koyaanisqatsi


Oh Koyaanisqatsi, where to begin? This movie is put together artistically, I will say that much. Koyaanisqatsi obviously had a message but I think some people get it and some people don't. I unfortunately do not get the vision and this movie hurt my head many times. The first half was torture, the music made it hard for me to get involved in the movie. The second half, although the music was still the same, was a tad bit more interesting. Watching people has always been amusing to me and I like how Koyaanisqatsi watched ordinary humans doing everyday things. It wasn't until the end of the movie when I was informed that the name of the movie was being sung. I am glad I didn't catch that until the end because that was the fatal blow for me, I know that I could have not watched the whole movie through knowing the same word was being sung over and over again.

-Laura LaVergne

Koyaanisqasti


This film is very intriguing how it was made in the 197os but foreshadowed to the life we live today, though today it is at a much larger scale. The growth of technology and the industrialization of the world that we live in has had drastic impacts in our environment. Irreversible damage had occurred because the growth of the world and industrialization there are very few scenic and untouched places in the world. Koyaanizqasti did a great job at getting there messages across without the use of words; this allows viewers to take from the film what they wish to, they come up with their own conclusions which shows that the film doesn't push reasoning or information upon the viewer. Do you believe that the creators of the film didn't push information on the viewers and left them to interpret the film on their own?

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Koyaanisqatsi


I had never seen the film, Koyaanisqatsi, before this class. To be honest, I didn't enjoy watching it. I understood the message that technology is harmful to the environment and culture, but that doesn't mean that I was attracted to that message. I thought that the nature scenes were too long, but I liked seeing them. They were very calming and seeing the scenes of pollution and factories were very depressing in contrast. I found the music in the film to be the most frustrating and made it difficult to focus despite the long sequences. I also didn't enjoy a lot of the city scenes because they made me dizzy to watch.

The people portion of the film gave me a much different impression. It reminded me of that saying that humans are viruses. It was hard to watch how routine life has become and I could see myself as one of those people walking by on the street or shopping in the mall. I guess I came away from the film feeling negative and depressed about American life and technology, and because those are both things that I take pride in and am interested in, I had a hard time appreciating a completely negative perspective. I would ask the portion of the class that liked the film if they agreed with Koyaanisqatsi's portrayal of technology and American life?

Koyaanisqatsi all around us



I didn't know what Koyaanisqatsi was let alone it was a time lapsed movie. When I heard that we were going to watch this I thought it was going to be a documentary on a person who is named this. How little do I know?!?! On top of that, I didn't realize how much Godfrey Reggio, the man who directed all of this, would show how normal life goes in just little over an hour.
I watched the video and I was almost hypnotized by the different sights, and with the sounds that went along with it to intensify the situation, it was all a total mind museum. While watching it, I also enjoyed the sights of San Francisco because I was just there recently. To recognize it on film almost felt like a home movie. At the same time, I realized, of course, I wasn't the only one who ever been there, I just had a different experience than what was shown.
I put up the picture of the ladies on the Vegas strip because it was my favorite part. They were so uncomfortable when they were video taped for longer than a minute. I thought that was very humorous. How would you react if that would happen to you?
Sophia Stalliviere

Koyaanisqatsi



I think this movie is representative of why I'm not a big 'art' person. It's just too much for me. Honestly the first day of this film was like hell. I agree with one of the student's comments in class, watching all the nature stuff was incredibly boring, but once we got to see people, it got a bit more interesting to watch. Not by much though. I guess I feel like it's waaaay too long. if this movie were condensed to like 10 minutes I still would have gotten the point (i think the point is relevant simply in the name, you don't even have to think hard). I really don't have a lot to say about the film besides that I dislike it with a passion. 
So, my question is, how could this film be changed to appeal to a larger audience? Or perhaps more importantly, should it be changed at all?


Mayra

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Koyaanisqasti


I didn't hate this film although some parts were boring. Koyaanisqasti, should be ten times better while drinking two or three glasses of wine while viewing it in a widescreen movie theater. The Kayaanisqasti song may allow me to have nightmares. Koyaanisqasti allows the viewer to realize that although technology has changed, we are people, not super-humans. There's millions of bodies in the world and each of us are just a speck in the world no matter how important we think we are. I think the third of the trilogy should be interesting to watch since newer technology is used, (maybe I'll be more motivated for extra credit :) Here is cover of the film. You can see how it reflects new technology. Can you think of any other examples of movie posters that reflect new technology? It shouldn't be too hard to find one. The film "ET" comes to mind right away. "ET phone home"

Sanjana Pahalad

Monday, November 3, 2008

NW Film and Video Festival

Here is the schedule....remember, you have next Wednesday, November 12th off....to compensate for that trip you'll have to make to Portland to see the films. Pick one film you specifically want to write about. (Same deal as the TBA:08 review). If you attend the "shorts" you can write about more than one short film in your response. Remember to attach your ticket stub as proof you attended.

Another Koyaanisqatsi inspired music video

Inspired by Koyaanisqasti-The Strokes "Hard to Explain"