Koyaanisqatsi

            

                                                          The Experience of Silent Films

           

            The film Koyaanisqatsi is a 1983 silent film directed by Godfrey Reggio. The film forces one out of their ordinary viewing habits due to the fact that it requires you to really watch instead of relying on dialogue. The film forces people out of their ordinary viewing habits because ordinarily, one is required to listen to the dialogue in the film and not just watch the cinematography.  Although it’s easier to watch movies with dialogue, the film Koyaanisqatsi proves that silent films can be just as powerful.

            Koyaanisqatsi showed through a series of pictures and videos, that humans have destroyed nature and will continue to over time. The film begins by focusing on elements of the earth and their beauty, untouched by humans. It then slowly starts introducing destruction and how humans have been its primary source.

            The fact that Koyaanisqatsi is a silent film, it has the effect to make one uncomfortable, especially if they don’t know what to expect. Viewing a silent film like Koyaanisqatsi is just an opportunity to experience something new and different. It makes people uncomfortable only because it isn’t what we watch for movies and entertainment in today’s society.

The film was incredibly well produced and thought out. It was different to watch because one had to focus so much on little details in order to understand the importance of the film.  For example, the film de-familiarizes ones perspective through the shifts in colors and its unique use of straight lines. The film had a way of manipulating ones mind to see images other than what was actually photographed. The clouds were sped up to a point where one couldn’t tell if they were looking at clouds or waves, and also in the beginning a rocket was shown taking off, but all it looked like was some form of destruction. It was incredibly important to take the minute details into serious consideration, because it was the only way to fully understand the main points of the film. Overall, the film was surprisingly interesting and made a lot of good points about humans and nature combined on planet earth.  Koyaanisqantsi was the first silent film I had ever seen and at first it made me very uncomfortable because I wasn’t willing to give it a chance, and just assumed it would be boring. I learned that not only was it really interesting, but it proved that dialogue isn’t always needed to get the point across.