1) IT IS THANKSGIVING TOMORROW
2) IT IS THANKSGIVING TOMORROW AND I HAVE POTATO DUTY
3) I AM HAVING TURKEY TOMORROW
4) I AM HAVING PUMPKIN AND CRANBERRY PIES TOMORROW
5) MY FRIEND OPENED A BOTTLE OF WINE TODAY AND WE HAD PLENTY OF IT
6) I SAW A PAINFUL BUT REMARKABLY REMARKABLE MOVIE TODAY
7) I STILL MUSTERED A 14 PAGE COMMENTARY OF THE MOVIE
8) I HAVE 4 DAY HOLIDAY
9) I COUNTED 8 BLESSINGS ABOVE
10) SALE IS DAY AFTER TOMORROW
So anyway for conceptual design the teacher (or should I say... The Teacher) made us watch this fucking torturous and arduous movie called.. Koyaanisqatsi. And made us write our thoughts AS we watch the film and after.. And the film was 84 minutes long, with NO dialogue, no plot no main characters. Wanna try and beat that?
The movie was made in the early 80s, and was based on the prophecies of the Hopi people (I didn't know Hopi people existed. I knew Hoppipolla from VALERIE and SONJA but not Hopi people - you get me). And the prophecies state:
- If we dig precious things from the land, we will invite disaster
- Near the day of Purification, there will be cobwebs spun back and forth in the sky.
- A container of ashes might one day be thrown from the sky, which could burn the land and boil the oceans.
I really think the word "precious" is kind of subjective though, don't you think? Precious may = gold and diamond to some. But some people may not view those to be "precious". Unless of course we are generalising that the "Hopi" people are all living in poverty. Or extreme excesses. Saying that those above are prophecies (I take it to mean predictions of the future done by human beings), then they don't get leeway for saying "a container of ashes MIGHT one day be thrown from the sky". Hmmm, I could've said that.
However, cinematographically speaking, this movie/film/whatever these artsy people call it, deserve an award. It was a visual and aesthetic treat in terms of texture, colour, angle.. They were all brilliant. The soundtrack (I hesitate to call it a soundtrack, however, since they only chanted one word in all.. And that was Koyaanisqatsi, the title of the film in different tunes) was hypnotic. Although the teacher already warned us beforehand, I still found myself getting so absorbed, not necessarily in a good or bad way, to the music which was composed by Phillip Glass.
Most importantly, the most telling and/or powerful goodness of this... thing, is in its own concept. The absence of dialogue, or a main plot, does one thing, and does it well. It doesn't pollute your mind of what your interpretation of the scenes, of the frames, of the stills. It does not influence. It is for you to pick up in the details.
MAN THAT IS A HELL LOT OF BULLSHIT FOR SOMETHING NOONE CARES ABOUT. IF I WEREN'T FORCED TO WATCH IT AND TAKE NOTES DURING THE MOVIE I WOULD HAVE PROBABLY SAID "FUCK THIS SHIT" TOO. BUT I DID. AND IT WAS GOOD. SO YOU GUYS HAVE GOT TO SEE IT, WHEN YOU GUYS FEEL LIKE BEING DEPRESSED ABOUT OUR MANUFACTURED WORLD. I AM SO DISTURBED RIGHT NOW. I SWEAR.
Koyaanisqatsi
noun
"life of moral corruption and turmoil", " life out of balance"
p/s: now I have to check up on what Hopi people are.
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