Powaqqatsi

Powaqqatsi, the second part of the qatsi trilogy, is an experimental film that uses a flood of images as commentary on the progress of contemporary human existence. Whereas the first film concentrated upon the dichotomy between the natural world and the industrial setting of Western cultures, Powaqqatsi instead explored a more impoverished world setting. If Koyaanisqatsi was a film about the northern hemisphere and the alienating effect of its technology and capitalistic societies, then Powaqqatsi could be considered a film of the southern hemisphere and its more traditional people and ways of life. The film can be divided into two parts. The first half focuses upon people in balance with traditions and nature. The second half reveals the sometimes chaotic confusion that occurs within societies in transition. It is a symphony of sequential images which offer a splice-of-life portrait of cultures more attuned to a naturalistic existence than to the blur of industrialized activity. Reggio’s film ultimately challenges viewers to interpret its images within the realms of our own individual experiences.