Powaqqatsi / Naqoyqatsi

POWAQQATSI, 1988, 99 min. Dir. Godfrey Reggio. Powaqqatsi, or “life in transformation,” is a study of developing nations and the effect that Westernization has had upon them. Co-written with Ken Richards, the film explores the disappearance of ancient cultures and customs that occurs under modernization from the Western world. A celebration of themes like craftsmanship, labor, worship and creativity, the film draws connections between the individuality of different cultures and the collaborative concept of the “Global Village.”

NAQOYQATSI, 2002, Miramax, 89 min. Dir. Godfrey Reggio. Reggio’s most recent film examines the transition from nature to technology via the idea of “war as a way of life.” The war in the title’s definition refers to the epic battle between the natural world and the technological one. People in the film do not use technology as a tool, but as a means of living. Because the hunger for technology is infinite, its power is as well.