Koyaanisqatsi

Koyaanisqatsi

• "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.”

Hopi are a North American nation that call themselves the peaceful people.  They and their philosophy provided a background for Godfrey  Reggio’s film Koyaanisqatsi which literally translated means Life out of balance. The soundtrack, composed by Philip Glass compliments and enhances the visual images that carry such an important message.

You lie in bed reading the sunday papers. It is cool outside and there is something nice about a lazy sunday.  After a long week at work you deserve it. You sip your tea and turn on your radio which is tuned to radio three. Sunday morning at this time on radio four is focussed on religion, and that is the last thing you need on a sunday.  Bach plays quietly in the background as you browse the summary of the week’s news.  Mostly you find the news depressing and you wonder why you bother with the papers.  

Most of the front page is devoted to the continuing story of conflict between America and North Korea, and how like confused adolescents, the two leaders have continued to hurl insults at each other. You sigh deeply at the announcement that Kim Jon-Un’s regime had exploded a hydrogen bomb over a remote part of the Pacific Ocean.  This of course had been met with outrage by the International community, while the Korean leader continued his diatribe against Trump and the USA in general.

Tired of this ongoing saga of pessimism you turn the page to find an article that postulates a link between the current abundance of Earthquakes, to mining and extraction of oil by fracking. Cavities in the earth’s crust have caused in imbalance and imposed  stresses that the earth has to equilibrate.

It is only a working hypothesis but the evidence seems overwhelming.

You close the paper and turn instead to the colour supplement and flick through the pages, mostly devoted to celebrity and fashion. You finish your tea, by now quite cold, sigh and get out of bed to look at the day. It is another beautiful autumnal day, the trees ablaze with colour, the sound already covered with leaves. You think that you must start raking them up. Perhaps this morning as you have nothing planned. You stretch, and half heartedly go through some morning exercises that are supposed to increase your chances of living a long life and smile, knowing that your fate  will probably be determined by others.

You turn on the shower and step in, enjoying the hot water and the caresses of water on your skin. You stay there longer than usual, it is sunday after all. You step out and grab a towel, wrapping it around your waist, and you return to the bedroom. The radio is now playing Monteverdi and you smile and turn up the volume. You towel yourself down and again gaze out of the window.  The blue sky is criss crossed with vapour trails as it so often is.  You wonder what all of this air travel is doing to the atmosphere and realise that whatever that may be, we are all complicit.

The music stops suddenly and an announcer apologises for the break but states that there is important breaking news.  North Korea have shot down an American bomber that was operating just outside their territorial waters.  The USA have responded by launching an attack on Pyongyang. Missiles carrying conventional warheads have been targeted at last known locations of the Korean leader.

In return the Koreans have exploded a nuclear device over Guam and the North American military bases have been wiped out.

The American response is awaited by the rest of the world.

The radio is silent.

You realise that raking up leaves  is of no importance whatsoever, and like so many others throughout the world you wait for the inevitable.