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I'm pleased that the film had such a strong response. That's not to say that everybody felt that way, but some people did. Some people felt, who am I to deny the opportunity of the Third World to make their lot better through industrialization. The Left especially took after this film in Berlin. But I feel there's a
fundamental
confusion between poverty and the norms of simple living. It's a distinction that some in the Left have not digested yet. Witness the collapse of repressive ideology in the East and everyone opting for a market economy as the way to bring about some kind of sanity. Yet, the market economy only further removes them from sanity and leads toward bigger problems down the line. This is not a popular position to take, especially right now. East Berlin has this sinister, bureaucratic Stalinist architecture; you can feel the ghost of the Nazis. But the Disneyland of West Berlin is no answer: people are addicted to the materialization of all values through the market economy. We've created a need that we've become addicted to.
My persuasions are also of the Left, but of a Left deeper than the ideological Left or the bureaucratized or the movement Left. Mine is more of an anarchist's Left.
MacDonald:
Has
Powaqqatsi
been shown in the Third World?
Reggio:
Yes, first at Tashkent, which is the biggest third-world festival, and later in Sao Paolo. It had a great response. In Sao Paolo it won Best Film, an audience award.
Koyaanisqatsi
won the same honor five years previous to that. I felt that was the real test of how the Third World responds to the film. I recently showed
Powaqqatsi
in India and had a great response. About thirty percent of the image is from India, and people from India felt that they were able to re-see the world they live in through someone else's eyes. I felt gratified by that.
MacDonald:
There's an irony in the Left having a problem with the film. The opening sequence, and much of the film actually, is full of respect for the act of labor. The opening suggests two metaphors at the same time: on one hand, it's a Sisyphus metaphor . . .
Reggio:
Absolutely!
MacDonald:
And that opening sequence concludes with a crucifixion metaphor. It's as though you're saying that while it may indeed be horrifying to spend your life going up and down the side of this mine, on another level, this incredible effort and sacrifice should be respected. What comes through most obviously in
Powaqqatsi
is the grace of the labor. I think the image that moves me mostalthough a lot of them are powerfulis right after the credits, where we see two people carrying gigantic bundles. Their labor creates a magical dance.
Reggio:
Yes. It's a woman and a little boy, coming onto the Ganges at Varanasi at sunrise. The Ganges was low at this point so they were