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1983: Life Out of Balance.
Koyaanisqatsi, Coming of Age and Capitalism.
In 1983 I turned 18.
It was also the year Koyaanisqatsi was released in Australia.
Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan were well underway with a capitalist pivot whose catastrophic impact looms large over today.
Koyaanisqatsi doesn’t have much to say for itself other than the literal meaning of its title which is the Hopi Indian word for “Life out of balance”.
If the rocket in the opening scene was trying to be a little more specific, I expect it was trying to say:
“Houston, we have a problem”
As I finished high school my dreams of becoming an architect were beginning to take shape.
However, the world of architecture was not in good shape with 50% of architects in Melbourne out of work. I knew this because it was something my dad continually reminded me of, and really, shouldn’t I consider Engineering instead so as to “keep my options open”?
In hindsight, it’s a decision that put life out of balance as much as anything else I can recall.
I graduated and landed a job with what is now one of the biggest engineering firms in Australia.
