Final Exam: The Artist is Present

Final Exam: The Artist is Present Name Institutional Affiliation Final Exam: The Artist is Present Koyaanisqatsi This film offers great and valuable insights into the state of the human race, and how people are continually affected by the society in which they live. Through an elaborate, progressive, and thought-out process, the film manages to explore the different changes that have occurred within the society in terms of nature as well as technology, and how these changes have affected human beings, which is a common yet important theme in film (Steven, 2012). Of great importance in the film is the relationship between human beings and nature as well as the interactions between human beings in a technologically developing society where individuals have been slowly transformed into zombies as they seek to colonize natural resources for their own gain. These issues have greatly fraught human interaction and the relationship between humanity and nature. They have slowly transformed human existence into an endless spiral filled with the zombie-like pursuit of individual gain in a highly competitive and exploitative society. The final shot of this film is a perfect representation of the current state of the society according to the artist. In a society where machines have virtually taken over everything and overshadowed the serenity and calm characterized by nature, the breaking up of the rocket is significantly symbolic and prophetic of the future of this society. As the rocket attempts to return to Earth, it breaks up and spins endlessly afterward. This is the artist’s way of symbolizing the reality that human existence is bound to spin and spiral endlessly in the chaotic environment filled with machines that it has created for itself. It demonstrates the out-of-control nature of human existence as humanity tries to re-ignite its relationship with nature and its serenity (Bordwell & Thompson, 2012 p. 386). The fact that the rocket is referenced as burning the land and boiling the sea highlights the artist’s presence and insistence that technology and machines will undoubtedly ruin the serenity, beauty, and calm of nature in ways that can never be restored. This final shot is a monumental commentary on the vagaries of technology and how it has irreparably damaged the environment as well as humanity. Pina Pina is a wonderful tribute to the late choreographer Pina Bausch by Wim Wenders. The beauty of this musical documentary lies in the ability of Wenders to create a stunning, insightful, and integrated piece celebrating Bausch even after her unexpected and sudden death during the production process (Dalle, 2012). In this way, there is a strong and almost direct relationship between Wender’s art and Bausch’s art based on the way in which they both approach their work. In this documentary, Wender manages to perfectly interlink and intercut live dance performance and archival film in ways that embody the character and choreographic talent of Bausch. In this documentary, Wender captures live performances of Bausch’s troupe from different musical pieces as they had been choreographed by the late Bausch. To incorporate the late Bausch into the process, Wender manages to carefully and methodically interlink archival footage depicting Bausch performing with the captured live performances of her troupe. The methodical and systematic way in which Wender executes his vision for the documentary creates a perfect balance and harmony in which both live performances and archival film live blend in and live together throughout the film. In this way, the intermingling of these two forms of art highlights the presentness of the artist in two distinct ways. First, it highlights the presence of Bau...