It took seven years for Godfrey Reggio to produce Koyaanisqatsi, an experimental film about the speed and complications of modern life juxtaposed to images of nature. Subtitled Life Out of Balance, Reggio desired to expose the speed, pressures, and corruption of modern life as compared with the serenity of mother nature. Devoid of dialogue and context, Reggio intercuts footage of industry and big city life with gorgeous sweeping panoramas of desert life.

Set to a score by Philip Glass, Koyannisquatsi invites the audience to bring their personal biases to the movie, and interpret the value of what they’re witnessing. Are they actually seeing how the industrial revolution has changed the Earth? Have they actually looked at what the city looks like and has done to life? Do they know that there is a different way of living. While Reggio doesn’t tell you what to think, the combination of Glass’ high pressure score and the frequently juxtaposition pass judgement on how we live life without noticing the personal and environmental consequences.

It’s been 34 years since Godfrey Reggio released Koyaanisqatsi, and everything he was lamenting in the 80s has exponentially increased in severity. If traffic in the 70s was gorgeously crowded, modern freeways have become parking lots. If pollution was bad back then, you ain’t seen nothing yet. If life didn’t stop back then, social media and Twtter have made it a 24-hour global world.

Now and then, it’s beneficial to look back to see where we’ve come from and wonder if all the choices we’ve made have been good or bad for both our mental and environmental health. Koyannisqatsi was doing that 34 years ago, and provides a good medium to channel our thoughts on modern life. Bring your daily pressures to the door.

Koyaanisqatsi airs tonight (11/30) at 12:45am EST (9:45PST). Along with its companion movies Powaqqatsi and Naqoyquatsi, Koyannisquatsi also streams on Film Struck as part of the Criterion Collection