Theory of Knowledge

1
Theory of Knowledge
Baraka
Baraka
2
The Meaning of Baraka

• Baraka is an incredible nonverbal film,
  containing images of 24 countries from 6
  continents.
• It contains no dialogue. Instead of a story or
  plot, the film uses themes and images to present
  new perspectives and evoke emotion and stimulate
  the senses, purely through visual images.

3
A scene from Baraka
Bagan plain and Buddhist temples, Burma
4
What does Baraka mean?

• Baraka is a word of Middle Eastern origin.
• It is defined as the sanctity of blessings
  bestowed upon a person by a saint or marabout
  belonging to the Islamic faith.
• Also, Baraka is an American essayist/poet who
  looked at the themes mainly to do with racial
  conflict in the USA.
• It is a barrage of images that transcend
  language.

5
Describe Baraka

• Through imagery, the film shows the diversity of
  the way people approach spirituality, religion,
  life and death, the struggle for survival and so
  on. The goal was for the viewer to have an inner
  journey, and the absence of both dialogue and
  commentary was intended to leave space for an
  internal dialogue, and allows the viewer to be
  guided by the music and the imagery.

6
Where Was it filmed?

• The movie was filmed in 24 countries
• Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Cambodia, China,
  Ecuador, Egypt, France, Hong Kong, India, Israel,
  Italy, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Kenya, Kuwait,
  Nepal, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Tanzania, Thailand,
  Turkey and the United States.

7
Mount Bromo in Javaanother scene from Baraka

8
Linking questions

• What part do the senses play in the acquisition
  of knowledge?
• Can emotions be classified as good or bad?
• Can there be correct, or appropriate, emotional
  response to any piece of knowledge?
• Is faith purely emotional or is it possible to
  provide a rational justification for religious
  belief? Is emotion a source of spiritual
  knowledge?

9
Visual images include

• Tibetan monks, Orthodox Jews, Whirling
  Dervishes, a solar eclipse, Buddhist monks,
  African tribal rituals, Jerusalem's Wailing Wall,
  rain forests, Ayers Rock, Big Sur country,
  Hawaiian volcanoes, Brazilian slums, time-lapse
  footage of car and pedestrian traffic,
  post-Persian Gulf War shots of Kuwait's burning
  oil fields, burning-of-the-dead ceremonies on the
  Ganges, refuse dumps of Calcutta, Auschwitz,
  Egyptian Pyramids, Angkor Wat, Mount Everest,
  Tuol Sleng in Cambodia, Indonesian factory
  workers.

10
INDONESIAN DANCER FROM BARAKA

11
Follow up questions

• How does the absence of spoken language impact on
  knowledge acquisition during the film?
• What about internal dialogue? Did you add
  language through your own thoughts?
• Is thought fully formed in language or fragments
  combined with emotional responses?

12
Lets Begin!

• On to the film