Exit Through the Gift Shop (UK/USA, 2010, Banksy)
Ben Livant:
Street art in the gallery. Ain't that, like you know, by definition impossible or some shit?
Framed graffiti. What the fuck up with that?
Counter culture yesterday. Now that culture be available at the check out counter? Exit through the gift shop - most def!
How much more ironic can post-modern irony get? I don't know at what point in all of this theatrical staging a matter-of-fact detective would be right to put his foot down, but a hoax is certainly being committed. Even if Mr. Brainwash is an existing brandname in the actual art market today, the little factory behind it is in the simulacra-of-simulacra business; with or without deconstructionist intentions, somebody is laughing all the way to the bank. Or should I say, all the way to the Banksy?
I enjoyed this film. It's a hoot. And I'd like to think that the brains behind the operation continues to be in it for more than the money. There is no shortage of mocking critique in this increasingly obviously phoney documentary, but it is not at all clear what the targets of this are. Exit Through the Gift Shop is just as clever as the work of Sasha Baron Cohen, but not nearly as culturally worthwhile because it is not nearly as politically candid.
It is also a bit spineless when it comes to identifying the point of view producing the picture. Cohen adopts a false persona through which he can engage with real stuff. Exit Through the Gift Shop does the opposite. It hides behind an illusion of documentary to present a world in which it is impossible to figure out what is real. This is not without its entertainment value. But it is not a substantively valid approach to whatever it is about the real world that is negatively compelling the film-maker to make his film. Instead of wearing a mask in order to say something you could not say without wearing that mask, something is being said in order to wear a mask that could not be worn without saying what is being said . Maybe just drop the mask and say what you have to say.
And Banksy's professional need to maintain his personal anonymity in no way validates this. At best, his excuse is a wicked sense of humour.
The trailer:
Ben Livant:
Street art in the gallery. Ain't that, like you know, by definition impossible or some shit?
Framed graffiti. What the fuck up with that?
Counter culture yesterday. Now that culture be available at the check out counter? Exit through the gift shop - most def!
How much more ironic can post-modern irony get? I don't know at what point in all of this theatrical staging a matter-of-fact detective would be right to put his foot down, but a hoax is certainly being committed. Even if Mr. Brainwash is an existing brandname in the actual art market today, the little factory behind it is in the simulacra-of-simulacra business; with or without deconstructionist intentions, somebody is laughing all the way to the bank. Or should I say, all the way to the Banksy?
I enjoyed this film. It's a hoot. And I'd like to think that the brains behind the operation continues to be in it for more than the money. There is no shortage of mocking critique in this increasingly obviously phoney documentary, but it is not at all clear what the targets of this are. Exit Through the Gift Shop is just as clever as the work of Sasha Baron Cohen, but not nearly as culturally worthwhile because it is not nearly as politically candid.
It is also a bit spineless when it comes to identifying the point of view producing the picture. Cohen adopts a false persona through which he can engage with real stuff. Exit Through the Gift Shop does the opposite. It hides behind an illusion of documentary to present a world in which it is impossible to figure out what is real. This is not without its entertainment value. But it is not a substantively valid approach to whatever it is about the real world that is negatively compelling the film-maker to make his film. Instead of wearing a mask in order to say something you could not say without wearing that mask, something is being said in order to wear a mask that could not be worn without saying what is being said . Maybe just drop the mask and say what you have to say.
And Banksy's professional need to maintain his personal anonymity in no way validates this. At best, his excuse is a wicked sense of humour.
The trailer:
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