Documentary Post 1: Exit Through the Gift Shop

Exit Through the Gift Shop. Dir. Banksy. Perf. Banksy, Shepard Fairey, Thierry Guetta. Producers Distribution Agency, 2010. DVD.

Summary:
Exit Through the Gift Shop is an intriguing inside view on the street art movement. Compared to the punk movement in the film, this work focused on artists who tried to make statements about the world through their less-than-legal artwork. This documentary was extremely interesting because it focused on art that was extremely temporary. Some of these works could be somewhere one day and gone the next, yet they made a profound statement on today's culture. From Banksy's maid sweeping dirt under the rug to Shepard Fairey's command that all people obey, this movement is not just about vandalism, but rather the statements behind it.

Rhetorical Analysis:
While focusing mostly on street art in general, a sub-plot was used to keep audience interest. This film focused on the development of the culture as well as the development of one artist himself, Mr. Brainwash. This helped to create interest beyond just curiosity about the movement. Exit Through the Gift Shop starts with Banksy introducing the man who he says is more interesting than himself. This begins a film-long use of foreshadowing and apprehension. This foreshadowing created an uncertain tone that matched well with the film's content, because as soon as Thierry Guetta (Mr. Brainwash) is introduced, the audience knows that there is something a little wrong with him.

One of Mr. Brainwash's works

It was really kind of an irony that was created as the film progressed. Here were these street artists all around whom Thierry was filming (for a nonexistent documentary) and they inspired him greatly, yet he was one of the worst artists to imitate street art. Artists like Banksy stood for something, yet as it became clear eventually that Thierry was not a filmmaker as he had originally claimed, Banksy suggested in passing that Thierry could make art himself. This led to Thierry not actually making art, but hiring people to make art for him in the street art style. He even invested all of his money in a show in LA and eventually was hired to make cover artwork for famous singers. Even through all of this success, however Mr. Brainwash was shunned within the street art community for his work. He truly commercialized a movement that was supposed to say something about the culture rather than be about gaining money. Throughout the entire film, Banksy used Mr. Brainwash as a counterexample for the movement in order to truly give it a real feel that others could understand. The film ended with Banksy stating, "I always used to encourage everyone I met to make art. I used to think that everyone should do it. I don't really do that so much anymore." While ending extremely negatively, this example truly proved to help define the movement and its ideals to those who know little about it.