Lab+8

Lab 8:

I have long been a fan of Banksy’s work, which for the most part is slightly anarchist. He has done many pieces that show the negative control of the media and the corporations, and how they subdue the human spirit. When I saw the simpsons opening sequence I was very shocked to see that Banksy was involved, because TV is not his usual medium for his work. I was also shocked to see the actual scene its self, and the message it portrays. That is not to say that Simpsons and Banksy are not a perfect fit for each other. Simpsons has long been seen as a satire of the “american dream” life, and its iconic imagery has become synonymous with the American culture. It is also from this imagery, that simpsons finds most of its humor, they use this imagery to show whats wrong with the american way of life and applies a satirical filter to it. Obviously the opinion scene in simpsons is not realistic, there are no dolphin tape rolls, or unicorn hole punchers, and hopefully kids are not actually wiped to do work. But that is not to say that there isn't child labour, and a general disregard for the environment and the other creatures that live on this planet. Most of the times these elements are not exposed fully since the western society is so dependent on the labour provided by the developing countries to survive. Also due to the overly sensationalized society we live in, Banksy had to add more shocking imagery to get his point across. In the end quite a lot of products are produced in facilities that we may consider unethical, and this has become necessary in order to fulfill the american consumption. Take for example Foxconn, a factory in China that has over 300,000 employees. Last year alone the company had 13 suicides on their factory property, the living arrangements for this workers is beyond pitiful, and their pay is minimal. One of the biggest client of Foxconn is Apple, a company that made more than a billion in profit from the sales of products produced in that very facility. Banksy chose the right medium to get his point across, which he also did very well. Yes the sequence was not very tasteful, but when you are talking about child labour and violation of animal rights, you can not be all nice about it. Also if this bit had been on an edgier show such as Family Guy or south park, the shock effect might have been wasted because it would not stand out compared to the other usual shocking content, nor would it reach the target audience Banksy intended this short for, the general American people.