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Banksy Exit Through The Gift Shop Essay

Decent Essays

Banksy once said, “Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.” Banksy, the director of Exit Through the Gift Shop, a documentary that goes through the heart of street art strongly emphasizes that art is not about money, but rather about expression and passion. He supports his argument mainly through his strong visual and audio tactics.
Visuals are much stronger than any other sense. A reoccurring factor that influences the viewer’s thoughts towards the argument is where Banksy focuses the video. Anytime an artist is shown with his artwork, the artwork is centered rather than the artist themselves. Banksy’s purpose is to show that the artist will change and they do not matter as much, but the art will be remembered. If you …show more content…

Banksy carefully positions the audio music throughout the entirety of the film. For instance in the beginning of the film, art was being showcased one after another. Banksy placed the art so that it changed with the beat of the music in the background. By doing this, he cause the viewers to wait and anticipate for the next art that was about to show itself. The tactic was effective because it pulled the viewers in and caused them to glance at the art and think about its meaning and purpose. The song that was used, Tonight the Streets Are Ours by Richard Hawley, is an upbeat song that creates a passionate feeling about art. It was not random that this song was chosen, Banksy chose this song because its title supports his argument that the artists are taking over the street to show their personal artwork that takes dedication and courage. A final audio tactic that was used was whenever there was a clip with a certain mood behind it; Banksy would choose a soundtrack that complements the emotion that he wanted to create. During suspenseful times, Banksy would play a track that forces the viewer to watch closely with their heart beating rapidly, one time after another, BOOM…BOOM. The whole purpose of the specific music used was to further support Banksy’s thoughts on what the true purpose of art is. He would only choose songs that showed expression as a priority over money. However, whenever Thierry showcased his art,

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