Exit Through the Gift Shop Review

           Though it’s marketed as a Banksy film, Bansky himself says that Exit Through the Gift Shop “is the story of what happened when this guy [Thierry Guetta] tried to make a documentary about me but he was actually a lot more interesting than I am, so now the film is kind of about him”. Thierry Guetta starts his journey as an obsessive film taker (not so much a film maker as he never felt the need to watch anything he recorded) and ends it as a commercially successful, but artistically controversial ‘street artist’.

            The film does a decent job introducing its viewers to the world of street art through Thierry’s incessant recording of street artists at work, but as Thierry and his art became more of a main focus the film became less about the purity of street art and more about its potential to be commercialized.\

            The clips of the film that showed artists like Space Invader, Sheppard Fairy, and Banksy working and actually doing the art they’re known for are what I consider to be the most interesting and informative part of the film. In this aspect, the film is a window into the world of street art. It provides an introduction for people who have no prior knowledge on the subject and conveys the rebellious, revolutionary nature of true street art. Some, like Space Invader, just want to add art, beauty and whimsy to the city they live in. Others, like Bansky, want to make a statement and ultimately inspire change in their community. No matter what the specific purpose, the film shows the power of these artists in taking control of their environment which is what street art is all about.

            After that, the film becomes more of a story about Thierry himself, which was interesting but doesn’t exactly fit perfectly into a documentary about the great street artists that define the genre. At this point the film starts to show a less ‘pure’ side to the world of street art. Unlike most other street artists, Thierry is all over the place. He appears to be doing art not for the message it sends, but for the fame and the money that he could gain by adopting the moniker ‘Mr. Brainwash’ and cranking out a ridiculous volume of art via an entire studio of artists he hires. At this point the film takes on an almost comical theme as the other street artists that were introduced at the beginning give their own thoughts about Thierry’s endeavors.

            Overall I thoroughly enjoyed the film and I think that despite the fact that it was not exactly a perfect documentary on street art, it gives the viewer a window into the world of street art; Exit Through the Gift Shop addresses the wonders of pure, inspired street art from artists who do the work for the sake of improving their environment, be it aesthetically or ideologically, and then goes on to show the commercialized version of street art. By showing both I think it emphasizes what is truly important better than if it had only been about the ‘true art’. In other words, Bansky’s art became all the more important and meaningful when put head to head with the mass produced art of Mr. Brainwash.