Tag Archives: Orson Welles

‘The Reality of Exit Through the Gift Shop’ by Tom Farrell

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Video:

Creator’s Statement:

‘Exit Through the Gift Shop’ is Banksy’s 2010 entry into documentary filmmaking, and yet another instance of him painting over someone else’s business because the work just had to be seen.[1] The feature is made from many hours of golden footage of the meteoric rise (and arguably the subsequent fall) of the street art movement. A movement wherein artists made colour from a “legal grey” as Banksy himself considers their area of operation. Banksy has us watch as these artists are confronted by police, then watch how confused they are when they are eventually confronted by auctioneers. And as street artists begin to play the role of police in their own art form as soon as those auctioneers are involved.

 

Banksy has always mixed social criticism with bone dry humour. As he describes in his first book, “graffiti is one of the few tools you have if you have almost nothing. And even if you don’t come up with a picture to cure world poverty you can make someone smile while they’re having a piss.”[2] Exit Through the Gift Shop is his moving picture, enormously entertaining, with a clear attempt to this time critique the commodification of street art and the effect it has had on what art gets appreciated, and how.

 

This video essay seeks to establish important, somewhat complex context and explore why Banksy may have taken his own art in this direction, and how he chose to critique commodification. But this process is interrupted with the acknowledgement of popular speculation that the film was an elaborate hoax. Rarely does a film elicit this specific reaction, so Exit Through the Gift Shop is worth studying – what ought to be believed? And more easily answerable, how does this ambiguity operate in relation to the critique presented by the film?

 

This essay attempts to swiftly illustrate in clear audio-visual terms the lessons that can be taken from the documentary; that the ambiguous situation of the documentary, pointed in its critique, draws out a reconfiguration of art criticism – the means by which one assesses truth is not so different from that which assesses value. The unknowing regarding the film’s authenticity has a metatextual purpose. The viewer is placed in a very active position if the joke could well be on them. Only, film has been a game of deception between filmmaker and audience for a long time indeed. Despite its relative uniqueness. Banksy’s film is illuminated (becoming perhaps an essay film) in its (Schrödinger’s) placing in a historic catalogue of docufiction. These types of films “help to expand our understanding of what constitutes a documentary […] by forming a troubled relationship with the real.”[3] For me, they paradoxically draw attention to that which they could be defined as obfuscating – the boundaries of reality.

 

Additionally, the film is illuminated in its ambiguous situation in that it can inspire more than one distinct and detailed reading simultaneously. And to want to narrow the film to only produce one grounded reading of the facts would be like wanting to make the mystery box nothing more than the box – charmless and shallower.

 

A consequence of this illustration is being confronted with the awareness (reiterated by Orson Welles) that the map is not the territory and images are treacherous things.[4] That film is not reality and that really all films, all artworks, deceive on some level as constructions. A documentary filmmaker does not record, they interpret.[5] Perhaps a simple truth, but always a freeing, thought-provoking and creatively inspirational reminder.

 

  • Tom Farrell

 

‘The Reality of Exit Through the Gift Shop’ Complete Reference List

 

  • 24 Realities per Second, dir. Eva Testor, Nina Kusturica (Deckert, 2005)
  • Apocalypse Now, dir. Francis Ford Coppola (United Artists, 1979)
  • Banksy, Banging Your Head Against a Brick Wall (Weapons of Mass Distraction, 2001)
  • Banksy, Wall and Piece (Vintage, 2005)
  • banksyfilm, ‘Shredding the Girl and Balloon – The Director’s half cut’, YouTube, 17 Oct 2018, <https://youtu.be/vxkwRNIZgdY> [Accessed 5 February 2023]
  • Beardsley, Monroe, ‘Critical Evaluation: Reasons and Judgements’ in Aesthetics: problems in the philosophy of criticism (Hackett, 1981)
  • Blacksmith Scene, dir. William Kennedy Dickson (Edison Manufacturing Company, 1893)
  • The Blair Witch Project, Adam Wingard, Ben Rock, Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez, Joe Berlinger (Summit Entertainment, 1999)
  • Catsoulis, Jeanette, ‘On the Street, at the Corner of Art and Trash’, The New York Times, 16 April 2010, <https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/16/movies/16exit.html> [Accessed 5 February 2023]
  • Children of Hiroshima, dir. Kaneto Shindo (1952)
  • Citizen Kane, dir. Orson Welles (RKO Radio Pictures, 1941)
  • City of God, dir. Fernando Meirelles, Kátia Lund (Globo Filmes, Miramax Films, 2002)
  • Cleo from 5 to 7, dir. Agnès Varda (Athos Films, Ciné-Tamaris, 1962)
  • Close-Up, dir. Abbas Kiarostami (Celluloid Dreams, 1990)
  • The Creators, ‘Krokite’, Kronkite (Bad Magic, 2000)
  • Docufictions: Essays on the Intersection of Documentary and Fictional Filmmaking, ed. by Gary D. Rhodes & John Parris Springer (McFarland, 2006)
  • Donato, Raffaele, ‘Docufictions: An Interview with Martin Scorsese on Documentary Film’ in Film History, Vol. 19, No. 2, Film and Copyright (Indiana University Press, 2007)
  • Ebert, Roger, ‘Is it a hoax if it’s also art?’, com, 28 April 2010, <https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/exit-through-the-gift-shop-2010> [Accessed 5 February 2023]
  • Edelstein, David, ‘A Rich Satire About Street Art, Or Is It A Hoax?’, NPR, 16 April 2010, < https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126037446> [Accessed 5 February 2023]
  • Elvis, dir. Steve Binder (NBC, 3 December 1968)
  • Exit Through the Gift Shop, by Banksy (Revolver Entertainment, 2010)
  • ExtraCrispyNYC, ‘Shepard Fairey – What’s the deal with Thierry?’, YouTube, 21 April 2010, <https://youtu.be/4e-F4MsBx_I> [Accessed 5 February 2023]
  • Fallen Angels, dir. Wong Kar-wai (Kino International, 1995)
  • Felch, Jason, ‘Getting at the truth of ‘Exit Through the Gift Shop’’, Los Angeles Times, 22 February 2011, <https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2011-feb-22-la-et-oscar-exit-20110222-story.html> [Accessed 5 February 2023]
  • F for Fake, dir. Orson Welles (Planfilm, Speciality Films, 1973)
  • ‘The Filmmakers’, com, Archived from the original on 27 September 2016, < https://web.archive.org/web/20160927140024/http://www.blairwitch.com/project/filmmakers.html> [Accessed 5 February 2023]
  • Fischer, Russ, ‘The Secret Origin Of ‘Exit Through The Gift Shop:’ Extortion, A Lawsuit And A Dilettante?’, com, 7 September 2011, <https://www.slashfilm.com/517441/secret-origin-exit-gift-shop-documentary-extortion/> [Accessed 5 February 2023]
  • Forrest Gump, dir. Robert Zemeckis (Paramount Pictures, 1994)
  • ‘Frequently asked questions’, co.uk, Archived from the original on 3 January 2012, <https://web.archive.org/web/20120103163406/http://www.banksy.co.uk/QA/qaa.html> [Accessed 5 February 2023]
  • Harakiri, dir. Akira Kurosawa (Shochiku, 1962)
  • Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles, dir. Chantal Akerman (Olympic Films, 1975)
  • Landesman, Ohad, ‘Aesthetics of Ambiguity in Docufictions’ in Contemporary Documentary, ed. Daniel Marcus & Selmin Kara (Routledge, 2015)
  • La Terra Trema, dir. Luchino Visconti (Compagnia Edizioni, Distribuzione, Internazionali Artistiche, 1948)
  • Life Remote Control, Mr. Brainwash (2011)
  • The Lighthouse, dir. Robert Eggers (A24, VVS Films, 2019)
  • Magritte, René, The Treachery of Images (Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1929)
  • Massive Attack, ‘Atlas Air’, Heligoland (Virgin Records, 2010)
  • Massive Attack, ‘Psyche’, Heligoland (Virgin Records, 2010)
  • Moana, dir. Frances H. Flaherty, Robert J. Flaherty, Monica Flaherty Frassetto (Paramount Pictures, 1926)
  • North by Northwest, Alfred Hitchcock (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1959)
  • On the Bowery, dir. Lionel Rogosin (Film Representations Inc., 1956)
  • ppmc, ‘Sotheby’s Auction of Banksy’s Devolved Parliament. £8.5 million plus premium (9.8 mil all in!)’, YouTube, 3 October 2019, <https://youtu.be/sWFHwAAU1YA> [Accessed 5 February 2023]
  • Pulp Fiction, dir. Quentin Tarantino (Miramax Films, 1994)
  • Randy Writes a Novel, dir. Anthony Warrington (2018)
  • The Red Shoes, dir. Emeric Pressburger, Michael Powell (General Film Distributors, 1948)
  • Ryzik, Melena, ‘Riddle? Yes. Enigma? Sure. Documentary?’, The New York Times, 13 April 2010, <https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/14/movies/14banksy.html> [Accessed 5 February 2023]
  • Sardonicast, ‘61: F for Fake’, 1 June 2020 <https://sardonicast.fireside.fm/61> [Accessed 5 February 2023]
  • Shelton, Jacob, ‘Is ‘Exit Through The Gift Shop’ An Actual Profile Of Mr. Brainwash, Or Is It A Practical Joke?’, com, 14 January 2020, <https://www.ranker.com/list/exit-through-gift-shop-documentary-or-prank/jacob-shelton> [Accessed 5 February 2023]
  • Sidelnikova, Yevheniia, ‘“Exit through the gift shop”: the endless joke of Banksy the Trickster’, com, 14 June 2020, <https://arthive.com/publications/4429~Exit_through_the_gift_shop_the_endless_joke_of_banksy_the_trickster> [Accessed 5 February 2023]
  • Sky News, ‘Mr Brainwash ‘honouring’ top artists by reproducing their work’, YouTube, 3 October 2021, <https://youtu.be/TEtM8j1VZcE> [Accessed 5 February 2023]
  • Sontag, Susan, Against Interpretation (Penguin, 1966)
  • Sotheby’s, ‘Bidding Battle Boosts Banksy to Four Times its Estimate’, YouTube, 8 October 2020, <https://youtu.be/F_kKHQ8CD1o> [Accessed 5 February 2023]
  • Tabu: A Story of the South Seas, dir. F. W. Murnau (Paramount Pictures, 1931)
  • They Live John Carpenter (Carolco Pictures, Universal Pictures, 1988)
  • The Tonight Show, Season 7, Episode 203 (NBC, 6 August 1999)
  • Waking Life, dir. Richard Linklater (Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2001)
  • Walker, Alissa, ‘Here’s Why the Banksy Movie Is a Banksy Prank?’, Fast Company, 15 April 2010, < https://www.fastcompany.com/1616365/heres-why-banksy-movie-banksy-prank> [Accessed 5 February 2023]
  • WhitewallGalleries, ‘Introducing Mr Brainwash’, YouTube, 25 March 2021, < https://youtu.be/JtPT2faxSlg> [Accessed 5 February 2023]
  • The Wild Bunch, ‘Creation’, The Wild Bunch (Ariwa, 1984)
  • The Wild Bunch, ‘Friends and Countrymen’, Friends and Countrymen (4th & Broadway, 1988)
  • Zabou, ‘Robin Hood’, Zabou, 2018, <https://zabou.me/2018/06/22/robin-hood/> [Accessed 5 February 2023]
  • Zahi Shaked, Israeli tour guide צחי שקד, מורה דרך, ‘Bethlehem and Bankasi – “Rage, Flower Thrower” or “FLower Bomber” by Banksy’, YouTube, 19 Feb 2018, <https://youtu.be/_aSLH9yNOd0> [Accessed 5 February 2023]

 

[1] Exit Through the Gift Shop, dir. by Banksy (Revolver Entertainment, 2010)

[2] Banksy, Banging Your Head Against a Brick Wall (2001), p. 5

[3] Ohad Landesman, ‘Aesthetics of Ambiguity in Docufictions’ in Contemporary Documentary, ed. Daniel Marcus & Selmin Kara (2015), pp. 13

[4] René Magritte, The Treachery of Images (Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1929)

[5] Raffaele Donato, ‘Docufictions: An Interview with Martin Scorsese on Documentary Film’ in Film History, Vol. 19, No. 2, Film and Copyright (Indiana University Press, 2007), pp. 199-207

 

The video may also be seen on vimeo here:

 

Eavesdropping at the Movies: 266 – Mank

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José hasn’t seen a worse film from David Fincher than Mank, a contentious biopic of Herman J. Mankiewicz, the screenwriter whose collaboration with Orson Welles resulted in The Greatest Film of All Time™, Citizen Kane. Mike had rather a good time, despite seeing numerous problems with the film, raising the question: How much background knowledge is the right amount for enjoying Mank?

Mank doesn’t even explain, for instance, that the film Mankiewicz and Welles would create is considered one of history’s greatest, so some knowledge of the subject is clearly necessary; too much, though, and its missed opportunities and purposeful alterations to and adaptations of the facts become evident and impossible to ignore. Mike finds that he’s just ignorant – or is that informed – enough to understand the film’s background and setting without going crazy, as José does, as it clashes with his knowledge of the history.

We discuss Mank‘s obvious inspiration in Pauline Kael’s discredited essay, Raising Kane, which argued that Mankiewicz deserved sole credit for Kane‘s screenplay; its flashback structure that shows us where the screenplay came from and why Mankiewicz is the only person who could have written it; its depiction of Hollywood in the 30s (not to mention Mankiewicz in HIS 30s); the parallels that it draws with Hollywood and, more generally, the state of the world today, and more. Almost every criticism José makes, Mike agrees with – but he cannot and will not deny that he had a good time, finding the film witty and energetic where José felt it musty and lethargic. It’s a poor showing from a filmmaker with a largely exceptional oeuvre – unless you’re in that Goldilocks zone with Mike.

With José Arroyo of First Impressions and Michael Glass of Writing About Film.

Michael Lyndsay-Hogg, Luck and Circumstance: A Coming of Age in Hollywood, New York, and Points Beyond

luck and circumstance.jpg

Michael Lindsay-Hogg was the son of Geraldine Fitzgerald and…who? That’s the overall arch of the book. Was it Orson Welles or a Sir Edward Lyndsey-Hogg, a minor British aristocrat? Whilst the answer to the question takes several turns in the book, we also hear about his directing ‘Ready, Steady, Go!’, some of the early key concert movies like ‘Let it Be’, a pioneer of the MTV video clip (most of the early Rolling Stones videos), a director of Brideshead Revisited on TV and The Normal Heart off-Broadway.

It’s a lovely book; a not very distinguished career in cinema, but with landmark work in tv and theatre; and then of course through his mother — who most of us probably now remember for her work with Bette Davis in Dark Victory or as Isabelle Linton in Wyler’s Wuthering Heights — he knew all the greats of the classic era (Welles himself but Marion Davies, Hearst, right up to Lumet, Gloria Vanderbilt) then on his own (the Beatles, the Stones, everyone in music really) right up to turning Larry Kramer’s A Normal Heart into a hit in the 80s at the height of the AIDS pandemic. Wonderfully atmospheric descriptions of Hollywood in the 40s, Dublin in the 50s, post-war New York, Swinging London etc.

The book’s conclusion about paternity has been disproved in Patrick McGilligan’s Young Orson: The Years of Luck and Genius on the Path to Citizen Kane, but Lynsay-Hogg’s views on so much of the landmark work he helped create on film and in the theatre makes for an insightful and entertaining read: and the book is also an interesting exploration of the lure of celebrity as social currency that each of the protagonists deploys to advantage: would paternity have been such a question if the father were rumoured to be Joe Blow instead of Orson Welles?

 

José Arroyo