Chapter Four Essay: Banksy vs Mr. Brainwash: What’s the Alternative?

Midway through the documentary Exit through the Gift Shop, the focus of the film shifts to a pair of gallery shows, one for Banksy and the other for the alias of Thierry Guetta, Mr. Brainwash. The film depicts each event differently. Banksy’s “The Elephant in the Room” is depicted as a virtually conventional compared to the hectic, hastily assembled “Life Is Beautiful” collection. The film creates an opportunity to compare each event and discuss their differences. Both are showcases for street art but the artists’ approaches differ and it affects the meaning of their art. For this essay, you must analyze what the two shows represent and how they reflect the concept of alternative media or if they don’t meet that criteria. Is Banksy’s work more meaningful? How? How and why does the movie perceive Mr. Brainwash’s art as inferior and less meaningful? And finally, discuss the artists’ work as alternative media. Is Bansky, a celebrated and profitable artist, a producer of alterative media? Is Mr. Brainwash? Consider the status of street art as alternative media, although it is the subject of two high- profile art exhibits. Please use the standard compositional structure: introduction, body paragraphs, conclusion. Include a clear and credible thesis in your introduction. Use the academic essay format: 12-pint Times New Roman font, double-spaced, one-inch margins. Header should be name, section ID, title. Minimum word count is 500.