Exit Through the Gift Shop

After watching Exit Through the Gift Shop, a documentary which tells the story of a street artist, Thierry Guetta, who just recently rose to power. Guetta started off filming street art and their artists, first trying to make a documentary of it all. However when that fell through, Banksy, a British street artist, took control of it.

One would think that a documentary which tells the life and story of one man would likely be directed and organized by that man. Nope, Banksy took the footage from Guetta and made the film himself after advising Guetta to start his own street art.

The film seems to mainly stay on topic of Guetta's life and how he rose to fame, although after the film was over I could clearly see that much of the film was biased towards Banksy. Nothing bad was said about Banksy and Banksy was seen as this god amongst men throughout the film.

So is this film a good form of journalistic work? Phrase it how you want, but the film conducts interviews with real people whom you can find and ask questions out in the real world. The media covered stories on Mister Brainwash and many newspapers know of Banksy or some of these other street artists.

Every street artist was sited by their real name, except for Banksy, who kept his identity a secret even in the credits. Wouldn't that make someone question why he did that? What's his reasoning behind hiding? Could there be something he hid throughout the course of the film? With even a little bit of suspicion about the credibility of the film, it probably shouldn't be used as a trusted source.

Overall the film was an interesting take on street art. It contained bunches of information which could be used for a follow up, but the one thing that would probably stop someone from using it is the film's bias towards Banksy.