Banksy's Simpsons Intro
What I appreciate the most about this Simpsons intro (even if I haven’t watched the series in years) is the animation technique. Take a closer look at the way they play with the animetic layers. I actually just got through writing my end term (first draft, one month in advance and some 11,000 words) on this topic, although about Miyazaki v. “SUPERFLAT.”
—Anonymouse (like an anonymous mouse, note the “e”)
It’s pretty typical Simpsons form, I believe the layers streamline the production for them. Still, it is a lot of fun to look at.
—PolarisDiB
I thought it was pretty brilliant, something the simpsons hasnt been in years…
@polarisdib—when did they collaborate with pynchon?
I found it to be a pretty uncompromising satire. Not brilliant, but
exceedingly clever, timely, & hilariously obvious when you think about it.
Exactly what Banksy & Simpsons (USED TO BE) known for.
“Because of the track record of studios such as AKOM and other Korean studios on The Simpsons,
it is now almost a given that overseas animation for primetime shows are done in Korea.”
~ Matt Groening’s Baby Turns 10, Animation Magazine, Vol. 14, #1, (January 2000).
(( BECAUSE IT’S SO CHEAP IT’S ALMOST CRIMINAL; BUT
OUTSOURCING IS BUREAUCRATICALLY PROTECTED !!! ))
The Dolphin-Head tape dispenser was a nice touch.
What does Bansky have to do with this? He directed the animation?
I didn’t think it was brilliant or clever, but it was most definitely ballsy and hilarious.
The Dolphin-Head dispenser was really the part that hit the spot (the, this is hilarious but I feel sick, I know it’s wrong but why am I laughing? spot) for me, too.
Daniel: he planned out and storyboarded it, yeah. Not the rest of the episode, but just that bit.
Sphinx: And surprisingly effective. I mean, Family Guy drew attention to the whole cheap slave wage labor four our entertainment thing once, and it was just a one-off joke (and a few mentions in the episodes’ commentaries about why they are animated the way they are), but this intro has actually managed to upset and provoke people (just when you think people really couldn’t be triggered anymore). The discussion is raised afresh, and already 20th Century Fox is having to do “Yes we allowed the intro; no we do not have a factory like that; yes we are aware of what it’s saying about us; no we’re not going to attack it” damage control. It’s refreshing to hear people talking about it, even if for a little bit.
—PolarisDiB
That was excellent, but some things worth noting:
South Korea is a fairly prosperous, democratic country, not an oppressive poverty-stricken dictatorship. AKOM is not a “sweatshop”, and the people who work there are not “slave labor” any more than people working at Pixar are.
David: fair enough. I think that’s the brunt of 20th Century Fox’s perspective on the matter. It’s not like sweatshops employ pandas and unicorns either!
—DiB
Thanks David366, good to know.
Though I’d require a little more proof than an anoymous statement.
All I knew was that it is much, much cheaper to outsource in Korea.
Regardless, I think the point of the piece is that many Korean sweatshops are indeed poor-conditions
& by supporting the country with any outsourcing your are inadvertently supporting all of their wares.
Crazysphinx, i have to admit that i find the various animal-worker visual-jokes rather clever.
Stuffing Bart-dolls with fluff from grinding baby-kittens? poking DVD holes with a dying unicorn horn? I laughed.
But, “brilliant”? No, that word is reserved, mostly for the dead.
Also, Danny, it was originally pulled off YouTube as a ‘Hulu Only’ clip,
until Banksy uploaded it to his private ‘banksyfilm’ account,
it is also featured on his website @ http://banksy.co.uk/asseenontv.html
I has assumed The Simpsons team contacted Banksy about a collaboration & this is what the world ended up with.
Cool, thanks for sharing.
“I hope you enjoyed watching this episode as much as the Koreans enjoyed animating it.”
-Moe, from Treehouse of Horror XVI
(Maybe not the exact quote, by the way.)
PolarisDiB
2.7 million YouTube hits and counting, too.
Hey, I thought it was funny.
But when it comes down to it, my final thought is, “Those lucky Simpsons people, being able to collaborate with people like Banksy and Thomas Pynchon.”
Seriously.
—PolarisDiB