NAPALM, BANKSY I.

BANKSY

Banksy is an anonymous street-artist, known for his stenciling and graffiti style. Its believed that he was born near Bristol in 1974. As his identity is a real mystery, people know almost nothing about the artist. Nevertheless, his creations are easily recognizable. Most of them criticize society, governments, mass consumerism and war a characteristic dark humor that can make people feel shocked and amused at the same time. Those creations have become famous all over the world, and many famous people started buying them. He has painted in many places, such as Bristol, London, Berlin and even in Palestine and some of his works are exposed in famous museums like the Louvre, in Paris,

II.

CONTEXT

This painting corresponds to two social and politic aspects of the US: - The consumerism society: during the XXth century, industrialized countries, particularly America, have developed a new kind of society based on mass consumerism and leisure. - Vietnam War: between 1964 an 1975, a war opposed the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam), belonging to the communist block and the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) which belong to the capitalist block and was helped by the American army.

III. DESCRIPTION

This creation is an in-door graffiti, realized with a stencil by Banksy.

It represents: -two fictional characters: Mickey Mouse and Ronald McDonald, both symbols of Americas consumerism society -a real character, a little girl from Vietnam, seriously injured, trying to leave her village, in North Vietnam, which is being attacked by the American army with napalm gas, a powerful weapon used to burn villages or enemy positions. Those three characters are looking at the viewer holding hands. There is an important contrast between their expressions: while MM and RMcD look happy, this little girl is crying and looks in terrible health conditions.

IV. INTERPRETATION
Napalm is the perfect example for Banksys pro-freedom and anticapitalism ideas. He wants to show what he thinks is the real face of the USA. Mickey and McDonald, symbols of the American capitalist and consumerist society, create a contrast with the little girl who represents the atrocities caused by the US army during many of the wars it fought in, like the Vietnam War in this case. While almost everyone knows about media and consumerism symbols like MM, Banksy decided to show a second default of the USA: his army and its ability to get in war situations, in which it doesnt hesitate to make civilians suffer like this little girl. We can conclude that this painting criticizes the US, and makes a caricature of the country. Banksy used his famous dark humor: in a sensible situation, he succeeds making people think, laugh and feel shocked at the same time.