I didn't know about this until 10 minutes ago...

[pixiedust]

http://www.banksy.co.uk/films/index.html

The disneyland video.

What are your thoughts?

[BirdMom]

I have heard of this guy - he's some sort of U.K. guerilla artist. Isn't he the one who spoofed Paris Hilton's disc at U.K. record stores?

Anyway, as an ex-R.O., I hate, Hate, HATE that the guy has filmed himself crossing under the fence to go into a restricted area to set up his "installation." I'd hate to think of what could/has happened when people with lesser brains get too near the track. I believe this was the same area where some idiot tried to retrieve his hat blown off during the ride and he ended up getting killed by one of the trains.

On the other hand, I'm still trying to figure out exactly what connection DL has to Gitmo and why he felt the need to comment on Disney/American culture in that way???

[pixiedust]

Yeah... I like some of Banky's stencil work.. it is extraordinary. This? This is retarded. This is him going "look what I got away with"

I spent more time getting all excited cause I know the tram guy and the Main Entrance girl who are in it. LOL. Obviously didn't make THAT big of a statement.

Also, how the hell are you supposed to figure out what it in while you whiz by on the train?

[bpgstudios]

exactly what it is. "look what I can do, its so shocking, people won't know what hit them whent hey see this!"
I don't respect this at all as an art major. This is a major case of 'pick your medium/gallery wisely', which this dude did not. Sure, sometimes to make your statement in art you may feel the need to bend rules a bit. However, this location was not necessary for the intended message. And you know all it did? caused an e-stop. They called security, it was removed, and thunder resumed normal operation I would assume. The trains arent even full, so the effectiveness is lost there as well. The whole thing reminds me of one of those undercover pranks, a'la Punk'd.
Did it make national headlines? nope. Had you infiltrated some big government office and did this, you might have turned a few heads. A bunch of APs and tourist families don't care.

(But obviously some of us do by just posting about this myself included. Eh, the ultimate stupid guest trick.)

[LittleDollClaudia]

And the point of that idiocy was?? Ye Gods, if you're going to do a prank, at least make it interesting. (not that I am encouraging bad behavior) That just bored me to death. Besides, unless you go to this joker's site, the whole prank makes no sense anyway. What a waste of film. The only thing that it made me feel was I want to go to Disneyland!

[GMC]

exactly Yeah... I like some of Banky's stencil work... it is extraordinary. This? This is retarded. This is him going "look what I got away with"

He Actually DIDN'T get away with it. As soon as we found out he was in there, we hit a power disconnect, and some guests that were watching him put it up, pointed out to security his camera operator, as he filmed me and another cast member taking it down.

I remember standing in the planter kind in front of it to occlude veiw, and thinking aloud to the guy that was there with me, "what if that's a bomb behind us, how far do you think we'll go when it's timer is up?"

I was hoping to see the video, but my quicktime isn't up to par.

Can't i just have a normal day at work.

PS Lady Ulrike, restore my counts!

[BirdMom]

Did it make national headlines? nope. Had you infiltrated some big government office and did this, you might have turned a few heads. A bunch of APs and tourist families don't care.

Hmmm - maybe that's the point? That the average American doesn't give a rat about what's happening in Iraq or at Gitmo. That reminders can be right in front of our faces and we don't care? I dunno, I agree with the person who thought that the location of the installation was a poor choice for a lot of reasons. And yeah, most people would think of it as a prank rather than as food for thought. It might have been more subversive to set it up in a real piece of Americana like a McDonald's or Wal Mart, but I'm sure that the result would have been the same - more head scratching or dismissing it as a juvenile prank. Location, medium, meh...no one really cares either way, lol.

[lady ulrike]

PS Lady Ulrike, restore my counts!

You gotta talk to Cujo about that, I don't know what they were, he does. You still love me though, right? ;)

[elwise1966]

This guy is a moron...that's all.

And I think SGT is a good place to show his work. He obviously fits the profile of a SG.

[Mansion Butler]

I didn't even follow his point. How weird.