Juxtaposition In Dismaland
Visual Argument While looking at different pieces from the infamous graffiti artist Banksy’s new exhibit, “Dismaland” I noticed the image of Cinderella hanging out of her overturned carriage while a group of paparazzi continue to simply take photographs. In this piece Banksy utilizes juxtaposition, ethos and logos, and also iconic figures to convey his message of the problem with the media, and how in this day and age if we see someone’s life in disarray we are more likely to watch and do nothing than to help.
Juxtaposition is when one element is from one time period and another element is from another, in his image from “Dismaland” Banksy uses this technique to strengthen his argument that the media focuses on making a tragedy into a story
for profit. This piece has elements of juxtaposition, for example; Cinderella is a princess whose story was introduced in the 1600s, but the paparazzi are from the modern day time period. Banksy uses this juxtaposition of a fictional princess and actual paparazzi to show the audience how society treats celebrities like they are not real human beings. When something unfortunate happens to a celebrity we treat it like entertainment instead of a tragedy.
In his work, Banksy used ethos to appeal to the audiences’ emotions. While looking at the image, most people would feel sorry for Cinderella and would feel uneasy watching the paparazzi using her pain in such a manner. Banksy used these emotions to make the audience more receptive to his message. I also feel that Banksy used logos to appeal to the audiences’ logic, because while viewing this scene many people would think that logically you would help the princess instead of just allowing people to take pictures of her.
While examining Banksy’s image I knew that there were many different uses of iconic people in his work. Banksy used Cinderella which is one of Disney’s most famous princesses, and we associate her life with happily-ever-afters and perfect endings. I instantly knew that the use of a famous Disney princess was not a coincidence, the scene was eerily similar to the death of Princess Diana. Princess Diana died in a car crash trying to escape the paparazzi, and after her death the story stayed in the press for a longer time than a normal story would.
Juxtaposition is when one element is from one time period and another element is from another, in his image from “Dismaland” Banksy uses this technique to strengthen his argument that the media focuses on making a tragedy into a story
for profit. This piece has elements of juxtaposition, for example; Cinderella is a princess whose story was introduced in the 1600s, but the paparazzi are from the modern day time period. Banksy uses this juxtaposition of a fictional princess and actual paparazzi to show the audience how society treats celebrities like they are not real human beings. When something unfortunate happens to a celebrity we treat it like entertainment instead of a tragedy.
In his work, Banksy used ethos to appeal to the audiences’ emotions. While looking at the image, most people would feel sorry for Cinderella and would feel uneasy watching the paparazzi using her pain in such a manner. Banksy used these emotions to make the audience more receptive to his message. I also feel that Banksy used logos to appeal to the audiences’ logic, because while viewing this scene many people would think that logically you would help the princess instead of just allowing people to take pictures of her.
While examining Banksy’s image I knew that there were many different uses of iconic people in his work. Banksy used Cinderella which is one of Disney’s most famous princesses, and we associate her life with happily-ever-afters and perfect endings. I instantly knew that the use of a famous Disney princess was not a coincidence, the scene was eerily similar to the death of Princess Diana. Princess Diana died in a car crash trying to escape the paparazzi, and after her death the story stayed in the press for a longer time than a normal story would.