Dismaland Essay

572 Words3 Pages
The commercial and ticket buying process for Banksy’s Dismaland are clear examples of Culture Jamming because of the way they demean the marketing rhetoric that exists within multinational corporations (Harold, 348). The commercial targets the reputation of the Disney Theme Park and amusement parks more generally. Banksy himself is a political activist and curating this ‘bemusement park’ is a part of his activist movement. However, capitalism’s deceitful promise of fulfillment through entertainment and consumption, is critiqued through aspects of Dismaland, but also reaffirmed (ibid, 350). Harold argues that Culture Jamming should not be seen as a replacement for traditional discourses of civic engagement however, the disruptive potential of pranksters certainly have a place, even a key role in social justice…show more content…
This dialogue juxtaposed with distressing images of art representing the refugee crisis and particularly the excessive photography of Cinderella’s carriage crash (a representation of Princess Diana’s death) ‘brings the people to consciousness’ through its suggestion that the obsession with consumer culture that is pivotal to theme parks distracts from global issues. The commercial also taps into neoliberal ideas by posing the question, is there something missing in your life. Pranking is clearly used within the ticket buying system Dismaland tries to protest (ibid, 348). This happens through Banksy “diagnosing a specific situation”, in this case ticket buying and trying something to provoke responses, in this cases posting “currently unable to process online ticket sales”, preventing customers from buying tickets online the day the ‘Bemusement Park’ opened (ibid,
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