Responding to the backlash over a Banksy work being named ‘Britain’s favourite artwork’, an opinion contends that the graffiti piece is very much deserving of the title for its provocative and symbolic protest against inherent social inequalities.
The author begins by highlighting that Banksy’s fame and prestige makes him undeserving of the criticism that he received. They immediately attack those who don’t see the artist as the well-known and beloved “good old Banksy” through accusing them of having “liv[ed] under a rock.” The offensive label appeals to their desire to stay modern and up to date, with the implication that the viewpoint of Banksy being famous being the status quo inclining them to agree with it. This high-status depiction of Banksy is then built on through the tricolon “from the streets”, “to the internet”, and “to our art galleries”. The associations with society of these three references are all distinctly different; “the streets” invokes an image of raw harshness, “the internet” gives a portrayal of technological advancement, and “art galleries” conveys a sense of poshness. In creating these contrasts, the author attempts to portray Banksy’s fame as universal and as such the artist himself as highly regarded. The author then uses this high status portrayal, in particular, as the basis of their rhetorical question: “why is everyone so up in arms at [his] … artwork?”. The confused tone and implied answer acts to position audiences to see any dislike of the artist as illogical, and in turn, further lead them to contrarily view him as a respected and reputable individual.
Shifting to a more vehement tone, the author proceeds to argue that Banksy should be instead praised for the social activism he does through his work. They portray him as almost hero-like for his brave “expos[ition]” of the “most sordid aspects of our society”. The word “expose” specifically implies to audiences that have been deceived, and appeals to their natural inclinations to not be manipulated. This leads them to feel grateful towards Banksy, and the feeling of gloom the phrase “most sordid aspects” invokes only further compounds this effect as it suggests that these “aspects” are disconcerting to face. The author then accuses the audience of being complacent to, and thus the cause of, these “sordid aspects” of society through the inclusive phrase “our eyes from our screens”. The repetition of the word “our” emphasises that audiences are only concerned about themselves and as such ignorant to the issues around them. Having already positioned to see themselves inferior, audiences are lead to feel guilty by this rather than attacked, further positioning them to feel grateful towards Banksy for fixing the problems that they have caused.
The accompanying image solidifies the argument the piece presents. Banksy’s artwork “Girl with a balloon” is dominated by a sense of bleakness conveyed through the neutral colour palette and the bland use of straight lines, but nevertheless, the red balloon contrasts it all and is the focus of the image. This serves to further the admirable and commendable portrayal of the artist, as despite the suppressive nature of a mundane world, he still uses his artistic voice in attempts to speak out against what is established and considered norm.