Some call it propaganda, others call it art. Whatever it may be considered, well-known graffiti artist Banksy is at it again and making an impact with his newest short film on YouTube titled “Make This the Year YOU Discover a New Destination.”
The setting of the scene takes place on the Gaza strip, which is a pene-exclave of Palestine bordering Egypt and Israel. Palestine was once it’s own country, and now it cannot be found on a globe, or any recent maps. It has since been barricaded into a small section of land that is surrounded by walls the only way Palestinians can get in and out is through illegal tunnels.
The entire scenario sounds like a blast from the WWII past, where people are suppressed and held against their will within the confinement of a rundown city simply because of their heritage or religion. Beginning in the mid-twentieth century, the “Holy War” has been the constant battle between Israelis and Palestinians over borders, control over Jerusalem, security, water rights and much more.
The irony of it all is that the main idea behind the war is religion, and all in the name of it does the terrorism reign.
Up until WWI, Israeli Jews and Palestinian Muslims for the most part lived in peace. It wasn’t until the Arab Revolt against Britain and the land laws in Palestine that things began to plummet. The revolt was crumbled and Palestinians lost many of their leaders and stripped of arms; which created a large segregation between them and the Israelis.
The details of the on-going war are high disputed and debated between al countries. But one thing is evident, innocent lives are being lost. After the second Intifada it was clear that there would be no peace. From riots, to assassinations, children’s blood being shed and suicide bombings, this war is no longer about the people but about the pride.
Banksy created a two-minute short film in which he snuck in to Gaza illegally and filmed his journey around the city spray-painting controversial art. In 2007, he had made a similar trip where over night he added his work to the Middle East wall during the holidays, which is now known as “Santa’s Ghetto” a project that shed light on the barriers of the small country. In his newest video there is footage of Gaza with a sarcastic tone in closed captions. A scene pans over what looks like an abandoned war zone and reads, “Nestled in an exclusive setting (surrounded by a wall on three sides and a line of gun boats on the other)…Watched over by friendly neighbors,” and by neighbors he means Israelis. It shows of ruins from 2014’s Operation Protective Edge that destroyed 18,000 homes, just to skim the surface of how treacherous this has been to the people. The idea behind the narrated video is that the sarcasm is what the rest of the world (i.e. America) thinks of Gaza and it’s opportunities. We play naïve when it comes to actual conditions and until footage is shown how could anyone really know. Politicians in the UN have said such things like “there are development opportunities,” like in the video, when in reality that means everything has been blown up and cement hasn’t been allowed into the city since the last bombings.
This time Banksy placed works that drew a large contrast between the unjust demolition of the city and the vibrancy of the message. In the video, Banksy plastered a playful kitten on a cement wall where a local exclaims, “This cat tells the whole world that she is missing joy in her life…That cat found something to play with, what about our children?”
What makes this important is that Banksy draws attention to an ignored subject to a generation that has the power to help change things. He is telling a story for those that do not have a voice. He shows the real conditions of what it’s like to live there and the people who follow his work have now seen a message. Regardless of the side one takes, it’s plain to see that these provisions are no way to live for anyone on either side. Check out the video on the Banksy YouTube channel.