You may remember the attention paid recently to the Banksy-created opening of the Simpsons, which (among other things) portrayed animators working under sweatshop-like conditions, to produce the cartoon. We had mentioned it after Fox issued a DMCA takedown on the video, which had been uploaded to Banksy’s account. I’m not entirely sure what happened, but that YouTube video is back up:
That said, what may be more interesting is this story about how the South Korean animators who did, in fact, animate that opening sequence protested the whole thing, and pushed back until at least some of the sequence was changed. I will admit that my first impression on hearing about it was to think that Banksy confused North Korea with South Korea, and that does appear to be what some others have said as well. While it is true that South Korean animators make less than American animators, it’s hardly “sweatshop” conditions. Still, in the end, the animators animated the sequence in question, but are making it known that they don’t think the depiction is fair.
I don’t think the depiction is ‘fair’ either, and I don’t think any reasonable person would think it’s meant to be an accurate portrayal of actual working conditions- humor has always exaggerated the truth in order to reveal it.
Naturally… but the question is if it IS revealing a truth. Obviously the details were frivolous, but was the core message frivolous too?
Clearly it was trying to convey the fact that a bunch of Koreans suffer to bring westerners their esoteric joys – the “dark underpinnings” of a bright, fun world like the Simpsons.
Is that true? It has always been my understanding that South Korean animators take their jobs very seriously, that the studios are run by extremely talented people, that a mutual respect exists with the american production houses that hire them, and that the gruntwork of drawing thousands of frames for fairly low pay is simply how you crack into the industry (similar to entry-level jobs in countless other industries in South Korea)
Now, maybe I’m way off too… I really don’t know a lot about the issue – and neither do most people watching the Simpsons. So my question is: did Banksy totally misrepresent the situation? Did he exaggerate to communicate a truth, or did he create an entirely false message with that exaggeration?
What was it Neil Stephenson said many years ago in Snow Crash?
“… once the Invisible Hand has taken away all those historical inequities and smeared them out into a broad global layer of what a Pakistani brickmaker would consider to be prosperity…”
Yes, but white people laugh at jokes told about them (Newfie jokes, kinda takes the fun out of it.
Newfsays:
Re: Re: Re:2 Fair, life is not fair, get over it
Reminds me of a joke . ..
A drunk Newfie was stumbling home one day when he got lost and found himself in the bush. He fell to the ground and noticed a lamp. He picked it up, and rubbed it, and out came a genie.
“You have three wishes, choose them wisely.” says the Genie.
The Newfie, looking down at his last, and empty, bottle of beer, smashes it on some rocks and says, “I want a beer that will never run out.”
A bottle appears in front of the Newfie. He takes it, looks at it, and downs it. He looks at it again, and to his surprise, it was still full. The Newfie being very content starts walking away.
“Where are you going,” asks the Genie, “You still have two wishes left!”
“Well,” replies the Newfie, “Give me TWO more of these!”
Yes, the Simpson’s is about comedy, but it has also always been about satire, and it has always featured tackled difficult themes and controversial topics without being afraid to make statements on them. Culturally, it’s an extremely powerful force.
The creators are also very protective of their work. Never before has an outside artist been brought in to work on their opening credits – the extremely iconic opening credits that stood unchanged for 20 years until they were redone in the last season.
Then they brought in Banksy – a highly controversial artist known for his political statements – and gave him nearly-free reign on designing a couch gag for that sacred credit sequence. That, to me, is a statement of support from the creators for Banksy’s message.
I would be pretty disappointed in The Simpsons creators if they gave such a rare venue over to a misleading message – one that misrepresents the very people they work with to create the show they are so proud of – just for the shock value.
If they were that offended or thought the depiction was unfair then its their duty to themselves to not animate it. If it was such a big deal they would of protested.
Unless they can’t because they are shackled to their desks… but then–wait… DAMN!
out_of_the_bluesays:
Still unsure of your point with this.
“the country’s animators still make one-third the salaries of their American counterparts” — Simpsons producers pocket the other two-thirds. (And that’s after increases: articles has a hint of much lower wages — besides that it’s for *for-hire*, no royalties.)
Is ONE-THIRD not “sweatshop” enough for you? Or are you just having trouble understanding that the South Korean animators naturally don’t want to see themselves as exploited?
Anonymous Cowardsays:
Re: Still unsure of your point with this.
Do you or do you not understand that all countries do not have equal wages?
Why the hell do you think Canada pushes to keep its dollar below US parity? Because a lower dollar draws in more US business.
But I’m sure us poor Canadians feel terribly “exploited” too. How dare those snobby Americans use our cheaper labour to bolster our economy!
You should run for office! “I promise to bring wages in the US down to a more competitive level.” It’ll be a landslide!
out_of_the_bluesays:
Re: Re: Still unsure of your point with this.
“no, the US wages are just over inflated to the point of not being able to compete in the market”
This is the inherent contradiction of “capitalism”:
The producers of The Simpsons get TENS OF MILLIONS for doing almost nothing yet you’re concerned that the LABOR costs which *actually* produce the products sold are too high.
If the sequence were some kind of indictment against the injustices of American capitalism there wouldn’t be an issue. In fact the American left would jump on it as some kind of (although animated) documentary.
Anonymous Cowardsays:
Re: Of course...
…wait, the left is supposed to be anti-capitalism?
Or was that a not so subtle attempt to call liberals communists?
Left? Right? You still buy into that bullshit? Pity.
Justinsays:
Re: Re: Re: Of course...
You fall under one ideology or the other whether you like it or not. If you don’t think so and you think you just look “issue by issue” then you should take a look a where those issues lie and likely that will be the ideology you fall under.
Either you believe that more government (stronger at the federal level) is good (more services, more regulation, etc) … or you believe that less government (less services, regulation, intrusion).
I thought it was an indictment against the injustices of American capitalism.
Anonymous Cowardsays:
Again, Mike shows you don't have to be Korean to be a blowhard blogger!
It’s great that the Korea subject matter expert, Mike, wrote this article. >8-P
Anonymous Cowardsays:
I don’t see a problem here. It wasn’t so important that they quit their jobs over animating it, but it is important enough that they’ll add the caveat that they don’t agree with its message. That seems perfectly reasonable to me. If one day I come into work and my boss tells me to do something that isn’t unethical, but I still don’t agree with, you bet I won’t /quit/ over it! But, I might express my displeasure with it. I mean, its my right as an employee to complain endlessly about my job! I do it all the time!
Anonymous Cowardsays:
I don’t think it’s good to make fun of anybody except for totalitarian regimes and Tea Partiers.
Come to think of it, making fun of anyone that is mentally handicapped is a good thing.
Anonymous Cowardsays:
I don’t think it’s good to make fun of anybody except for totalitarian regimes and Tea Partiers.
Come to think of it, making fun of anyone that is mentally handicapped and watches FOX is a good thing.
Anonymous Cowardsays:
fox copyright claim is preventing you from seeing it
Could we hosers up here in frozen Canada protest loudly enough that we can erase all recollection of a certain song about blaming Canada?
Hmmmmmm….
Probably not 😉
Anonymous Cowardsays:
Up and Down
And it is back down again. Did you do this to prove a point Mike? lol
Anonymous Cowardsays:
Exactly who is protesting the opening? It sounds like animators:
“veteran animator Nelson Shin”
But then reveals
“The iconic cartoon propelled his production company Akom..”
So, the owner of the animation studio is objecting that his company is being compared to a sweatshop. I’m sure the owners of all sweatshops objecting to having it pointed out that they run a sweatshop. Of course at least the employees aren’t (probably) being exposed to toxic chemicals.
Anonymous Cowardsays:
I thought the opening was about Chinese sweatshops and not Korean and I also think many others thought the same thing.
Anonymous Cowardsays:
The SK animation company in question outsources some Simpsons work to an NK animation company.
Comments on “South Korean Animators Protest Banksy Simpsons Opening… Which They Animated”
I don’t think the depiction is ‘fair’ either, and I don’t think any reasonable person would think it’s meant to be an accurate portrayal of actual working conditions- humor has always exaggerated the truth in order to reveal it.
Re: Re:
Of course it’s accurate (Won’t somebody think of the unicorns!)
; P
Re: Re:
Naturally… but the question is if it IS revealing a truth. Obviously the details were frivolous, but was the core message frivolous too?
Clearly it was trying to convey the fact that a bunch of Koreans suffer to bring westerners their esoteric joys – the “dark underpinnings” of a bright, fun world like the Simpsons.
Is that true? It has always been my understanding that South Korean animators take their jobs very seriously, that the studios are run by extremely talented people, that a mutual respect exists with the american production houses that hire them, and that the gruntwork of drawing thousands of frames for fairly low pay is simply how you crack into the industry (similar to entry-level jobs in countless other industries in South Korea)
Now, maybe I’m way off too… I really don’t know a lot about the issue – and neither do most people watching the Simpsons. So my question is: did Banksy totally misrepresent the situation? Did he exaggerate to communicate a truth, or did he create an entirely false message with that exaggeration?
The youtube video is back down again 🙂
Re: down
yep. Due to a copyright claim by Twentieth Century Fox. Do they ever learn?
Re: Still On Hulu
http://www.hulu.com/watch/184819/the-simpsons-banksy-opening
Re: Re:
Hulu Mirror for those who can get to it.
http://www.hulu.com/watch/184819/the-simpsons-banksy-opening
Interesting
It’s all relative, isn’t it?
What was it Neil Stephenson said many years ago in Snow Crash?
“… once the Invisible Hand has taken away all those historical inequities and smeared them out into a broad global layer of what a Pakistani brickmaker would consider to be prosperity…”
Fair, life is not fair, get over it
Boo fucking who. Im so tired of everyone being such a thin skinned biatch. It was a joke get over it.
Re: Fair, life is not fair, get over it
Its this whole stupid Global Political Correctness. You can’t make fun of anyone anymore.
Re: Re: Fair, life is not fair, get over it
Its really getting out of hand.
Re: Re: Fair, life is not fair, get over it
NO you just need to make fun of every one equally.
Re: Re: Fair, life is not fair, get over it
You can still make fun of white people.
Re: Re: Re: Fair, life is not fair, get over it
Yes, but white people laugh at jokes told about them (Newfie jokes, kinda takes the fun out of it.
Re: Re: Re:2 Fair, life is not fair, get over it
Reminds me of a joke . ..
A drunk Newfie was stumbling home one day when he got lost and found himself in the bush. He fell to the ground and noticed a lamp. He picked it up, and rubbed it, and out came a genie.
“You have three wishes, choose them wisely.” says the Genie.
The Newfie, looking down at his last, and empty, bottle of beer, smashes it on some rocks and says, “I want a beer that will never run out.”
A bottle appears in front of the Newfie. He takes it, looks at it, and downs it. He looks at it again, and to his surprise, it was still full. The Newfie being very content starts walking away.
“Where are you going,” asks the Genie, “You still have two wishes left!”
“Well,” replies the Newfie, “Give me TWO more of these!”
Re: Fair, life is not fair, get over it
I think you meant “Boo fucking hoo.”
Re: Re: Fair, life is not fair, get over it
No, boo f’in who is what I meant.
Re: Re: Re: Fair, life is not fair, get over it
I don’t get it
Get over it!
It’s the Simpsons for goodness sake!!!
Re: Get over it!
Yes, the Simpson’s is about comedy, but it has also always been about satire, and it has always featured tackled difficult themes and controversial topics without being afraid to make statements on them. Culturally, it’s an extremely powerful force.
The creators are also very protective of their work. Never before has an outside artist been brought in to work on their opening credits – the extremely iconic opening credits that stood unchanged for 20 years until they were redone in the last season.
Then they brought in Banksy – a highly controversial artist known for his political statements – and gave him nearly-free reign on designing a couch gag for that sacred credit sequence. That, to me, is a statement of support from the creators for Banksy’s message.
I would be pretty disappointed in The Simpsons creators if they gave such a rare venue over to a misleading message – one that misrepresents the very people they work with to create the show they are so proud of – just for the shock value.
If they were that offended or thought the depiction was unfair then its their duty to themselves to not animate it. If it was such a big deal they would of protested.
Chicago’s Best Guide and Blog
Re: Re:
Unless they can’t because they are shackled to their desks… but then–wait… DAMN!
Still unsure of your point with this.
“the country’s animators still make one-third the salaries of their American counterparts” — Simpsons producers pocket the other two-thirds. (And that’s after increases: articles has a hint of much lower wages — besides that it’s for *for-hire*, no royalties.)
Is ONE-THIRD not “sweatshop” enough for you? Or are you just having trouble understanding that the South Korean animators naturally don’t want to see themselves as exploited?
Re: Still unsure of your point with this.
Do you or do you not understand that all countries do not have equal wages?
Why the hell do you think Canada pushes to keep its dollar below US parity? Because a lower dollar draws in more US business.
But I’m sure us poor Canadians feel terribly “exploited” too. How dare those snobby Americans use our cheaper labour to bolster our economy!
Re: Re: Still unsure of your point with this.
The only reason we don’t consider Canadian operations ‘sweat shops’ is because it is so cold up there you don’t actually sweat.
Re: Still unsure of your point with this.
“is one-third not sweatshop enough for you?”
no, the US wages are just over inflated to the point of not being able to compete in the market.
Re: Re: Still unsure of your point with this.
You should run for office! “I promise to bring wages in the US down to a more competitive level.” It’ll be a landslide!
Re: Re: Still unsure of your point with this.
“no, the US wages are just over inflated to the point of not being able to compete in the market”
This is the inherent contradiction of “capitalism”:
The producers of The Simpsons get TENS OF MILLIONS for doing almost nothing yet you’re concerned that the LABOR costs which *actually* produce the products sold are too high.
Re: Still unsure of your point with this.
Technically, knowing the exact amount is useless if you don’t also know the cost-of-living as well
Re: Still unsure of your point with this.
Yep, one third, and you get also one third of the cost for living in South Korea. Things cost less there.
Of course...
If the sequence were some kind of indictment against the injustices of American capitalism there wouldn’t be an issue. In fact the American left would jump on it as some kind of (although animated) documentary.
Re: Of course...
…wait, the left is supposed to be anti-capitalism?
Or was that a not so subtle attempt to call liberals communists?
Re: Re: Of course...
Not subtle.
Re: Re: Re: Of course...
Wow. Crawl out from under your rock, not everyone on the left is the same.
Re: Re: Re:2 Of course...
your on the left ain’t yaa …
Re: Re: Of course...
Left? Right? You still buy into that bullshit? Pity.
Re: Re: Re: Of course...
You fall under one ideology or the other whether you like it or not. If you don’t think so and you think you just look “issue by issue” then you should take a look a where those issues lie and likely that will be the ideology you fall under.
Either you believe that more government (stronger at the federal level) is good (more services, more regulation, etc) … or you believe that less government (less services, regulation, intrusion).
Here is an infograph to help http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/left-vs-right-world/
If you don’t believe any of this any you’re “voting for the person”, we might as well have American Idol instead of elections.
Re: Of course...
I thought it was an indictment against the injustices of American capitalism.
Again, Mike shows you don't have to be Korean to be a blowhard blogger!
It’s great that the Korea subject matter expert, Mike, wrote this article. >8-P
I don’t see a problem here. It wasn’t so important that they quit their jobs over animating it, but it is important enough that they’ll add the caveat that they don’t agree with its message. That seems perfectly reasonable to me. If one day I come into work and my boss tells me to do something that isn’t unethical, but I still don’t agree with, you bet I won’t /quit/ over it! But, I might express my displeasure with it. I mean, its my right as an employee to complain endlessly about my job! I do it all the time!
I don’t think it’s good to make fun of anybody except for totalitarian regimes and Tea Partiers.
Come to think of it, making fun of anyone that is mentally handicapped is a good thing.
I don’t think it’s good to make fun of anybody except for totalitarian regimes and Tea Partiers.
Come to think of it, making fun of anyone that is mentally handicapped and watches FOX is a good thing.
fox copyright claim is preventing you from seeing it
NOT UP
I wonder......
Could we hosers up here in frozen Canada protest loudly enough that we can erase all recollection of a certain song about blaming Canada?
Hmmmmmm….
Probably not 😉
Up and Down
And it is back down again. Did you do this to prove a point Mike? lol
Exactly who is protesting the opening? It sounds like animators:
“veteran animator Nelson Shin”
But then reveals
“The iconic cartoon propelled his production company Akom..”
So, the owner of the animation studio is objecting that his company is being compared to a sweatshop. I’m sure the owners of all sweatshops objecting to having it pointed out that they run a sweatshop. Of course at least the employees aren’t (probably) being exposed to toxic chemicals.
I thought the opening was about Chinese sweatshops and not Korean and I also think many others thought the same thing.
The SK animation company in question outsources some Simpsons work to an NK animation company.
I find it quite entertaining that the groups getting their feathers ruffled over this intro are the very ones who made/broadcast it.
Job well done then, Banksy.
ok...
this is not supposed to be an accurate depiction of working conditions, do they think people will believe the toys are made of dead rats? come on