The Simpsons has long been overtaken by other programs such as Family Guy and Bob’s Burgers in terms of pushing boundaries, but when Banksy was invited to create the intro and couch gag for an episode in 2010, he made probably the darkest one to date, criticizing the powers behind the scenes and how the show is promoted and developed. Banksy began making a name for himself through his street art that combined socio-political commentary and dark, cynical humor in '90s Great Britain; although, there are exceptions. He has since become a household name as an artist, expanding far beyond his initial graffiti into filmmaking, writing and photography.
Considering the versatility of Banksy, a collaboration with The Simpsons seemed only logical. In 2010, the artist was invited to come up with the show’s iconic, ever-changing opening. The show’s executives probably expected a dark, cynical take on modern society, but what they got went beyond that.
The episode "MoneyBart" opens with the usual sequence; although, Banksy’s name is spray painted on the billboard across from Lard Lad, as well as on the school wall. Banksy’s influence soon becomes more apparent during the couch gag.
As the family sits on the couch, the image begins to flicker. The camera zooms out and reveals that the family image is a screen in a sweatshop, where exhausted animators are working without pause on the show’s drawings. Some of them display bandages on their arms and hands. The colors underline the dreary atmosphere as the picture seems to be in black-and-white, except for the animations being drawn.
It only gets darker as a child is taking a finished sheet and, without any protective gear, dunks it into hazardous chemicals while rats gnaw on human bones. The chemicals also leak, slowly creating a hole in the ground. The camera follows the leak into the depths, where viewers see what appears to be kittens being thrown into a wood chipper. The remains are then used to stuff Bart Simpson plush toys. A panda is forced to pull the cart full of said toys to a station where a man uses a dead dolphin’s tongue to tape boxes shut.
To end the scene, a unicorn collapses while its horn is used to punch the holes into the DVDs. The camera zooms out further to reveal all this is taking place in buildings in front of the 20th Century Fox logo. The area is shut off with wire fences and looks almost like a prison. The camera zooms out yet again to reveal that all of this has been playing out on the Simpson’s TV, making this intro go full-circle.
The message is not hard to decode. Banksy is using the very show he is working for as a platform to criticize the corporate machinery behind it. According to the BBC, the sequence was inspired by reports that the show’s animation was largely outsourced to a Korean company. It is quite remarkable too that the show and network aired this critical contribution.
However, the intro was apparently edited in parts on the request of Fox executives to make it less grim. Indeed, Banksy’s original artwork shows an even grimmer version, which includes a kid in the chemical room vomiting, as well as a Rupert Murdoch poster hidden in the depths of the sweatshop.
The cooperation came about when executive producer Al Jean, after watching Banksy’s Exit Through the Gift Shop, asked his casting director, Bonnie Pietila, to reach out to Banksy’s camp. In an interview with the New York Times, Jean stated that, "95 percent of it is just the way [Banksy] wanted it," and that Fox was, "very gracious about us biting the hand that feeds us." However, Jean also made sure to state that, "none of the things [Banksy] depicts are true.”