South Korean Animators Protest Banksy Simpsons Opening... Which They Animated

from the the-simpsons... dept

Tue, Nov 2nd 2010 10:07am — Mike Masnick

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.

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Filed Under: animation, banksy, simpsons, south korea

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PopeHilarius (profile), 2 Nov 2010 @ 9:24am

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.
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- :Lobo Santo (profile), 2 Nov 2010 @ 10:32am
  
  Re:
  Of course it's accurate (Won't somebody think of the unicorns!)
  
  ; P
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- Marcus Carab (profile), 2 Nov 2010 @ 10:55am
  
  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?
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crade (profile), 2 Nov 2010 @ 10:11am

The youtube video is back down again :)
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- SUNWARD (profile), 2 Nov 2010 @ 10:16am
  
  Re: down
  yep. Due to a copyright claim by Twentieth Century Fox. Do they ever learn?
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- Anonymous Coward, 2 Nov 2010 @ 10:31am
  
  Still On Hulu
  http://www.hulu.com/watch/184819/the-simpsons-banksy-opening
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- wto605 (profile), 2 Nov 2010 @ 11:20am
  
  Re:
  Hulu Mirror for those who can get to it.
  http://www.hulu.com/watch/184819/the-simpsons-banksy-opening
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ChurchHatesTucker (profile), 2 Nov 2010 @ 10:15am

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..."
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weneedhelp (profile), 2 Nov 2010 @ 10:16am

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.
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- Hephaestus (profile), 2 Nov 2010 @ 10:23am
  
  Re: Fair, life is not fair, get over it
  Its this whole stupid Global Political Correctness. You can't make fun of anyone anymore.
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  - weneedhelp (profile), 2 Nov 2010 @ 10:26am
    
    Re: Re: Fair, life is not fair, get over it
    Its really getting out of hand.
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  - Sean T Henry (profile), 2 Nov 2010 @ 11:08am
    
    Re: Re: Fair, life is not fair, get over it
    NO you just need to make fun of every one equally.
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  - Anonymous Coward, 2 Nov 2010 @ 11:18am
    
    Re: Re: Fair, life is not fair, get over it
    You can still make fun of white people.
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    - btrussell (profile), 2 Nov 2010 @ 11:35am
      
      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.
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      - Newf, 2 Nov 2010 @ 12:57pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: 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!"
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- interval (profile), 2 Nov 2010 @ 11:06am
  
  Re: Fair, life is not fair, get over it
  I think you meant "Boo fucking hoo."
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  - weneedhelp (profile), 2 Nov 2010 @ 11:58am
    
    Re: Re: Fair, life is not fair, get over it
    No, boo f'in who is what I meant.
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    - Anonymous Coward, 2 Nov 2010 @ 1:16pm
      
      Re: Re: Re: Fair, life is not fair, get over it
      I don't get it
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David (profile), 2 Nov 2010 @ 10:25am

Get over it!
It's the Simpsons for goodness sake!!!
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- Marcus Carab (profile), 2 Nov 2010 @ 11:02am
  
  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.
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Bernard, 2 Nov 2010 @ 10:27am

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
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- Marcus Carab (profile), 2 Nov 2010 @ 11:04am
  
  Re:
  Unless they can't because they are shackled to their desks... but then--wait... DAMN!
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out_of_the_blue, 2 Nov 2010 @ 10:38am

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?
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- Anonymous Coward, 2 Nov 2010 @ 10:43am
  
  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!
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  - Michael, 2 Nov 2010 @ 11:30am
    
    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.
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- crade (profile), 2 Nov 2010 @ 10:44am
  
  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.
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  - nasch (profile), 2 Nov 2010 @ 12:28pm
    
    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!
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  - out_of_the_blue, 2 Nov 2010 @ 1:03pm
    
    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.
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- Eugene (profile), 2 Nov 2010 @ 1:21pm
  
  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
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- Anonymous Coward, 2 Nov 2010 @ 3:45pm
  
  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.
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interval (profile), 2 Nov 2010 @ 10:49am

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.
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- Anonymous Coward, 2 Nov 2010 @ 11:00am
  
  Re: Of course...
  ...wait, the left is supposed to be anti-capitalism?
  
  Or was that a not so subtle attempt to call liberals communists?
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  - interval (profile), 2 Nov 2010 @ 11:04am
    
    Re: Re: Of course...
    Not subtle.
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    - Jeremy7600 (profile), 2 Nov 2010 @ 11:28am
      
      Re: Re: Re: Of course...
      Wow. Crawl out from under your rock, not everyone on the left is the same.
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      - Hephaestus (profile), 2 Nov 2010 @ 12:50pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Of course...
        your on the left ain't yaa ...
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  - weneedhelp (profile), 2 Nov 2010 @ 12:06pm
    
    Re: Re: Of course...
    Left? Right? You still buy into that bullshit? Pity.
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    - Justin, 2 Nov 2010 @ 1:43pm
      
      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.
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- crade (profile), 2 Nov 2010 @ 11:47am
  
  Re: Of course...
  I thought it was an indictment against the injustices of American capitalism.
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Anonymous Coward, 2 Nov 2010 @ 10:51am

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
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Anonymous Coward, 2 Nov 2010 @ 11:01am

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!
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Anonymous Coward, 2 Nov 2010 @ 11:24am

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.
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Anonymous Coward, 2 Nov 2010 @ 11:34am

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.
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Anonymous Coward, 2 Nov 2010 @ 11:34am

fox copyright claim is preventing you from seeing it
NOT UP
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TtfnJohn (profile), 2 Nov 2010 @ 11:41am

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 ;-)
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Anonymous Coward, 2 Nov 2010 @ 12:18pm

Up and Down
And it is back down again. Did you do this to prove a point Mike? lol
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Anonymous Coward, 2 Nov 2010 @ 2:37pm

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.
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Anonymous Coward, 2 Nov 2010 @ 3:53pm

I thought the opening was about Chinese sweatshops and not Korean and I also think many others thought the same thing.
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Anonymous Coward, 2 Nov 2010 @ 8:17pm

The SK animation company in question outsources some Simpsons work to an NK animation company.
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RandomGuy (profile), 2 Nov 2010 @ 10:22pm

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.
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trish, 3 Nov 2010 @ 4:09am

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
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