Dismaland; Exit through the gift shop!

I guess the whole point of 'Dismaland' was to show what a rip-off theme parks are and how we stop bothering to think when we go to one.

It did a good job - there were some depressed and demoralised staff - all wearing reflective jackets with 'Dismal' printed on the back;

And I didn't find the 'Customer Service Desk' very helpful at all;

The thing is, a couple of days ago we were in Tesco and some poor soul was being forced to wear a T-Shirt printed with "I'm here to help you", who looked just as unhappy as the 'Dismaland' staff;

It's not as though there weren't any attractions to see. This is 'The Jeffrey Archer Fire Pit' - Archer was the Conservative M.P. for Weston-Super-Mare and even now is still Lord Archer able to sit in the comfortable house of lords, to legislate and benefit from all the expenses that go with the title.

Convicted of Perjury, he received an 18 month prison sentence and was a serial fraudster throughout his life - not unlike the rest of the Thatcher Government he served in.

Every day, a small ceremony took place where a number of his 'novels' were burnt in the fire pit.

A fitting tribute, I feel.

I enjoyed having my picture taken;

And Robyn took full advantage of the 'Selfie Hole'.

And, of course, there was a gift shop with some very expensive gifts;

And some artistic displays;

 

There were a lot of fairground stalls - here for £1 you got a chance to throw three ping pong balls at an anvil;



 

 

It's not as though we weren't warned;

 

 



But not everybody got the point - this lady has bought up three balloons, presumably as an investment;

And this Mural is fairly explicit;

It's a fairly obvious attack on consumerism and The Walt Disney Corporation amongst others.

As Morrisey sang it;

             "The seaside town they forgot to close down,
                         Every day is like Sunday
                         Every day is Dismal and grey"

And yet........Banksy is by no means a pessimist - tomorrow I'll post a selection of the really great art that was on display.

Neil Harris
(a don't stop till you drop production)

Home: helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com
Contact me: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com