Basquiat, Banksy and the power of discourseCreativity occurs in the context of society: this is inevitable since even artists who consider themselves outside the "mainstream" are constructs of society: their social construction of reality is inevitably rooted in the discourse and belief structures of the society in which they live and by which they are formed, however much they choose to struggle. Indeed, philosophers such as Foucault argue that it is impossible to escape one's society due to the effects of language and meaning being so closely intertwined. In the context of our society, postmodernist art, particularly filmmaking, seeks to undermine the dictates of larger society in relation to meta-narratives, but making films that can be easily marketed costs money. Here I ignore the success of mass market pulp fiction such as "Paranormal Activity" as these do not aim to be an expression of pure art. Those films that aim to have a story that challenges the “norms,” that undermines the capitalist/materialist meta-narrative of the major film production houses, therefore face a struggle that in some ways parallels the struggle that young artists themselves face. This struggle can, for young artists as well as for every citizen, be a stress factor that leads to drugs and death. Street art is a classic example of how art can express a "zeitgeist", art as an immediate expression of feelings and anger. Anger against the meta-narrative, anger against the lack of opportunity, and anger against the dead hand of conformist art that leaves mediocrity as its imprint. Both Banksy and Basquiat are part of this emerging virtually neo-anarchist artistic discourse. Basquiat used thought-provoking social commentary as a “stepping stone to deeper truths that abo… middle of paper… things between artists and films are clearly delineated. It is unlikely that Banksy never tried drugs (who knows?) but did so in the context of a different construction of reality and therefore this difference is also found in the films. Long live the difference! Works Cited Burr, Ty, “Exit Through the Gift Shop: Writing's on the wall: In 'Exit,' the street art scene becomes a farce,” The Boston Globe, April 23, 2010 Laurent Kretzschmar 2002. “Is Cinema Renewing Itself? ". Film Philosophy 6Marc Mayer (ed.) Basquiat, 2005, Merrell Publishers in association with the Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn. PaperKenneth Turan. "Movie Reivew: Basquiat: The Tortures of Creative Life" Los Angeles Times, Friday, August 9, 1996. http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/reviews/cl-movie960809-2,0,6464898.storyhttp:// www .rottentomatoes.com/m/exit_through_the_gift_shop/