At first glance, he appears to be a danger to society, but this gentle giant is there for guidance and wisdom. In the popular show, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Splinter is the mutant rat that becomes the adoptive father and sensei of the turtles. However, the symbol denotes also denotes a positive dual nature of rats: cunning and independent thinkers. Media reinforces the ideology of the rat as unwanted, creepy rodents that live in sewer pipes. The writing interpellates the reader: Who is worthless? I am? The rat? The artist? In society, rats thrive in the underworld and that is where they rightfully belong because they represent filth and denote negative connotations.
Two decades after Blek le Rat invaded Paris with his stenciled rat, Banksy continued the invasion throughout England with the revival of the symbol in the form of social commentary.īanksy stenciled a black rat holding onto a paint bucket with a paint roller covered in red with the words, BECAUSE IM WORTHLESS, situated above the animal.
The similarities between these nocturnal residents and the graffiti artist are pronounced, both of which are clever, tough, unwanted-vermin of society. The pioneer of stencil graffiti and Banksy’s predecessor, Blek le Rat, “began to spray rats in the streets of Paris because rats are the only wild living animals in cities and only rats will survive when the human race will have disappeared and died out” (Blek le Rat).
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