User:Theleftorium/Sandbox5

Production
"Exit Through the Kwik-E-Mart" was written by Marc Wilmore and directed by Steven Dean Moore and as part of the twenty-third season of The Simpsons (2011–12). The title is a reference to Exit Through the Gift Shop, a street art documentary by graffiti artist Banksy who produced the opening sequence for an earlier Simpsons episode titled "MoneyBART" (2010). "Tonight The Streets Are Ours", a song by Richard Hawley and the theme song of Exit Through the Gift Shop, is included in the episode during a montage of Bart painting graffiti in Springfield. Hayden Childs of The A.V. Club noted that the "reveal that the art show was a police sting gives the show a moment to joke about the anti-art market theme from Exit Through The Gift Shop. Wiggum asks who would be stupid enough to pay for work that an amateur puts up for free in public, and the answer is, as in Banksy’s movie, the very wealthy, here represented by Mr. Burns."

American street artist Shepard Fairey guest starred in "Exit Through the Kwik-E-Mart" as himself. The Simpsons is one of his favorite shows because of its "blend of humor and social commentary", and he felt "deeply honored" to be included in an episode. He wrote on his website that "Part of being on The Simpsons, is you’re being honored as a reference point in culture." He described the plot of the episode as "great", adding that the staff members of the show "were kind enough to indulge a couple of my dialogue suggestions designed to make the social commentary more pointed (even though I had to make fun of myself to do so)." This was Fairey's first acting performance, and he enjoyed the time he spent in the recording studio with Nancy Cartwright, who voices Bart. Street artists Ron English, Kenny Scharf, and Robbie Conal also guest starred in the episode as themselves.