Blasphemy in Monty Python`S Life of Brian Essay Example
Would You Follow the Holy Sandal?
“Tastelessness or even blasphemy” (Gerdes 64). Monty Python’s Life of Brian is one of the most controversial movies of all time. The discussions of the film even led to the ban of the film in several countries and cities. Numerous clergyman from several churches tried to stir up on television and in interviews. Some years later some admitted that they had never seen the movie, and that they had only believed in what they were told about it. An alderman in East Devon said: “You don’t have to see a pigsty to know that it stinks“ (qtd. in Hewison 89). Fortunately there were not only critical voices. Because they knew that the script could erase a severe discussion, Monty Python gave it to a cleric working for the queen. He writes in a letter: “[…]it is not meant to be blasphemous and is extracting the maximum comedy out of false religion[…]” (qtd. in Hewison 63). Reading this the Pythons decided to produce the film. If we take a closer look at Jesus’ appearances in the movie and the ideas the Pythons wanted to express, Life of Brian is not blasphemous, but makes us think about our religion.
The Pythons did not want to produce a movie containing blasphemy, and the film is not about Jesus’ life but about the life of Brian. “We explored the idea of doing a comedy film about Jesus […] but the more we read about Jesus […] the more we got to know that there was very little to ridicule” said Michael Palin in The “Life of Brian” Debate on BBC2 in 1979 (00:00:22). Many critics think the movie it blasphemous, because in their opinion Brian pictures a messiah. A letter to Reverend Roger Fulton, for example, reads, “The mother of Messiah (Brian) is a man in woman’s clothing […]”, when the immoral aspects of the film are being listed. There are several parallels to Jesus’ life that cannot be denied, but the Pythons show that Jesus is a completely different person by letting him appear in the movie twice (Life of Brian, 00:03:48, 00:07:05).
“Tastelessness or even blasphemy” (Gerdes 64). Monty Python’s Life of Brian is one of the most controversial movies of all time. The discussions of the film even led to the ban of the film in several countries and cities. Numerous clergyman from several churches tried to stir up on television and in interviews. Some years later some admitted that they had never seen the movie, and that they had only believed in what they were told about it. An alderman in East Devon said: “You don’t have to see a pigsty to know that it stinks“ (qtd. in Hewison 89). Fortunately there were not only critical voices. Because they knew that the script could erase a severe discussion, Monty Python gave it to a cleric working for the queen. He writes in a letter: “[…]it is not meant to be blasphemous and is extracting the maximum comedy out of false religion[…]” (qtd. in Hewison 63). Reading this the Pythons decided to produce the film. If we take a closer look at Jesus’ appearances in the movie and the ideas the Pythons wanted to express, Life of Brian is not blasphemous, but makes us think about our religion.
The Pythons did not want to produce a movie containing blasphemy, and the film is not about Jesus’ life but about the life of Brian. “We explored the idea of doing a comedy film about Jesus […] but the more we read about Jesus […] the more we got to know that there was very little to ridicule” said Michael Palin in The “Life of Brian” Debate on BBC2 in 1979 (00:00:22). Many critics think the movie it blasphemous, because in their opinion Brian pictures a messiah. A letter to Reverend Roger Fulton, for example, reads, “The mother of Messiah (Brian) is a man in woman’s clothing […]”, when the immoral aspects of the film are being listed. There are several parallels to Jesus’ life that cannot be denied, but the Pythons show that Jesus is a completely different person by letting him appear in the movie twice (Life of Brian, 00:03:48, 00:07:05).