Rachel Conley -Monty Python's Life of Brian

For my paper in this class I wrote about Monty Python’s the Life of Brian and how the movie was finding the humor in bible stories and mocking extremists rather than mocking Jesus, as many people thought. It really amazes me how crazy people can get when a movie like this comes out. People protested it and tried to get it banned from theater, calling it sacrilegious and heretical. I find it amusing when people protest something like this because it just makes people want to go see it more. It’s the old rule of when you tell your child not to do something they’ll go do it just because you said not to.

The life of the main character, Brian, does parallel the life of Jesus. They are both born the same night in a stable, and the three wise men even mistake Brian for Jesus at first. Brian ends up becoming the Messiah, even though he doesn’t want to. Also, his life ends on the cross, like Jesus, except for Brian there is no coming back for death.

One of the Pythons stated that when you really look at the stories from the Bible you can see humor in many of them, and I quite agree. John Cleese brings up the story of the birth of Jesus. He talks about how no doubt after Mary assured Joseph that she had not slept with any other, but her child was the son of God, that Joseph was probably greatly relieved. Then, when Joseph went down to the pub and told his friends about they all just went “oh” and they were all appeased. Cleese makes it sound funnier than I do, but it’s a valid point. When you think about it like that it does become humorous. (The Secret Life of Brian, http://www.videosift.com/video/The-Secret-Life-Of-Brian-Monty-Pythonreligion-documentary)

The Pythons are able to make anything humorous, even death. Brian, like Jesus, ends up on a cross, dying for someone else’s cause. But, because it’s Python, all the men being crucified begin singing “always look on the bright side of life.” If one pays attention to the lyrics, it’s made all the funnier because of the upbeat tempo. I recommend this movie for anyone who hasn’t see it. It’s really funny, and it’s even funnier to think about how people were protesting against it.