Life of Brian (CE2)

Satire can be seen on many different television shows today, but none of which have quite the same effect as did the men that made up the Monty Python group.  The group started out with their own comedy sketch show that was aired by the BBC from 1969 to 1974.  After their television series the group of men continued on with a number of live performances and five major motion pictures.  The “Life of Brian” was their most controversial on the topic of relion.  At several points in the movie the argument can be made that the satire is taken a little too far, and can be seen as almost an attack towards Christianity.

The storyline in the movie follows a character named Brian who is constantly confused as being Jesus, son of God.  Irony is incorporated into just about every scene in the movie, from the scene with the leper who was healed by the real Jesus and as a result lost his job as a begger, to the People’s Front of Judea accomplishing nothing but talking about their hatred of Romans and fighting amongst themselves.  The Caesar of Rome isn’t even able to address his people without them mocking his pronunciation with words that include the letter ‘r.’

At times the satire almost goes too far, and very clearly mocks the Christian faith.  Satire, when taken too far has been known to cause uprisings among the people.  The famous author Salman Rushdie had a bounty on his head for years after producing “The Satanic Verses” which was highly satiric in its writing against religion.  Although the Monty Python comedy group doesn’t ever go as far as Rushdie, it does push the boundaries to what is acceptable comedy which is on the verge of rhetoric.

The Life of Brian ends with Brian being misrepresented as Jesus again, and as a result is sent to be crucified on the cross along with Jesus’ followers.  Easily the most controversial part of the movie is when all the victims of the crucifixion break out into a chorus of “always look on the bright side of life” as they hang on their crosses awaiting death.  This is an obvious attack on the Christianity views of always be happy no matter what the situation because God has saved you.  This clearly crosses the line from just being comedy to having a definite target.