Feature
Brian, Son of God?
"He's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy!" With this one sentence proving that protesters had completely missed the point, Adam Smart discusses the reception of one of the funniest films of all time.
It is promoted by many a poll as the funniest film ever made; a clever and comical religious and political satire, created by one of the very best troupe of comedians ever to grace stage or screen. But at the time of its release in 1979, in a rather stiff and conservative Britain, Monty Python's The Life of Brian was bastardized by many spiritual leaders, local councils and religious zealots. Heralded as an outrageous and blasphemous work, its creators were condemned by some Christians for its apparent religious mockery. Yet with a majority of the public viewing the film in a positive and light-hearted way, it begs the question, what was all the fuss about?
The Life of Brian revolves around a young Jewish man named Brian Cohen who, born at the same time as Jesus, ends up being mistaken for a Messiah. Throughout the film he is pestered, hounded and persecuted through no fault of his own. It is a classic comedic case of mistaken identity. Where it does poke fun at certain parts of the story of Jesus, it is all done in a harmless and playful manner, with absolutely no intent of causing any offence. It is not as if the Python's got Terry Gilliam to draw a picture of the Son of God wearing a Yamaka in the shape of a dead parrot. And even if they had done, so what?
Where most of the outrage seemed to stem from was that Monty Python were seemingly ridiculing the New Testament and the suffering that Jesus went through for 'our' sins. Yet whether people choose to believe in God or science, whether they are religious or not, common decency suggests we should all respect each other's faith. Problematically, many of the councils and people who boycotted The Life of Brian, whatever their particular objections were, had not even bothered to see it first.
At the beginning of the film the Three Wise Men mistakenly go in to the wrong manger and meet Brian's mother instead of Mary and Joseph. Later a leper moans about Jesus healing his leprosy and how he can not make a living from begging any more. In a particularly hilarious scene a Roman officer corrects Brian's Latin grammar as he paints graffiti on walls. Is this what all the fuss was over? It is not as if Monty Python were depicting Jesus as a fool or an utter bastard. In fact the one scene in the film where Jesus is depicted, the actor portraying the role plays him totally straight and he is even basked in a slight glow. Quite frankly, those who were opposed to the film, and they sadly still exist even today, should perhaps take a deep breath and pray to their god for a sense of humour.
According to the dictionary 'religion' can simply be defined as 'a specific fundamental set of beliefs generally agreed upon by a number of persons'. Well if that is the case, fundamentally a large number of people believes that Monty Python's The Life of Brian is hilarious. So, if you say otherwise you are a blasphemer.
Adam Smart
