You Know, It’s Funny...
|
||
“Truly amazing, what people can get used to, as long as there are a few compensations.”
- The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood Again thinking back to the time of those tenth grade English classes, I remember that there were two things that made life bearable in those early high school years: Monty Python and my best friend, who not only introduced me to the comedy group, but put up with me during the year or so when I spoke almost exclusively in badly-remembered, wildly inaccurate quotes from their shows, movies, and record albums. We each stayed up until that precious hour, twice a week, when the syndicated show was aired on PBS -- even though the television volume had to be low because the rest of the household had gone to bed, and each time promised a frustrating job of tuning in the station with those completely analog UHF dials, nearly akin to a resident of occupied Europe searching the airwaves for the Voice of America. The members of Monty Python created satire that was brilliantly funny because they were not merely goofy or cynical. Before they mocked things, they learned about them. The British members of the group attended the prestigious Universities of either Oxford or Cambridge, and one was qualified as a doctor of medicine. Overall, their writings show a solid understanding of the history, politics, and society that they ridiculed. Watching them, I gained an education in history: from the Spanish Inquisition to Scott of the Antarctic. I also learned that it can be an intelligent pursuit to question authority, the conventional mores of society, the blatherings of politicians and other talking heads, and basically, everything that anyone tries to get you to take on trust. The idea of “it’s funny because it’s true” was never more relevant than in this context. The writers of Monty Python showed genius at times. And most of them are still going, making noteworthy and sometimes difficult art. Apparently, the upcoming year will be a great time for Monty Python fans, with Monty Python Live in July 2014, and Absolutely Anything coming out in 2015.
comments powered by Disqus |
||
SeeDarkly All Rights Reserved additional coding provided by Dormouse Games |