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Tuesday, March 04, 2008

the declining relevancy of monty python?

Over the weekend I started watching a few episodes of Fawlty Towers, with Monty Python's John Cleese and Connie Booth. I started watching the show probably back in junior high school after discovering the genius of Monty Python. And I remember finding these shows a riot.
I recently saw that Netflix had the show on their instant viewing, so I sat down one evening and starting watching it. I cracked a smile many times and even let a couple of giggles escape, but there wasn't that riotous laughing that I remember.
I mentioned this to a friend and wondered if maybe my humor had changed since then, as things often change. And she said possibly, or maybe I'd just seen it so many times (although that never stopped my friend and me in high school with our movie nights rotating the same three or four movies).
Then I had a thought: What about Monty Python? If my humor was changing, would I still find Monty Python the type of side-hurting humor that I used to? Would I still spend the entire movie/episode laughing so hard I could hardly breathe?
That's a horrible thought.
I hope I never sit through Monty Python and the Holy Grail with only a giggle or two.
And this led me, somehow, to think of future generations. We've got the most brilliant special effects these days, that it can be disappointing to watch older films (I have The Six Wives of Henry VIII on my Netflix list and many of the comments suggest putting aside the poor film quality and occasional bad acting, using the excuse that it was the 1970s). And no one can argue that the Black Knight is realistic.
So if I ever have kids and eventually have them watch Monty Python, will get I get a surly teen look in return and a haughty "why are we even watching this? This is so bad!" Will the poor quality detract from the humor or will the humor have changed so completely that the Python humor is just not funny...to them. Will they even care about an African or European swallow?
I did recently watch Holy Grail several months ago and was very pleased to have found it just as funny, even if my reaction was a little more muted since I knew (by heart) what came next. But...I can only hope that our generation's children will have the same experience I had on that first magical viewing where they may be left wiping tears from their eyes at the end and caught trying to catch their breath.
One of my favorite episodes from Fawlty Towers is up next, so there may be hope left. Here's hoping I get even the slightest cramp in my side from merriment.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Patricia - My child bride and I have been Python fans since day one, being lucky enough to live within antennae distance of KERA, the first US TV station to broadcast The Flying Circus way back in 1974. As each of our kids came along, we (ok me, she's the sane one) have introduced them to Python. All four of our kids are fans. And it will get funny to you again, when you see this silliness through someone else's eyes.

Oh, and Basil the Rat is the best Fawlty.

Great post!

Anonymous said...

Bite your tongue! MP will never lose it's appeal. From the Spanish Inquisition to the Airline Pilots sketch ("Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your captain speaking - There is absolutely no cause for alarm"), MP will always get a laugh!

Dennis! said...

MP's humor is absolutely timeless, but I think you need to be in an appropriate frame of mind to appreciate it. If you're in a good mood (whether or not chemically induced), MP would probably cause stomach cramps from the laughter. If you've just come home from a bad day at the office, you're more likely to think that it's a bunch o' crap.

Just my humble $.02.

lacochran's evil twin said...

I agree with Dennis. I don't think the humor has changed as much as the availability of recreational drugs.

Is this the place for an argument?
-lacochran

Hammer said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Hammer said...

The great thing about the ridiculously low-tech approach (coconuts instead of horses and the rabbit on a wire for example) is that unlike special effects, they hold up much better over time by virtue of their inherent and deliberate shoddiness.

Although Python humor doesn't translate well for people looking for instant gratification, mainstream, knee-jerk, corporate focus group comedy, it gives the rest of us an invaluable social litmus test.

Now if you'll excuse me, I must resume pining for the fjords...

HomeImprovementNinja said...

Unfortunately, kids are dumber nowadays so they won't understand half the jokes.

Alex said...

MP seems to have prevailed for now, but today's high school students don't find much humor in spoofs like Spinal Tap. I think it's sad.

Patricia said...

Thanks for the comments, and it's good to know there are still hopes that MP will be enjoyed well into the future. And of course, other classics have held up just as long and longer. So..maybe there's hope.

And the other good news is that I did watch my favoite Fawlty episode and loved it. And also the one after it. So...let's hope I just hadn't been in the right frame of mind when I first started watching it.

And Aua, I'm so happy you mentioned the Airline Pilots. I love that! I can't count how many times I've tried explaining it to people (and ultimately fail and tell them they just have to watch it).

Unknown said...

I was at my son's basketball game earlier today when a player suffered a very minor injury. A fan yelled out (in a British accent) "It's just a flesh wound". And during a recent family uprising (aka argument), my 10 year old son defused the entire situation by shouting "Now let's not quibble about who-o-o killed who-o-o". Monty Python quotes keep all of us sane and happy. Great post.