"Life of Brian" - In a Religious Society

Monty Python’s “Life of Brian” is a witty and bold movie as it parodies religion. I believe that much of the humor in “Life of Brian” is meant to satirize religion and the effects it has on the thoughts and actions of people.

“Life of Brian” follows the life of Brian Cohen. Brian is at the center of most of the film’s criticisms against religion. His life, in many ways, mirrors that of Jesus; they are born on the same night on the same street, both are antagonized by the Romans, and each man is subjected to crucifixion. For much of the movie I thought that Brian was actually meant to be a parody of Jesus, however I realized later he is not meant to make fun of or disprove the Christian religion, his experiences are meant to satirize religion in general. When Brian falls off of the People’s Front of Judea’s balcony, while trying to hide from the soldiers of Pontius Pilate, he has to think quickly to avoid drawing their attention. The street where he has landed is full of prophets and odd looking individuals fervently preaching to the public, to blend in Brian begins saying nonsense to the people surrounding him. Unfortunately for Brian, the people surrounding him actually listen to what he is saying and believe that he knows the secret to eternal life. A huge mob of people chases him through the streets. They snatch any belongings he drops and when he loses a shoe, they remove theirs as well to emulate him. Many claim they have been healed by him, though they have not, they mob an old man who yells at him, and swarm Brian’s home. All of these ridiculous behaviors are meant to criticize the fervency with which overly religious people follow their doctrine. They cease to think for themselves and assume a mob mentality in chasing after him, clinging to everything he says, and even begin speaking in unison. There appear to be no unique individuals who think for themselves in the crowd. Despite the humor surrounding scenes like these, there still seems to be the underlying message that people must think for themselves. Even if a person is part of a religious group they should still maintain their ability to assess situations and think reasonably without taking a leader’s every word for fact.

I believe that these ridiculous scenes involving the mob of Brian’s “believers,” while very funny, are meant to appeal to the audience’s logic rather than emotion. It seems odd that so many people would chase after someone for an entirely unfounded reason. They think Brian has knowledge that they desire and they will go to great lengths to procure that information. To a spectator these people would seem unreasonable, as Brian obviously does not know the answers to the questions they are asking. For the viewer, it is at times exasperating to listen to the crowd repeat the same appeals over and over. However, when the movie was released, it sparked a huge pathos based response. Ironically, all of the people who were offended by the movie were the people being satirized, the unquestioning followers of the Christian Church. They believed that “Life of Brian” was meant to be a comedy about Jesus and his death, when there was actually no such intention. The actions of this group of people, however, only bolstered the movie’s popularity with the rest of society who wanted to see what was so upsetting about the film.

Although I am not a fan of British humor, I almost always enjoy the wit in Monty Python skits and movies. I did not feel that “Life of Brian” had the same level of humor that many of their other works have, and I assume it may be because of its rather serious messages about religion which they seek to convey.