And now for something completely different : critical approaches to Monty Python / edited by Kate Egan and Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Egan, Kate, Author.

Contributor:

Egan, Kate, 1975- editor.

Weinstock, Jeffrey Andrew, editor.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Monty Python (Comedy troupe).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (257 pages)

Place of Publication:

Edinburgh : Edinburgh University Press, [2020]

System Details:

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Summary:

Explores the range of factors that contribute to Monty Python’s continuing status as ‘something different’A reappraisal of the originality, influence and impact of Monty Python’s comedy output, from the perspective of its 50 years of cultural circulationIncludes analyses of a range of Monty Python’s output, from the Monty Python’s Flying Circus television show, to the Monty Python films, albums, and live shows, including consideration of Monty Python’s use of music and songs and forms of animationExplores the production contexts and practices adopted, and the range of comedic strategies employed, across Monty Python’s comedy output, as well as considering its cult status and fan receptionIncludes new critical analyses of a range of Python sketches and scenes, including The Funniest Joke in the World, Mr Hilter, Dead Parrot, Confuse-a-Cat, Albatross, Hell’s Grannies, Bicycle Repairman, The Black Knight, The Constitutional Peasant, and Mr CreosoteExamining Monty Python’s enduring status as an unconventional, anti-authoritarian comedy touchstone, this book reappraises Python’s comedy output from the perspective of its fifty years of cultural circulation. Reconsidering the group’s originality, impact and durability, a range of international scholars explores Python’s influences, production contexts, frequently controversial themes, and the cult status and forms of fandom associated with Python in the present day. From television sketches, including The Funniest Joke in the World, Hell’s Grannies, Dead Parrot and Confuse-a-Cat, to the films Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Life of Brian and The Meaning of Life, to songs from the albums and live shows, this book is a ground-breaking critical analysis of the Monty Python phenomenon.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

List of Figures

Acknowledgements

Notes on Contributors

‘It’s . . . The Introduction’

PART ONE SITUATING PYTHON

1. Six Comics in Search of a . . . : Monty Python and Absurdist/Surrealist Theatre

2. ‘None shall pass’ and ‘The skull beneath the skin’: Monty Python, the British Class System and Death

3. Der Ver Zwei Peanuts: Depictions of a Distant War in Monty Python’s Flying Circus

PART TWO PYTHON’S PRACTICES, FORMS AND MEDIUMS

4. The Royal Philharmonic Goes to the Bathroom: The Music of Monty Python

5. The Disruptive Metamorphoses of an Impish God: Gilliam’s Satiric Animation

6. Figures Traced in Shite: The Scribe, The Illuminator and Monty Python’s Holy Grail

PART THREE CONTEXTS AND REPRESENTATIONS

7. Grannies from Hell, Daring Bicycle Repairmen, Upper-Class Twits and ‘Make Tea Not Love’: Monty Python’s Flying Circus and 1960s British (Popular) Culture

8. The Parrot, the Albatross and the Cat: Animals and Comedy in Monty Python

9. ‘Political Correctness’, Reversal and Incongruity: Dynamics of Humour in Life of Brian

PART FOUR CULT, FANDOM AND PYTHON

10. Philosophy, Absurdity, Waste and The Meaning of Life: A Cult Film, of Sorts

11. In Praise of Silliness: The Cult of Python

12. Memories of Connecting: Fathers, Daughters and Intergenerational Monty Python Fandom

Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

1-4744-7517-5

OCLC:

1306540357