‘The Struggle of Class against Class is a What Struggle?’ Monty Python’s Flying Circus and its Politics

Abstract

There is a general consensus that Monty Python’s feature film Life of Brian (1979) has strong satirical elements, and some targets of the satire are easily identified: left-wing political groups, religious fanatics, ‘trade-unionists and guerrilla organizations’ (Wilmut 250). At the same time, in spite of bans and protest by religious institutions in many countries, the Pythons insisted that the film was not directed against Jesus Christ or Christianity (Michael Palin, quoted in Morgan 248; Terry Jones, quoted in Chapman et al., Autobiography 281). But to many, Life of Brian is still one of the most controversial films ever made about a religious topic. The apparent political slant of the film, its notoriety and the fact that it appeared some years after Monty Python’s TV output may lead to the generalisation that all of Python’s material was equally political. This assumption seems rash, and it appears useful to have a closer look at the question of how political the early Pythons were, specifically in the original TV series Monty Python’s Flying Circus (BBC1/BBC2 1969–1974), which ended five years before Life of Brian was released.