The Pythons claim that when they set out to make the movie they wanted to offend just about everyone and with musical numbers such as 'Every sperm is sacred', which makes a laughing stock of the Catholic church's ban on contraception and negative predisposition towards masturbation, they certainly offended many.
In fact, upon its release, Ireland banned the movie, although they later allowed it to be released for home viewing. There's something quite wonderful about a movie the subject matter of which is the meaning of life, that firstly, makes us laugh (often at ourselves) and secondly, that laughs at just about everyone's way of life or assumptions. After all, life is a bit of a muddle and sometimes the only way to make sense of it all is to read it as a comedy (even when it's starting to look more like a tragedy). As long as you're laughing at yourself, it's not so very offensive to laugh at everyone else too.
I am thoroughly amused by the fact that the movie was banned in my home country; it seems so petty and finger-wagging in a fusty old spinster aunt sort of a way (although more rightly the image should be one of a far too powerful priest in full garb). Now I am amused by this censorship, at the time I would have been (I was too young to have much of an opinion when the film was originally released) appalled that my government had put in place laws to prevent me from seeing what is, in essence, a feature length comedy sketch show. I think it is appalling that any government should censor any form of culture that people can choose for themselves not to experience or to enjoy in their own time.
These days we like to think of ourselves as being very PC but the reality is that we're far more willing to accept cultural media that may offend some, than people were willing to accept in the past. If we held the same views that the Irish establishment took when they banned Monty Python, we'd probably never see an episode of The Simpsons.
This is a good thing. It does mean that comedy can sometimes step over the line and say and do things that the general public does not approve of, but as long as that public has a right to voice their opinions, it's surely better to have a media that might sometimes push the boundaries than one that is forced permanently to sit on the proverbial fence.
Monty Python's Meaning of Life has been criticised for being disjointed and for failing to provide a single narrative throughout the movie. However, it is a movie that is adored by legions of fans, including many who were not even born when it was originally released and it has a following too large and diverse to be described as cult-like. This just goes to show that although the archaic attitudes that led to it being banned may have died out, an appreciation for a good old laugh lives on. We change our attitudes and our tastes but the fundamentals remain - one of the most important of these is that it has always been and always will be good to have a giggle.
To give you a laugh this afternoon, here are a few snippets of the movie:
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