What Is The Satire In The Life Of Brian

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Regardless of the criticism that Monty Python’s Life of Brian received form Hollywood about the unrealistic depiction of Jesus, it is a refreshing portrayal of Jesus himself and the ideals and characteristics that his image projected and promoted. The ideals portrayed by Brian, such as kindness, generosity, and honesty are those displayed by Jesus himself. In one scene Brian preaches to all of his followers, “ You don’t have to listen to anyone but yourself.” Such teachings like this reflect the humble and noble words of Christ. Regardless of the harsh criticism the film originally received, there is a large population of those who thoroughly enjoyed and could identify the religious parallels as comical and inoffensive. The story of Brian Cohen unfolds in the comical and religious satire of Monty Python’s Life of Brian. The 1979 British film was directed by Terry Jones, and written by the comedy group Monty Python (IMDb). Graham Chapman stares as Brian, a Jewish man who is born under extremely coincidental circumstances, who’s life…show more content…
Lessing describes how the Life of Brian was unfairly criticized for being “an anti-Jesus film,” however; the Python crew did not once attack Jesus or his teachings. Lessing goes on to describe how the attack is pointed elsewhere; at the zealots who take the message of Jesus Christ, peace and love, and use these words as cries of persecution. Lessing compares Life of Brian to The Passion of the Christ, and states, “ The Passion of the Christ may have been successful in capturing the pain and suffering that Jesus experienced when he died for the sins of humanity. Who knows? But Life of Brian successfully captures the pain and suffering humanity goes through every day at the hands of these lunatics and blind followers of religion.” Lessing concludes his review by describing how not only can the Pythons depict this kind of depth in their film, but also do so by being “pretty damn

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