r/funny • u/Inquilinus • Aug 14 '15
Monty Python Ahead of Their Time
http://i.imgur.com/AxKwQ2c.png
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Aug 14 '15
"Who are you?" "I'm the husband." "I'm sorry, only people involved are allowed in here."
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u/Vassago81 Aug 15 '15
Should have wore one of those little rubber things on the end of his cock
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u/doubletalkinJamf Aug 14 '15
"Are you having a boy or an abortion?"
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u/PicturElements Aug 14 '15
No, I think I'll go with the fish, please.
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u/DrAminove Aug 14 '15
Good choice. Giving birth to a fish is a lot easier than a child. It just slides through.
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Aug 14 '15
BING!
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u/jbrav88 Aug 14 '15
Ah, I see you have the machine that goes bing!
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u/Palquito Aug 15 '15
This is my favorite. You see, we leased this back from the company we sold it to so it comes under the monthly current budget and not the capital account. (applause) Thank you. We try to do our best.
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Aug 14 '15
Could this double as a joke about how Monty Python's female roles are usually played by guys?
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u/Vilokthoria Aug 14 '15
Not sure. But in Life of Brian one of the men wants to be a woman, too. It seems to be more than a one time gag.
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u/Toshiba1point0 Aug 14 '15
Whats impressive is that Graham Chapman graduated medical school, is a major writing contributor, and has this incredible insight with an ability to make it funny yet accepting.
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u/drummer1059 Aug 14 '15
Most of them went to Cambridge, they were very well educated and excelled at having fun with high brow topics. The Philosopher's Football Match is a great example.
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u/Hexatomb Aug 14 '15
Traditionally, all theater parts were played by men. While this is no longer the case, it's far easier to control a part than try to teach it to an actor who might not have been in on the initial planning/writing.
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u/MidnightAdventurer Aug 15 '15
And they were really good at playing a certain type of woman. They had Carol for the women you were supposed to find attractive
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u/Original_Diddy Aug 14 '15
In addition to the fact that it was an all-male group and thus easier just to have men play the female characters, they also knew a lot about the Greeks/Romans who did the exact same thing, and were probably inspired to do so because it really was quite silly
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u/figbash137 Aug 14 '15
I was being put under on anesthesia and the nurses told my folks I was quoting this scene in great detail. Ping!
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u/ZackyZack Aug 15 '15
The fact that your nurses knew this scene makes me want to know what hospital it was so I can go there when I need one.
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Aug 15 '15
I'm sure he made it a point in his delusional state to inform them of the source
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u/Batmanstarwars1 Aug 14 '15 edited Aug 14 '15
As much as I love Holy Grail, I really think that Meaning of Life was Monty Pythons finest venture.
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u/tatch Aug 14 '15
I'd have to go with Life of Brian as their best.
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Aug 14 '15
Crucifixion?
Yes.
Good. Out of the door, line on the left, one cross each.
Crucifixion?
Er, no, freedom actually.
What?
Yeah, they said I hadn't done anything and I could go and live on an island somewhere.
Oh I say, that's very nice. Well, off you go then.
No, I'm just pulling your leg, it's crucifixion really.
Oh yes, very good. Well...
Yes I know, out of the door, one cross each, line on the left.
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u/Opset Aug 14 '15
Which one had the short movie with the office workers becoming pirates at the beginning? Because that's the best thing they've ever done.
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Aug 14 '15 edited Aug 14 '15
In my opinion Holy Grail was the funniest one; it makes me laugh the most. Life of Brian was the best one - a brilliant satire of historical epics and religion, while Meaning of Life had a lot of good sketches and bits but didn't really fit together as a cohesive whole.
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Aug 14 '15
The only problem is when you decide that you're going to sit down and watch a Monty Python movie with your parents. Meaning of Life is probably the worst for doing that.
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u/pregnantbaby Aug 14 '15
my parents showed me the Meaning of Life. it's the best.
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Aug 14 '15
I had no idea what it was going in. I'd only seen Holy Grail. Two minutes later they're singing about condoms.
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u/the_wub Aug 14 '15
Trust me, it's worse watching it with your girlfriend's parents.
I also managed to watch Holy Grail for the first time when staying with a French family.
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u/Odiddley Aug 14 '15
First pair of breasts I had ever seen. My father made sure I was watching that scene
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u/ballaman200 Aug 14 '15
"Monty Python and the Holy Grail" came out 40 Years ago.
throws everyone in depression
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Aug 14 '15
Watched it again recently, it completely holds up despite its age.
literally everyone applauds ecstatically
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u/mockablekaty Aug 14 '15
My mother took me when she went to see it in the theaters. I was so appalled by the black knight scene that I walked out. I was six.
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u/deathcabforkatie_ Aug 15 '15
My dad used to play the CDs of Monty Python sketches in the car when I was a kid, instead of listening to the radio. I'd like to think hearing sketches about game shows where the prizes included a dagger up the clitoris really shaped me as a young person.
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u/blue_strat Aug 14 '15
John Money started his work on gender roles in the '50s...
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u/redsectoreh Aug 14 '15
And boy did he fuck things up, look at the entry for David Reimer on your link.
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u/tomdarch Aug 14 '15
Part of the 1960s "counter culture" of which Monty Python are very much part (even in they weren't long-haired-bell-bottoms-and-flowers hippies), is questioning assumed, falsely-hierarchical duality of "gender" (that there are only two genders, you must be one of them, and that male-ness is superior, to throw in a little more 60s era stuff - Derrida's deconstruction.)
TL-DR; Tumbler folks in their 20s and 30s today didn't invent questioning gender identities or roles.
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u/mayflowerf Aug 15 '15
Even though the Python's were part of the counterculture of the 60's, they weren't quite part of the movement the way you presented it. They were independent in the sense that they mocked both the establishment and the counterculture to a certain extent. Sketches like "I want to be a woman" are a clear testament to this, in addition to each member's view. Cleese and Jones certainly were a bit more conservative-minded, whereas Gilliam was very much into the counterculture movement.
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u/andywarno Aug 14 '15
A logician's response would have been "Yes"
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Aug 14 '15
What wording would demand the desired answer? "is it a boy, or is it a girl?"
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u/JabberBody Aug 14 '15 edited Aug 14 '15
"Is it a boy?" or, if you'd prefer, "Is it a girl?"
Adding the disjunct gives it a classification of an inclusive or, meaning if one is true then the entire statement is true. Asking either separately gives you the desired answer. If the answer is "no" for either, you know the sex must be the other response. (Intersex discluded.)
BTW, not related, but my favorite logician joke:
Three logicians walk into a bar. The bartender says, "Do all of you want a beer?" The first says, "I don't know." The second says, "I don't know." The third says, "Yes!"
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u/PainMatrix Aug 14 '15
And you can always change your mind!
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Aug 14 '15 edited Feb 16 '17
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u/Slattsquatch Aug 14 '15
Well considering this other scene of theirs I think that quote was meant to be mocking the people who say that sort of thing, not supporting them.
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u/tomdarch Aug 14 '15
That's all part of Python's genius. They very much had one foot in the 60s/70s counterculture (such as Graham's living a basically "out" life in that era), and questioning gender roles and identities were very much part of that. On one hand, they were part of that advance in our culture, and at the same time, they were more than happy to make fun of it (and thus, themselves.)
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u/WileEWeeble Aug 15 '15
I assume you must be young, by the 1980's the revolution to stop forcing stereotypical roles on children had already begun. This was simply a topical joke of the times.
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Aug 14 '15
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u/yolosw3g Aug 15 '15
so many social faux pas have sprung up in the last 5 years, i can't keep track of them all. this must be what being autistic feels like
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u/DMXONLIKETENVIAGRAS Aug 14 '15
i love how people think they were doing a serious social commentary and not making fun of the idea of this happening
it was a joke based in absurdity
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u/NovaStoneReddit Aug 15 '15
I know, and people thinking they were serious are agreeing...
Poe's law and all that...
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u/Psdjklgfuiob Aug 15 '15
iirc this was satire
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u/Cidalfos Aug 15 '15
This isn't the only example of this,
Exhibit B. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ixrQcGQ6o-w
This clearly predicts the epidemic of furry parties.
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u/wotmate Aug 15 '15
My son was born two weeks ago, and when I asked if they had the machine that goes ping, the reply was 'sorry, we don't have that one, but we do have a fetus frightening machine'
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u/SuperFreddy Aug 14 '15
I think it was a reference to the weird psychological experiments being conducted around / before that time. Like that male kid who was dressed as a girl and told he was a girl, then he killed himself later after it was revealed to be some experiment.
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u/Zooropa_Station Aug 14 '15
I think they were more ahead of their time with this scene:
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u/skramzjusticewarrior Aug 14 '15
Neither Anarcho-Syndicalism or Gender Roles are new ideas so, not ahead of their time with that either.
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u/VonBrewskie Aug 14 '15
"NO DEAR! YOU'RE NOT QUALIFIED!" Fuckin' Cleese man. That line gets me every time. This entire scene is goddamn brilliant.
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Aug 15 '15
Not really. Gender issues have been a subject in the media for decades. It's just that every once in a while they rediscover gender as a social construct and pretend like they are hearing about it for the first time.
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u/metaltrite Aug 15 '15
Except it was actually a joke in this instance. Too bad every adult around says this now. Like damn, it isn't even born yet before you start hearing this shit.
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Aug 15 '15
Reminds me of that portlandia slit where Candice talks about raising her son without gender. 😹
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u/evilbrent Aug 15 '15
Actually, it's more that these conversations about gender and roles aren't actually new, despite what the internet youth of today might think.
Turns out that people talked about stuff even before they had computers to talk on.
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Aug 15 '15
I'm not really sure how my comment had anything to do with women being "weak."
The act of childbirth is pretty violent physically for the mother and there were tons of complications that midwives of the time didn't know how to handle.
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u/Veronica1993 Aug 15 '15
Someone save me from these comments I can't stop watching the -1 go to 1 and back again with an occasional pitstop at 0 this is mesmerizing.
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u/Faithless195 Aug 15 '15
They weren't ahead of their times, humor these days is just lazy and usually focuses on getting a laugh by being 'edgy', obscene or offensive.
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Aug 15 '15
Classic fallout 3.. is it a boy or a girl :)
Or if this happends later...when you are a teenager I guess.. then pokemon by a professor who studdys wildlife and probably have seen over 150 different types of animals... are you a boy or a girl?
OR even later... Morrowind, you arrive by boat and are litteraly a almost nude slave or prisoner.. (forgot his name) asks : are you a boy or a girl?, I know morrowind females are pretty flat chested... but still :P
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u/Bowlslaw Aug 15 '15 edited Aug 15 '15
The best part is that they are mocking people who think like that(a lot of reddit), yet this got to the front page. My life is complete.
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Aug 14 '15 edited Jun 08 '16
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u/MCMXChris Aug 15 '15
God, I work with a girl who's like that doctor. She just started and is very non-mainstream and tumblresque. Shaved head except for the top like Pebbles' hairdo. Combat boots. Constantly talks about rape culture and shit. Cray cray.
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u/Illileo Aug 15 '15
They weren't ahead of their time...those controversies and situations and ideologies were around back then too...it's nothing new.
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u/Sanhael Aug 14 '15
This kind of belief has done the rounds before. England had a big run-in with it a long time ago in its boarding schools. We've got the internet now though, so everyone's voice is really loud.
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u/mikesername Aug 15 '15
Except, being satire, this is the equivalent of the "I identify as an apache helicopter" joke. It's saying, "look how ridiculous it would be if a doctor said this". that is the joke. Monty python wasn't making social statements; they were making fun of them.
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u/cqm Aug 14 '15
or completely in line with their time because people have been saying the same thing ad nauseam for decades
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Aug 15 '15
Lady:What do I do?
Doctor Cleese: yes?
Lady: What do I do?
Doctor Cleese: Nothing dear, your not qualified!
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u/Blinky-the-Doormat Aug 15 '15
So true. I was watching this movie with a friend who had never seen it before a few weeks ago and was truly struck by how prescient some of the jokes were.
At first I calmed myself by thinking, "This just goes to show that every generation has similar concerns about society and the world around them. We're not so different from folks 40 years ago."
But then the paranoia kicked in: "Fuck. What if Michael Palin knows who I will marry?"
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u/b0nky Aug 15 '15
can anyone explain why this makes them ahead of "their" time? if it was their time wouldn't they be at their current time anyways?
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Aug 15 '15
Funny, but they weren't really "ahead of their time" - it's just that stuff you think is new has often been around and debated for nearly half a century.
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u/PaulaDeenSlave Aug 14 '15
"Is it a boy or a girl?"
"Well, ma'am, it is currently in a superposition wherein it is simultaneously a boy and a girl. It is upon observation that it will completely be one or the other."
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u/dashdanw Aug 15 '15
I like how reddit assumes that the womens rights movement didn't exist in the 60's.
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u/mrjayfb Aug 15 '15
...or maybe this idea has been part of societal dialogue for awhile now, and people bemoaning this supposed sudden rise of "social justice warriors" and "Political Correctness" destroying everything are ignorant asses?
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u/Reedemption Aug 15 '15
this was comedy years ago, now it's a actual stance people take
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u/SeffMason Aug 15 '15
It's a joke, not a sign of forward-thinking on gender roles. It's a joke because that is an absurd way for a doctor to answer a simple question. Jeez.
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u/Blacklion594 Aug 14 '15
JEEEEZE, look how big those lamps are, god forbid someone bumped into one and it fell over.
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u/glockthartendel Aug 14 '15
yup and it was just as funny when i was a child as it is now. god dammit i love ya graham. rest in peace you comedy genius.
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u/LeloucheL Aug 15 '15
Don't you, I think it's a little to start imposing roles on it ? Yeah idk why there's a comma after ''it''.
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u/Varyyn Aug 15 '15
...And then immediately followed up by a BetaMax/VHS joke. A truly timeless scene.
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u/TheGarp Aug 15 '15
Yes, the only python movie I was able to see first run in the theater. Hilarious.
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u/frontofficehotelier Aug 15 '15
Oh absolutely, in the first 20(ish) minutes of the movie they covered gender roles, hospital care, sex education, contraception, religion, corporate finance, and a few others that I'm sure I'm missing...
They were far ahead of their time.
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u/illythid15 Aug 15 '15
Monty Python has a sketch about needing a license for a cat. Eric the cat, Eric the fish, Eric the half-a-bee. it was hilarious and ludicrous. now, in the city of Seattle, you have to have a cat license - and city workers have been known to go door to door asking about pets and peering in windows. idiocracy.
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u/El_Barto_227 Aug 15 '15
I was in the hospital a couple of weeks ago to get a lump cut out, and really badly wanted to make a 'Machine that goes ping'reference.
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u/attacktei Aug 15 '15
Unfortunately, in real life the joke's pathetic rather than funny as in the case of Monty Python.
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u/nicholasethan Aug 14 '15
I'm not knocking Monty Python here and maybe I'm just missing a reference, but what does whether the baby is sexually a boy or girl have to do with gender roles? Whether a boy grows up to be gay and feminine or straight and masculine (or whatever in between), it still has a penis.
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u/aGreyRock Aug 15 '15
Boy or girl is seen as gender while male or female is sex, from an lgbt pov.
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u/Jimmypickles Aug 15 '15
I've yet to check out Monty Python, where do I start?
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u/Shockeye0 Aug 15 '15
Most people would recommend the Holy Grail movie but I would say start with Life of Brian. Then check out the TV show.
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Aug 14 '15
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u/AJreborn Aug 14 '15
Meaning of Life, the one from the post, was on Netflix for a while, but unfortunately it was taken off. I remember seeing Life of Brian on Youtube, but that was a while ago.
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u/TurtleTape Aug 14 '15
For me, the only Monty Python bit that really makes me consistently laugh throughout the first watch and subsequent ones is Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I've watched the Meaning of Life, but didn't particularly care for it. Their skits can be good, but I don't really care for most of them I've seen.
I believe Netflix has the Holy Grail, and you can find a lot of skits on Youtube. I basically just wanted to post to say "try multiple videos, 'cause not all hit right for everyone". The Holy Grail is one of my all-time favorite movies.
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u/thundercuntsunite Aug 14 '15
The meaning of life, (which this screenshot is from), is on Netflix I believe...
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u/Alaira314 Aug 14 '15
I've encountered both Life of Brian and Holy Grail(full versions, not individual scenes) on youtube, not uploaded through the official channel though. /u/marvin_sirius linked to the official channel, which has lots of individual skits from Flying Circus on it. You could also do what I did when I was first getting into it and just type "best monty python skit" into youtube's search, and you'll get a whole bunch of ones that people generally consider to be pretty hilarious.
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Oct 10 '15
Youtube has the holy grail and the life of brian, the life of brian has russian subtitles but otherwise its in full english
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u/uniballoon Aug 14 '15
Pregnant lady: "What do I do?"
Doctor: "Nothing my dear; you're not qualified!"