Very silly party politics : surrealism and satire in the ‘Pythonesque’

Wilkie, I

Abstract

2019 sees the 50th anniversary of the iconic British television comedy series Monty Python’s
Flying Circus (BBC: 1969-74). This article focuses on the concept of ‘Pythonesque’, placing
the broadly political satirical content that is evident within the Pythons’ mainstream TV
work and in selected subsequent film work at the centre of the notion of ‘Pythonesque’. It
will be suggested, moreover, that the Pythons’ socio-cultural critical position is embedded in
a long established British literary satirical tradition. Further, this article will aim to show that
‘Pythonesque’ incongruity, whilst adopting the aesthetic of the nihilistic cabaret of the
Dadaists, was further influenced by the contemporary strain of British vernacular surrealism
that permeated twentieth century popular performance through Music Hall, Variety comedy
and The Goons, and also borrows Surrealist satirical perspectives. This evaluation of
‘Pythonesque’ fusion of satirical and surreal elements will posit that the comedians were
simultaneously behind the times; of their time; and, in their prescience, some ways ahead of
their time in their construction of humorous commentary on British societal mores and their
vividly underscoring of the absurdity of the institutions they targeted.
Key Words: Monty Python, Satire, Surrealism, Comedy, ‘Pythonesque’

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 26, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Jul 16, 2019
• Publication Date: Jul 16, 2019
• Deposit Date: May 17, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 16, 2020
• Journal: Comedy Studies
• Print ISSN: 2040-610X
• Publisher: Intellect
• Volume: 10
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 213-223
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/2040610X.2019.1623506
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/2040610X.2019.1623506
• Related Public URLs: https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rcos20/current