Comparison Of Monty Python And The Holy Grail

Post-Medievalism Monty Python and the Holy Grail is a satiric comedy about the quest of King Arthur. The movie begins with Arthur, King of the Britons, searching for knights to sit with him at Camelot. Throughout his utterly ridiculous (and frankly hilarious) journey, he and his knights delve into a history of medieval events and happenings. “Why do you, as well as many, find this film so hysterical?” you may ask. Monty Python and the Holy Grail employs a variety of postmodern characteristics, not only breaking traditional rules, but making it a comedy to withstand the test of time. After King Arthur recruits his knights and traverses through a variety of events, including the black plague and witch trials, they find Camelot. However, after
Magic realism is when the reality portrayed accepts that magic really exists. One example of this in the film would be the Sorcerer Tim, the enchanter. Who with his magical know-all points the knights in the direction of the Holy Grail. He tells the knights that they must defeat the Rabbit of Caerbannog, which is basically just your average rabbit, excepting the fact that it kills people. The knights defeat the rabbit using the “Holy Hand Grenade”, but not without casualties. The magic killer rabbit kills 3 of the knight companions. Following this battle, the remainder of Arthurs crusade continues on to then fight the Legendary Black Beast of Aaaaarrrrrrggghhh (in an animated sequence), which then devours another of the knight companions. Arthur and his knights are only able to escape because the beasts’ animator suffers a fatal heart attack. This not only employs magic realism, but also that of metafiction and black humor, acknowledging that the work itself is fictional and that the only reason its characters survive is because their weak-hearted
In the last minutes of the movie, King Arthur has gathered a legion of knights to aid him in storming the castle and retrieving the Holy Grail. Just as he orders his men to charge, the police show up. Yes, 20th century police show up in the middle of the charge. The police then arrest King Arthur for murdering the Historian, thus ending the movie.
To conclude, the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail is chocked full of postmodernistic qualities. These postmodernistic qualities break the rules, challenge the expected, and place The Holy Grail in a comedic limelight that will not soon be forgotten. Its excellent use of postmodernism has placed it as the greatest comedy film of all time on IMDB, as well as being a favorite among countless across the world. If the chance arises, I recommend that you watch the film and look for the aforementioned postmodernistic qualities, as well as for the simple comedic value which it possesses. ‘Tis a silly