To me, Monty Python and the Holy Grail is one of the top 5 funniest movies of all time. Again, that's just a personal opinion and has nothing to do with the purpose of this post, but i wanted to throw that out there. In case you're not familiar with the basis of the story, King Arthur is charged with finding the legendary holy grail by God himself. The Lord appears to Arthur and his Knights and tells them that their quest is to locate this sacred object.
Made back in 1975, the movie is more or less (depending on your sense of humor) a classic now. But beneath all the sarcasm and satire there is an underlying theme to the movie. The holy grail as we all know, has been the subject of much debate and thought throughout history, with even modern movies based solely on the existence of the object (see The Da Vinci Code). Whether or not we all agree on exactly what the holy grail is is irrelevant. The point I want to make here is about the media's depictions of receiving "quests" from God. Are these depictions a harmless way to further the plot of a movie or are they jabs at organized religion's idea of receiving sacred commandments from God? For example, the Crusades (as shown in The Kingdom of Heaven), are famously known for being commands from God to basically search and destroy. Whether or not these depictions are based on history or not, the point is still the same- does Hollywood portray God giving commandments to people in a sarcastic manner? Similar to the post about Evan Almighty (since it was posted before mine), I've wondered myself whether these portrayals of religion are detrimental or beneficial.
Receiving revelation from God, whether directly or indirectly, is at the foundation of many different religions. I myself take this creed very seriously as it has special significance to my religious beliefs. I am therefore cautious about Hollywood's attempts to portray God or religion in general because at the heart of their endeavors is money. As a result, accurate depictions are sometimes, or often, lacking. In the case with Monty Python, God appears in cartoon form. Upon seeing this the first time my initial reaction was a little apprehensive. The movie, as you can see from the clip, even portrays God as a bit whiny. But after seeing it multiple times, and thinking about the idea more in general, I've realized that not everything is meant to be a mockery or making jest. Maybe this is because I simply like the movie so much that I've become numb to the idea. But I also think that receiving revelation from God is part of religion, and movies have to try and depict that as best they can; though their best may not be in accordance with what we think is best.
So while King Arthur and his quest from God may have been shown in a "light" manner, I myself am not convinced that it was an attempt to undermine religion's belief in revelation.
I definitely agree with your last statement. I don't believe that this movie is trying to take shots at revelation. They needed to receive their quest directly from God and sense the movie was a comedy they needed it to be funny not serious. I don't think it was trying to destroy beliefs in revelation. Look at our religion we always have fun with our beliefs, it doesn't mean we don't believe them or take the seriously. One thing I was thinking about while reading your post is the specific example you are talking about with receiving quests from God. Many times in movies I think these quests are protrayed in a good light. Every hero needs a reason to do what they're doing. Many times that instruction comes from a higher source. However, many movies use this quest from God to be used by extremists or radicals, like Silas in the Da Vinci Code. When I truly look at movies I can see that both sides are pretty much equally shown, that some seem to be attacking religion and that some seem to see receiving a quest as something noble and right. Others will disagree but usually I don't see the harm and I believe that people can see past the radicals that receive their commandments.
ReplyDeleteI also love this movie! Prior to reading your post, I had never considered the portrayal of God commanding King Arthur as being derrogatory towards religion, but I think it is an interesting thought. I never thought too much into it because it just seemed to fit the profile of the movie -- a low budget God giving a commandment in a low budget movie. The portrayal of God in that particular scene appears to me like the rest of the movie -- It is funny and whimsical and can't be taken seriously. As far as portrayals of God's commandments generally in Hollywood, I don't think they mean any harm. Any director is probably weary of making a "religious" movie, and portraying commandments from God in such a manner adds to the plot without becoming churchy. I don't know anyone who would consider Monty Python or Bruce Almighty as religious movies.
ReplyDeleteI'm a big fan of this movie too and appreciated your thoughts about Hollywood and its perception of God and religion. I'm of the opinion that people in the film industry and Hollywood in general, do not hold religion in very high esteem and therefore do not attempt to encourage a belief in God or religion through their movies. In fact, I'd go as far to say that I do think they either try to avoid it or portray it in a negative or sarcastic light. I am worried about the damage being done to the general public because of the way religion and God are represented in the media. Films like Mel Gibson's "The Passion" proved that there is a market for uplifting and inspiring movies about religious topics. Even the movie "Oh God" had a powerful message about how one person could make a difference in the world. I feel like the people in Hollywood are wolves in sheep's clothing to some degree. No, their goal isn't to destroy religion, I hope, but I don't think they feel any compulsion to encourage it. I do think we need to be careful though and not support movies that mock or belittle sacred things.
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