Posted on 04/20/2009 1:10:57 PM PDT by Behind Liberal Lines
ITHACA, NY--Nearly six months after the Presidential election, former Monty Python star John Cleese needs some new material.
According to the Cornell Daily Sun, Cleese, in an appearance on campus, turned serious and launched into an attack on former President George W. Bush:
Americans... are “much too respectful to the president,” said Cleese, who went on to say that George W. Bush would not be able to survive a single press conference in England.
“It’s pathetic!” he exclaimed. “This is the most important country in the world ... It’s embarrassing because we want America to be great. There is emotion when I said that that because in the 60s we looked up to the U.S. as a beacon, because it was a smart place.”
“Eight years of this rubbish,” he continued. “The Brits were asking, “where is the American’s sense of outrage?”
According to the article Cleese's talk was part of his duties as a visiting professor:
Cleese has been Cornell’s A.D. White Professor-at-large for eight years since 1999 — two years longer than the normal term. In 2006, he was re-appointed as the Provost’s Visiting Professor. Fuchs yesterday said that Cleese had just verbally agreed to extend the three-year term.
But of course one is not allowed to criticize the Obamessiah. I love Monty Python, but I certainly don't care for their political or religious views (the commentary on the Life of Brian video was worse than the movie itself in terms of disrespect for religious beliefs).
I know Andy is a big dim. The party tried their best to get him to run for the Senate a few yrs. ago.
I have heard a number of his endorsement commercials but didn't catch an O'Bama one.
Another big dim in North Carolina.. gasp...Dean Smith.
At least that's tempered by Coach K, a repub.
>I have heard a number of his endorsement commercials
>but didn’t catch an O’Bama one.
Here’s the link again: (have a barf bag ready)
http://www.funnyordie.com/ron_howard
I remember “Fawlty Towers” (possibly the greatest sit-com of all time) and “A Fish Called Wanda” being peppered with hostile references to conservatives, Tatcher in particular. Basil Fawlty and Kevin Kline’s character were intentional gross charicatures of conservatives.
Who cares? A drop in the entertainment bucket. Cleese is old news. There are bigger fish to fry.
“Finally, for some reason I’ve never been able to explain or understand, to me the funniest Monty Python bit ever was ‘The Fish Slapping Dance.’ I don’t know why, but it always cracks me up!”
It’s probably because it conforms strictly to the classical formula for humor: set-up followed by punchline. All humor, at its deepest level, is about irony and schadenfreude. ‘The Fish Slapping Dance’ is funny because you don’t see the big fish coming (or you remember back to when you once didn’t see it coming) and Michael Palin (was it?) looks like he gets hurt.
Ironically, the members of Monty Python set out to make no sense at all, and have their program be uncategorizably insane. They hated how traditional sketch shows had to have every scene end with a punchline. And they went a long way toward not ending their sketches, slamming ideas together, and generally making no sense.
Meanwhile, the jokes and sketches everyone remembers (nudge-nudge wink-wink, argument, dead parrot) had killer set-ups and punchlines.
For what it’s worth, my favorite Python scene is in “Holy Grail,” when Cleese thinks he’s coming to the aid of a damsel, repeatedly runs over the horizon, and brutally slaughters an entire castle full of people. The action itself is, but it ultimately works because he finds out it was all for nothing.
“...conservatives, Tatcher in particular.”
That is, “Thatcher”
Not true. There are millions of folks here and around the world, young and old, who love Monty Python. Given the fact that so few people pay attention to or understand politics, a popular personality like him would have a lot of influence.
“Not true. There are millions of folks here and around the world, young and old, who love Monty Python. Given the fact that so few people pay attention to or understand politics, a popular personality like him would have a lot of influence.”
I don’t doubt that he had an influence back then, or that he doesn’t still have some sort of hold on people past middle-age. My point is, Monty Python was 30 years ago. The last time Cleese was actually popular was no less than 20 years ago. I’d worry more about The Daily Show or Saturday Night Live, or anything else people still watch.
“...or anything else people still watch.”
On a regular basis, I mean. People my age might occasionally watch Python on PBS, BBC America, or DVD, but they are the vast, vast minority.
I definitely agree with that, but he still has a large following, both young and old. I've talked to a bunch of young people (under 30) who are big Monty Python fans.
At least President Bush could get by without a teleprompter. ;o)
Actually, he was contrasting British and American politics. Anyone who has seen Tony Blair match wits with Parliament would have to agree that not very many American Presidents would do nearly as well. Maybe Clinton, but not Bush and certainly not Obama. Having said that, I don’t know where Cleese has been that he has not witnessed the disrespectful things said about President Bush. Has he never heard of BDS?
Anyway, here is a more complete excerpt of what Cleese said.
Cleese then continued to explore the cultural difference between the two countries: “If you get famous, people here get so respectful to you in this country. There’s a kind of reverence, which is quite sickening,” Cleese said. “In England, if you’re famous, everyone’s so envious. If you want to be really popular in England, you need to have a big public failure.”
Cleese then related this reverence to American politics: “The problem in America is that you have a head of state who’s also the top political guy.”
Cleese explained that in England, one can be quite rude to the prime minister without insulting the figure head of the nation, the Queen. Americans, on the other hand, are “much too respectful to the president,” said Cleese, who went on to say that George W. Bush would not be able to survive a single press conference in England.
“It’s pathetic!” he exclaimed. “This is the most important country in the world ... It’s embarrassing because we want America to be great. There is emotion when I said that that because in the 60s we looked up to the U.S. as a beacon, because it was a smart place.”
“Eight years of this rubbish,” he continued. “The Brits were asking, “where is the American’s sense of outrage?”
Whereas I think in Britain, people take the government much more seriously, and demand much more from it. They are conditioned to expecting government to be the solution. Unfortunately, it seems now we seem to be moving in that direction more than ever.
This will probably cost Cleese a lot of corporate gigs. He is actually pretty good as a corporate trainer.
Although I'm not sure about his way of handling employee interviews...FIVE FOUR THREE TWO ONE!!!! Good night ding-ding-ding-ding....
Seriously, any bids on my complete collection of “Flying Circus” DVDs?
He was funny once upon a time.
Wow, that video is sick, sad, and moronic. Did I mention idiotic? Have they left for Jonestown yet?
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