Man, what a different world it was just over 4 decades ago. In 1969, the same year that millions of people across the world gathered to protest the war in Vietnam, therefore showing (at least on the surface) that social responsibility and a belief in peace for all people was increasingly becoming the norm in our society, prejudices against many minority groups was still high. Homophobia, for example, seemed not only common, but generally accepted. A great example of this was Monty Python’s Flying Circus, which also first hit screens in 1969. Monty Python’s Flying Circus is one of the greatest and most influential series in history, but 43 years later, it is interesting to look back and view it through the lens of the differences in society that almost half a century in time can afford.
Take for example this classic sketch:
When we get to the point where “stinking homosexuals” are brought up, the crowd stands and cheers as they play a game called “Shoot The Poof”.
Also there’s this famous sketch:
Here, a British man comes to Australia and joins the Philosophy department of the University of Woolloomooloo, where “no poofters” takes up about half of their list of rules.
Times change, people’s perceptions of what’s right and wrong changes with that. Morals and ethics develop, and we become more tolerant as a result. I get all that. It’s a good thing. The reason that I find Monty Python interesting to use as an example though, is Graham Chapman.
Graham Chapman was a founding member of Monty Python, and a very gifted comedian. Graham Chapman was also gay, which begs the question of how he must have felt about the gay-bashing humour included in quite a bit of the material Monty Python created. Especially when he was a major participant in it. Take this sketch for example:
Here we see Graham playing Biggles, dictating a letter to his secretary. When he finds out his long time friend Algy is gay, he pulls out his gun and shoots him in disgust.
Viewing it as someone who knows about Chapman’s personal life, you have to wonder how he felt about sketches such as these. Was he a willing participant, or did he hate doing them? Was he involved in the writing process of sketches such as these? Did he just simply approach these with a good sense of humour? Perhaps there was even something therapeutic or cathartic about working on this material.
The most likely answer is that he knew that this was the way it was in the late 60’s and early 70’s, and decided to, as Monty Python themselves would say, “GET ON WITH IT!”
Unfortunately, since Graham Chapman passed away in 1989 after suffering from throat cancer and secondary spinal cancer, he could not be reached for comment.
What do you think, Dear Reader? Can we accept that that’s the way things were back then, so it’s OK for those sorts of prejudices exist? If so, does that justify the prejudices that many people in our society hold today? Most importantly, are we all Monty Python fans, and can we drop some quotes in the comments for a bit of fun?
Let the discussion commence.
The Dukes Playground 
in my view, monty python lampooned gay bashing in order to show how petty and ridiculous it is, not as a means of condoning it. chapman likely played the roles in the spirit of sarcasm with which they were written.
I just came across this blog while scanning around due to a discussion about the probable Python reunion.
I’m amazed to be honest, that you seem to take these sketches seriously. I’m personally targetted by at least two of their jokes and I think they’re hilarious. It’s satire for goodness sake.
If you read the content, I think you’ll find that I don’t personally take the sketches seriously. It’s more a curiosity over how Graham would have felt about the sketches. Thanks for reading!
Quit being so FUCKING SENSITIVE. Thicken up your skin, boy! Political correctness and the neurosis created when you’re living in fear of offending a race, group, gender, political affiliation, religion, etc are precisely why this world is so FUCKED UP. Learn to laugh at yourself. Pretty sure the message here with these skits it how ludicrous it would look if there was actually a game show called “Shoot the Poof” as the very thought of it is utterly ridiculous.
Did you even read the article?
I have to agree with the first commenter, that you seem to have really misunderstood those sketches. Monty Python did actually have a lot of sketches that relied in part on gay stereotypes, some I would call straight up homophobic, but even those were never solely about the stereotype. But these sketches here are clearly examples of how they made fun of ignorant prejudiced macho gay bashers. I’ve always thought they were actually pretty progressive for their time. In the “Prejudice” sketch, they equate homophobia with racism and other forms of prejudice that were already widely condemned. I was always surprised at how well they usually handled the subject when I was younger, and it makes a lot of sense to me that Graham Chapman was gay.
The other Python members knew Graham Chapman was gay while they were making the show. It wasn’t an issue. If anything he drove them to include the homosexual references, and was probably over-defensive himself because of that.
If you can find anything but love and admiration for Graham Chapman in the statements of the other Pythons then I urge you to post the evidence. Losing Graham was a profound experience to all of them. Like if you lost a close friend. When they were making their show they weren’t icons, they were people. They were people before, they’re people now.
I know it’s all a bit ridiculous now, looking at this decades old show and complaining about how it treated people of different sexuality, but it’s not homosexuals who have anything to complain about, if anything it’s the trans community. Except they mostly love it too.
I realise this may be a little different in the UK because we embrace and love our drag culture, but Monty Python wasn’t some ground-breaking TV show trying to make the public accept that men can dress up as women, it’s just how we roll. Openly gay and trans people work on UK TV based on a single merit – do they entertain. Similarly, any sane employer will decide who to employ on one basis only – will they do the job.
If your employer or your entertainment lets you down in this regard, change them.
I’ve noticed a lot of comments here seem to think that I am condoning the show for its content. I’ve re-read my article, and I can certainly see how that would come across. But my intention was merely to express curiosity as to how Graham may have felt. And also to mention how times change, and with political correctness being the way it is (too crazy, in my opinion) that we reflect on things like this differently, in the same way that casual racism or sexism used to be more accepted, or the social norm. I am a huge Monty Python fan, always have been, and love the sketches mentioned above. Just wanted to put that out there. Thanks for reading.
I know I’m a little late here… just got here by accident as I tried to get the full version of that sketch…
Maybe it needs to be pointed out to you? It’s satire. They are not mocking homosexuality; they are mocking homophobia! Amazing that you can write a blog post about it but not actually get the joke. And sad.
I do get the joke. I don’t think you got the point of what I wrote.