Professor Trullinger will be hosting a showing of Monty Python’s Life of Brian on March 29th at 7pm.
Meet us in the Club Room that evening for snacks and a show!
As a top-notch satire of religious and political groupthink, Monty Python’s Life of Brian might be one of the more astute films ever made about political theology, that is, the way that politics and religion intersect and inform one another. The film follows the birth and life of Brian, who just so happens to be born next to the manger where Jesus makes his arrival–and so begins a series of comical misunderstandings of Brian for the Messiah. Whether it’s religious authorities such as the Pharisees, the Roman imperial forces occupying Judea, counter-imperial revolutionaries plotting to overthrow the Romans (but who can’t agree on anything), Brian is constantly pulled in a number of sociopolitical directions, when all he wants is to live his life. Although the film depicts Jesus positively and from a distance, it sparked protest from some Christians (even ones who hadn’t seen it), prompting the Pythons to advertise it as “so funny it was banned in Norway!” Join us in the Honors Townhouse at 7:00 PM on March 29th for some healthy laughter about organized religion (or maybe organizations of all kinds), and a discussion afterwards about political theology.
