Essay Example on Monty Python and the Holy Grail

However hand grenades were not invented in the 10th century and are completely out of place Another instance of anachronism is in the ending scene of the movie when the policemen and cameraman suddenly appear as the knights are about to attack the Castle Aaargh Then as the army processes forward to attack they are stopped by two police cars and a cameraman The police blockade the men from attacking the castle and stop the cameraman from videoing Then Arthur and Bedever are arrested The police cars and cameraman are examples of anachronism because there were no cars cameras or policemen in the 10th century Clearly the modern historian the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch and the policemen and cameraman are all examples of anachronism because they are in the wrong time period and are used to satirize Medieval culture and literature by mocking the incompetence of knights Secondly reversal is seen in Monty Python and the Holy Grail and is used to mock Medieval culture and literature Reversal is Sir Galahad is an example of reversal because he is the knight who is called to be chaste and virtuous yet he has to be rescued from the Castle of Anthrax and the temptations he encounters because of the women Sir Galahad is used as reversal because his character represents the knights weak conscience and resistance to temptation Whereas knights are called to be strong minded and fervent Another example of reversal is The Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog guarding the cave 

At first the Knights of the Round Table do not believe that the little bunny could be so vicious and deadly However as they try to enter the cave the bunny becomes a rancorous creature who kills many of the knights causing the others to back away and instead use the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch The Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog is an example of reversal because a common cute bunny is depicted as a killer beast which satirizes the knights cowardliness to fight against the bunny A final example of reversal is the damsel in distress who is a man In the classic damsel in distress story the damsel is a girl however in Monty Python and the Holy Grail it is a man who is the damsel in need of being saved from marriage in this instance The man in distress again mocks the helplessness of men in the Medieval Ages Overall reversals are clearly depicted through the foolishness of the characters of Sir Galahad The Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog and the man in distress because they each make one question what is considered normal and what is not Lastly parody is used throughout the film to mock Medieval culture and literature Parody is imitating someone or something for comedic effect For example the trojan rabbit is a parody King Arthur and his knights use the rabbit to sneak into the castle where the grail is believed to be This mocks the Trojan horse used in the Trojan war However as the doors are opened for the rabbit to enter the audience is shown the knights who forget to access the inside of the rabbit thereby exposing their incompetence once more Another example of parody is the damsel in distress It mocks the classic damsel in distress fairytale story because the person in distress is a man instead of a damsel Ultimately in Monty Python and the Holy Grail parodies are seen in the trojan rabbit and the damsel in distress taunting Medieval literature once more Undoubtedly in Monty Python and the Holy Grail anachronism reversal and parody are just three types of satire that are used throughout the film to mock medieval culture and literature Not only are anachronism reversal and parody used in the movie but many other types of satire are used such as understatements irony and incongruity Across many types of literature satire is used to scrutinize the irrationality and preposterousness of the knights of the Middle Ages In short Monty Python and the Holy Grail uses satire throughout the film to ridicule the foolishness and folly characters mocking Medieval society and literature