And Now for Something Completely Different - by Kate Egan & Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock (Paperback)

About the Book

The book examines Monty Python's enduring status as an unconventional, anti-authoritarian comedy touchstone, this book reappraises Python's comedy output from the perspective of its fifty years of cultural circulation.

Book Synopsis

Examining Monty Python's enduring status as an unconventional, anti-authoritarian comedy touchstone, this book reappraises Python's comedy output from the perspective of its 50 years of cultural circulation. Reconsidering the group's originality, impact and durability, a range of international scholars explores Python's influences, production contexts, frequently controversial themes, and the cult status and forms of fandom associated with Python in the present day. From television sketches, including The Funniest Joke in the World, Hell's Grannies, Dead Parrot and Confuse-a-Cat, to the films Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Life of Brian and The Meaning of Life, to songs from the albums and live shows, this book is a ground-breaking critical analysis of the Monty Python phenomenon.

From the Back Cover

Examining Monty Python's enduring status as an unconventional, anti-authoritarian comedy touchstone, this book reappraises Python's comedy output from the perspective of its fifty years of cultural circulation. Reconsidering the group's originality, impact and durability, a range of international scholars explores Python's influences, production contexts, frequently controversial themes, and the cult status and forms of fandom associated with Python in the present day. From television sketches, including The Funniest Joke in the World, Hell's Grannies, Dead Parrot and Confuse-a-Cat, to the films Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Life of Brian and The Meaning of Life, to songs from the albums and live shows, this book is a ground-breaking critical analysis of the Monty Python phenomenon. Kate Egan is a senior lecturer in film and media at Northumbria University, UK Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock is professor of English at Central Michigan University, USA

Review Quotes

A fresh and broad-ranging collection that both builds on existing work on Monty Python, and takes several new approaches. This will be an important contribution to the field.--Leon Hunt, Brunel University London

Fifty years on, And Now For Something Completely Different provides a timely retrospective on the troupe's transformation from absurdist cult TV to global comedy lingua franca. Egan and Weinstock's clutch of new scholarly perspectives effectively historicises Python in popular culture. As Pythonology goes, this is pretty much the full Monty.--Justin Smith, De Montfort University

If you're after a series of lively, insightful and highly accessible essays about every aspect of Monty Python - from its use of stock music to its representation of animals - then this book is completely and utterly for you.--Oliver Double, University of Kent

This outstanding collection finds innovative, compelling things to say about the global cult of Python. Exploring absurdism and gothic horror, music and animation, deceased parrots and 'political correctness', Egan and Weinstock have gathered together a brilliant troupe of scholars. Including a focus on cult comedy and fandom, And Now For Something Completely Different makes a real difference to our understandings of Monty Python. --Professor Matt Hills, University of Huddersfield, UK

About the Author

Dr Kate Egan is Senior Lecturer in Film and Media at Northumbria University

Professor Jeffrey Weinstock is Professor of English at Central Michigan University