The film was set in the first century, and its comic schtick depended upon the constant confusion between Jesus Christ and an ordinary bloke, Brian, who happened to have a somewhat parallel life. And of course, they mocked religion in the infamous movie The Life of Brian. The Pythons were always controversial, however, because, like all great comedians, they mocked the powerful and the complacent, whether it was the landed gentry, the politicians of the day, or simply the pompous and self-important. Python defined a certain generation of English schoolboys, of which I am one. And Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life was the only movie I ever sneaked in to see while underage. His display of wit, broad learning, and love of engaging big ideas left me with a lasting desire to teach and to write. At age fourteen, I attended a talk by Monty Python creator Terry Jones on Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. The TV series decisively shaped my sense of humor.

When I was growing up in England in the seventies and eighties, Monty Python infused my childhood and youth.

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