Monty Python's Life of Brian

At around the fifty-eighth minute, we see Brian step upon the foot of an isolated earth-dweller. By ways of the plot, we should find Brian the least absurd amongst society at large; and if this earth-dweller’s character isn’t already presented as absurd in his actions, then surely a traditional conception of one who hasn’t spoken for nineteen years would label him as such. So which is the absurd? Or, possibly, it could be that neither of the two are the “absurdity.” It could be that the forces driving their interaction—the mob of worshippers—should be labeled as this perpetrator of absurdity. I think, though, that an argument can be made for any of the three options at hand; but, be that as it may, I don’t feel as though picking one would be best for an analysis of the scene. Rather, in an attempt to answer my own question, I find it proper to see the three forces as the variations of Deleuze’s “body without organs”: cancerous, empty, and full.

The first BwO, the cancerous BwO, is the aforementioned mob, which is in pursuit of Brian. The cancerous BwO is caught in endless reproduction of the self-same pattern. This, I think, is also the film’s representation of those of blind-faith (do with this what you will in regards to making meaning of both the blind member of the mob, and all of it’s association with Jesus’ ability to cure). At any rate, I find this idea perfectly summed by the man in the forefront of the mob: “I should know, I’ve followed a few [messiahs].” With this, we have a man who has continually repeated attempts to transcend, placing God (used loosely) outside of himself. The empty BwO is described as catatonic; this, then, is represented as the earth-dweller who has sat in isolation for nearly two decades; his reality—up until this point—has existed completely within himself (however, I’m hesitant to definitively label this character as immanent—doing so would undermine its complexity, I think). Moving onward though, we have Brian as the ‘full’ BwO. He acts on, and is also acted upon, the forces at play within the whole of the system. To clarify, I see Brian as the encapsulate of the system’s singularity. He affects and is affected by the empty, despite its isolation; and he affects and is affected by the cancerous. He is constantly being received in various ways—ways that are always other than which he intended. This can be explicitly seen by the gourd/sandal debate within the mob, and also by Brian’s remark to Judith: “that’s not what I meant at all!” (1:09:45).