Everybody knows that French cartoon magazine Charlie Hebdo has published caricature of Prophet Muhammad this week and fearing backlash French government has closed embassies around the world!What the heck that got to do with Monty Python?
Monty Python's ''Life of Brian'', a 1979 British comedy film tells the story of Brian Cohen, a young Jewish man.Brian grows frantic when he finds that some people have started to follow him around, with even the slightest unusual occurrence being hailed as a "miracle". One day after slipping away from the mob, Brian runs into Judith, and they spend the night together. In the morning, Brian opens the curtains to discover an enormous crowd of people outside his mother's house, all proclaiming him to be the Messiah. Brian's mother protests: "He's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy".
The films religious satire drew accusations of blasphemy and protests from some religious groups. Thirty-nine local authorities in the UK either imposed an outright ban, or imposed an X (18 years) certificate, effectively preventing the film from being shown, as the distributors said the film could not be shown unless it was unedited and carried the original AA (14) certificate.The film was a box-office success, grossing fourth-highest of any film in the UK in 1979 and highest of any British film in the United States that year.
The filmmakers used such notoriety to benefit their marketing campaign.It was banned for eight years in Ireland and for a year in Norway.It was marketed in Sweden as '"The film so funny that it was banned in Norway".In New York, screenings were picketed by both rabbis and nuns.
Internalised Censorship:
Richard Webster comments in his 'A Brief History of Blasphemy' that, "internalised censorship played a significant role in the handling" of Monty Python's Life of Brian. In his view, "...the film was surrounded from its inception by intense anxiety, in some quarters of the Establishment, about the offence it might cause....Perhaps more importantly still, the film was shunned by the BBC and ITV, who declined to show it for fear of offending Christians in this country. Once again a blasphemy was restrained - or its circulation effectively curtailed - not by the force of law but by the internalisation of this law."
Some bans continued into the 21st century. In 2009, it was announced that a thirty-year old ban of the film in the Welsh town of Aberystwyth was finally lifted, and the subsequent showing was attended by Terry Jones and Michael Palin alongside mayor Sue Jones-Davies ,who portrayed Judith Iscariot in the film.
Internalised Censorship Not To Be:
The point is that whatever happened along with the screening or banning of 'Life of Brian' nobody gotten hurt, no embassy needed to be closed.This month French cartoon magazine Charlie Hebdo published a series of satirical cartoons of Muhammad.It's a routine for Charlie Hebdo as it mocks almost anything and everything that is a current or recurrent affair!Given that this came days after a series of attacks on US embassies in the Middle East, in response to the anti-Islamic film 'Innocence of Muslims', the French government decided to increase security at certain French embassies, as well as to close the French embassies, consulates, cultural centres, and international schools in about 20 countries In addition, riot police surrounded the offices of the magazine to protect against possible attacks
Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius criticised the magazine's decision, saying, "In France, there is a principle of freedom of expression, which should not be undermined...In the present context, given this absurd video that has been aired, strong emotions have been awakened in many Muslim countries. Is it really sensible or intelligent to pour oil on the fire?" However, the newspaper's editor defended publication of the cartoons, saying, "We do caricatures of everyone, and above all every week, and when we do it with the Prophet, it's called provocation."Speaking on French radio, the magazine’s director explained that a decision not to publish would “hand victory to a handful of extremists that are causing a commotion in the world and in France.”
France is home to Europe’s largest Muslim population, and the senior cleric at Paris’ biggest mosque has appealed for followers to remain calm, according to the French news agency AFP.It’s not the first time the anti-establishment, left-wing magazine has courted controversy. In 2011 the offices of Charlie Hedbo were bombed after it published an Arab Spring edition with the Prophet Muhammad as “guest editor” on the cover.
Thanks to the French government that it neither internalised nor institutionalised censorship!Some might bring up the ban on religious symbols in French schools!Let's not mix up tools of oppression with tools of expression for a start!
Source: Wiki, AFP, Twitter, Youtube, Local French TV and radio
