The Ministry of Silly Gaits
Ministry Of Silly gaits (English: The Ministry of Silly Walks ) is a sketch of the comedy troupe Monty Python and was in the television show Monty Python's Flying Circus aired in 1970 in the second season in episode 14 for the first time. The sketch was written by Terry Jones and Michael Palin .
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The sketch begins with John Cleese , who is posh and wearing a bowler hat on his way to work. After buying the Times, he goes to work at the Department of Silly Corridors. Since his walk is getting more and more funny, he needs more and more time.
When he arrives at his place of work, Mr. Putney (played by Michael Palin) is waiting for him. He reports that he also has a silly gait that he would like to have state subsidized and is asked to give a sample. As it turns out, Mr. Putney's gait isn't particularly silly: the right leg isn't silly at all, and the left leg only makes a half-turn for every other step in the air.
Cleese, as a ministry employee, stands up and demonstrates his walk to the visitor again. He also uses a scissor-like gait that only occurs in people with spastic paralysis. Above all, Cleese's walk, which strongly contradicts the seriousness of a ministry employee, made the sketch famous.
Cleese explains that after government spending on defense, social security, health, housing, and education, there is hardly any funding left for silly corridors. Right now the Department of Silly Corridors is only getting £ 348 million a year.
He asks his secretary to bring two cups of coffee. However, the secretary also has such a silly corridor that she spills everything and takes the tray back with her. After Cleese showed his visitor a short silent film about silly corridors, the sketch finally ends with Cleese offering his visitor to take part in an Anglo-French joint project La Marche Futile , a parody of the Anglo-French collaboration at the time in connection with the supersonic aircraft Concorde . This is presented by a man (Terry Jones) who wears mixed English-French clothing and performs silly corridors to a faster version of the Marseillaise .
Others
- An abridged version of Silly Walks was used in the comedy film Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl .
- At the film festival in Montreux in 1971, a special edition of Monty Python was shown, which was then awarded the silver rose . This special issue also contained Silly Walks .
- The sketch was later imitated by numerous shows, comics, and video games. Cleese herself was repeatedly asked to demonstrate silly walks .
- Cleese found it more and more difficult to perform the sketch again over the years, although he was often asked to do so. At some point he said: "I don't do silly walks anymore".
- Some observers believed that the sketch was a satire of British government projects. When asked by the comedians themselves, they said they had nothing more in mind than mere silliness. Some fans have told Cleese that they thought this sketch was the best of the group.
- In a 2005 UK poll, the sketch was voted 15th best of all time.
- In a later version dubbed in German, the title was translated into The Ministry of Stupid .
- In the small Norwegian town of Örje, instead of the normal zebra crossing signs, signs with the image of a stylized, silly walking John Cleese were put up.
- On April 25, 2016, John Cleese opened the so-called Silly Walk Tunnel in the Dutch city of Eindhoven . The tunnel connects the university and the venue Effenaar. The walls show pictures of John Cleese practicing the Silly Walk .
- The UK's exit from the EU is portrayed as a "silly gang" in numerous commentaries and cartoons .
- At Dartmouth College in the USA in 2020 a team of researchers created the not entirely serious analysis of how silly the "Silly Walks" actually are.
- When John Cleese introduces the Aston Martin "Vanish" as Q in James Bond 007 - Die Another Day , the distorted image behind the invisible car alludes to the "Silly Walk".
Individual evidence
- ^ Montreux special by Monty Python at imdb.com
- ↑ Slag om de arm, maar ... John Cleese comt Silly Walks Dommeltunneltje open ( Memento from April 25, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Why Monty Python's “Silly Walk” is exactly 6.7 times funnier than a normal walk. In: www.welt.de. March 12, 2020, accessed March 12, 2020 .