"I thought we were the popular front."

February 2, 2002 12:37 PM

"I thought we were the popular front." The longer this goes on, the more middle east becomes like the Monty Python flick, Life of Brian. No really, do a find for "palestine" on this state department list.
posted by shagoth (6 comments total)

If you look at turn-of-the-century Russian history, it is packed with groups like that. I sometimes wonder if any of the Pythons took a Russian history class before they wrote that movie...
posted by louie at 1:32 PM on February 2, 2002

Errr...I don't know how to tell you this louie, but the popular front, democratic front and various other palestinian groups with similarly silly names and murderous intentions existed well before the production of "Life of Brian".
posted by Orik at 1:38 PM on February 2, 2002

orik: umm... maybe you should read my post again; I was discussing turn of the century Russian history, which occurred well before the invention of film.
posted by louie at 1:47 PM on February 2, 2002

the popular front, democratic front and various other palestinian groups with similarly silly names and murderous intentions existed well before the production of "Life of Brian".
Yes, they were satirizing the 70s Trotskyite Left in that passage, no? Just as they were going after the Anarcho-Socialists in The Holy Grail. "I thought we were an autonomous collective." "Ah, now we see the violence inherent in the system! Help help, I'm being repressed!" Sigh. Collapse in laughter, all over again.
posted by jokeefe at 1:51 PM on February 2, 2002

I sometimes wonder if any of the Pythons took a Russian history class before they wrote that movie...

Michael Palin & Terry Jones: History
John Cleese: Law
Terry Gilliam: Political Science

Explains a lot, really (source).
posted by feckless at 2:43 PM on February 2, 2002

Cleese went to the same college at Cambridge (Emmanuel) as my brother-in-law. Bow to me.
posted by noisemartyr at 5:13 PM on February 2, 2002