DIPLOMARBEIT Titel der Diplomarbeit "This is getting too silly" - Pythonesque humour in Kottan ermittelt Verfasserin Isabella Birnbaum angestrebter akademischer Grad Magistra der Philosophie (Mag.phil.) Wien, 2013 Studienkennzahl lt. Studienblatt: A 343 Studienrichtung lt. Studienblatt: Diplomstudium Anglistik und Amerikanistik Betreuerin: ao. Univ. Prof. Dr. Monika Seidl In loving memory of my mother Karin Birnbaum Thank you for your support and care, for your love and being there. Thank you for your laughs and glee, for everything you've done for me. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction.......................................................................................... 1 2. Theories of humour.............................................................................. 3 3. Comedy............................................................................................... 11 4. Monty Python’s Flying Circus ........................................................... 14 4.2. Pythonesque humour…………………………………………… 20 5. Kottan ermittelt ………………………………………………………….... 24 5.2. Humour in Kottan ermittelt ……………………………………. 28 5.3. The reception of Kottan ermittelt .......................................... 32 6. Monty Python's Flying Circus and Kottan ermittelt- a comparative analysis........................................................................... 38 6.1. Running gags........................................................................ 38 6.2. Addressing the audience....................................................... 47 6.3. Advertisements..................................................................... 52 6.4. The cannibalistic baby- An almost identical sketch............... 58 6.5. Dark humour and taboos....................................................... 61 6.6. Parody.................................................................................... 66 6.7. Surrealism.............................................................................. 69 6.8. Slapstick................................................................................ 73 6.9. Musical interludes.................................................................. 77 6.10. Intertextuality....................................................................... 82 6.11. Female roles and cross-dressing........................................ 85 6.12. The fool and the clown......................................................... 89 7. Conclusion............................................................................................ 93 8. Bibliography........................................................................................... 96 9. Appendix............................................................................................... 100 10. Zusammenfassung................................................................................106 11. Curriculum Vitae................................................................................... 108 1. Introduction “This is getting too silly!”: The phrase is uttered in Monty Python's Flying Circus whenever a gag is highly absurd, irrational or simply silly. It is clear that Monty Python is an innovative television show which dared to stretch the limits of comedy. Concerning the popular cultural context, the members and creators of Monty Python, also known as the Pythons, managed to create a comedy universe whose effects are still evident in the present time. A great number of television shows and films, comedians and the popular culture as a whole were tremendously influenced by the inventive comedy concept of the Pythons. The same assumption applies to a popular Austrian television series which was aired in the 1980s. Two years later after the final broadcast of Monty Python, the first episode of Kottan ermittelt was aired on FS 1 (now ORF 1). (Gölsdorf 2007:9) The television show was often compared to the English comedy show and Pythonesque humour. The main goal of this analysis is to find out whether this assumption is true or not and if the implication of Pythonesque humour in an Austrian setting was successful or not. The first part of this paper will present several theoretical concepts of humour. The central goal of this chapter is to define laughter and the corresponding triggers. In order to understand the impact that Monty Python had on Kottan ermittelt, it is necessary to gather a basic theory of why we laugh. Additionally, since both television shows evidently use traditional elements of film comedy, a short introduction to comedy, its instruments to provoke laughter and its typical character roles is presented in the third chapter. This includes the presentation of slapstick techniques, the character of the clown and the fool and equally the genre of the grotesque. The fourth part will then present factual information on Monty Python and their chronicles. Based on a number of autobiographical references but also on other researchers' conclusions, this chapter analyses the origin of the cast, the beginnings of Flying Circus, the movies as well as the audience's reception. It is crucial to concentrate on the origins of Monty Python in order to understand the effect this television series had on other comedy shows including Kottan ermittelt. The most frequently used strategies of the Pythons to produce humour and comedy will also be dealt with in this section by focusing on a general definition of Pythonesque humour. 1 In contrast to Flying Circus, Kottan experienced a continuous development from a serious crime television series to a surreal comedy. For this reason, the fifth chapter does not only investigate the origins and the specific kind of humour in Kottan ermittelt but also the stylistic changes that the television series experienced. Kottan ermittelt can be considered as a highly innovative comedy show that introduced parody, dark humour and surreal sketches to the Austrian audience and it excessively received negative response which was mainly conveyed through letters or phone calls by outraged viewers.1 Numerous viewers were shocked that Kottan ermittelt dared to make fun of others and to fool about serious subjects. This part of the paper will attempt to analyse the triggers of the disapproving reception and specifically, how the producers reacted to it. The sixth chapter presents the major focus of this research, namely a comparative analysis of a number of sketches from Kottan ermittelt and Monty Python's Flying Circus. The reason for choosing the television series of Monty Python instead of their films is due to the serial character of Kottan ermittelt. Both television shows were broadcasted in a periodical interval so that a comparison to Monty Python's Flying Circus appears logical. The main purpose of this comparison is to find out whether Pythonesque humour is actually employed in Kottan ermittelt and which methods were influenced by the Pythons in order to create humour. The sketches are subdivided into different chapters to analyse the sketches in detail. The main questions that this research attempts to answer is, How do Monty Python's Flying Circus and Kottan ermittelt provoke laughter amongst their audience, Are there any similarities between their methods and their use of gags and finally, Does the audience laugh or not? Do the Pythons actually use traditional elements of comedy? Which humour theory can be identified in both television shows? And last but not least: Were the producers of Kottan ermittelt de facto inspired by the humour of Monty Python's Flying Circus? After this comparative analysis, the chapter of conclusion presents a clear answer to the questions whether Monty Python's Flying Circus and Kottan ermittelt are comparable or not and whether Pythonesque humour was actually approved by the Austrian audience in the 1980s. 1 http://www.kottan.info/pdf_telefonprotokolle/telefonprotokoll-19-4-1978.pdf 2 2. Theories of humour In order to analyse the humour in Kottan ermittelt and Monty Python's Flying Circus, it is necessary to give a factual overview of the most important basic humour theories. As the Pythonesque style of humour is the object of this analysis it is obligatory to already have a fundamental knowledge of laughing theories. The most essential questions are, How can humour be defined, Why do we laugh, and What are the basic triggers of humour? Humour offers a vast area of scientific analysis especially in the fields of psychology, linguistics, philosophy and cultural studies. A number of well-known theorists and philosophers such as Kant, Schopenhauer and Freud have already explored the field of humour and attempted to discover the answer to the most significant question, namely which stimulus provokes laughter. (Critchley 2002:3) Since humour is a complex subject that allows diverse scientific approaches, only the most popular theories are presented in this chapter. First of all, it is important to mention that humour is a mental phenomenon restricted to humans, or in other words, the homo sapiens is the only race that produces humour and equally reacts to it. (Gelfert 1998:12) Behaviourist scientists have discovered certain mimic reactions amongst primates which are similar to a smile but it was not comparable to the response of humour or human laughter. (Gelfert 1998:12) This claim could lead to the assumption that humour is a highly complex process which depends on certain factors such as context, social relationship and intellect. In addition, theorists argue that humour is universal and, thus, occurs in every