I practically grew up on watching Monty Python and the Holy Grail, picture me at 5 years old pretending to walk around a village going "bring out your dead," it's a hilarious and lowkey bizarre memory. Anyways, it was not until this class that I fully understood the medieval references and the under the surface details of it, I have always been exposed to medieval pop culture, but it makes more sense now. Humor has a big affect on the chivalric code in this movie. A scene that always stood out to me was when Sir Galahad arrived to Castle Anthrax. When I was younger I never understood that scene, but now knowing the chivalric code and the stereotypes of women in medieval settings, I now understand. This scene is a test of Sir Galahad's path of chivalry. Noble Knights were expected to be pure virgins and the women are supposed to be seen as temptresses leading him astray of his path. He is then rescued right when he was close to slipping up. I've never liked the scene, but it does show the ridiculousness of the chivalric code and satires how women are stereotyped in these stories. Also, the great battles the knights face in medieval literature are much more humorous in this movie. In texts, they are usually described as epic and dramatic, but in the movie they did not have the same effect. King Arthur's fight with the Black Knight is as bloody and gruesome as texts explain sword fights, but I still cannot take the scene seriously. Also, it satirizes how knights are noble and will fight to the very end, which is portrayed by the Black Kight loosing various limbs and he goes on fighting for some reason. Even the monster they have to slay while on their quest, which is usually in medieval tales, is seen as not a threat because it's a rabbit, but it still follows the trope of being a bloody and gruesome battle while still being humorous. If Ursula K. Le Guin was upset with Ishiguro's version of medieval literature, I bet she was definitely upset with this film satirizing medievalism.
I love that you also grew up watching this movie. I also pulled Castle Anthrax as a show of not only the chivalric code, but also going back to our discussions about women. It really holds up to what we have seen in previous discussions, meaning women are either this meek, pure, somewhat seductive entity, or they are the manipulative old hag. I love how we both included this in our discussions and I also enjoyed how you brought back Ishiguro back into the mix. I definitely agree that Le Guin would be very upset watching The Holy Grail.
By being in this class, my understanding of chivalry and its code was deepened also as I looked at the Castle Anthrax scene as a funny throw away scene, but now I do see a bit a subtle commentary on gender roles as just like you said, these women are living, breathing traps to his honor, but also have nothing to do but sit in a castle and wait on a man. Growing up sucks.
Agree with Ariel and Helen here; I think you must be right Castle Anthrax scene--although I always get hung up on that point I made in our teams chat: does the satire and critique go far enough? After our discussion last week, I kept finding myself idly wondering what a feminist Monty Python-esque medieval satire would look like.
Love your point about Le Guin! It got me curious, and so I checked to see what she'd written about it! The closest I could find was a throwaway line from this blog post: https://www.ursulakleguin.com/some-assumptions-about-fantasy
It's fascinating because I think she actually agrees with your last point about nobility, which makes me wonder: what to her was so egregious about Ishiguro's take on fantasy?
Love your point about Le Guin! It got me curious, and so I checked to see what she'd written about it! The closest I could find was a throwaway line from this blog post: https://www.ursulakleguin.com/some-assumptions-about-fantasy
It's fascinating because I think she actually agrees with your last point about nobility, which makes me wonder: what to her was so egregious about Ishiguro's take on fantasy?