Original artwork, not a still
The Vikings in the Spam sketch, Monty Python's Flying Circus (1970)
Spam, spam, spam, spam, lovely spam! Wonderful spam!
— Monty Python's Flying Circus ‧ 1969
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
The joke is repetition as a weapon: a perfectly sensible order is buried under a chorus that will not stop. The sketch also nods to postwar British rationing, when tinned meat was everywhere. Its biggest afterlife is the word itself: flooding forums and inboxes with unwanted messages was named spamming after it, so a 1970 comedy sketch now sits behind every junk-mail folder.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for Monty Python's Flying CircusShow the scene
The Vikings' chant comes from the "Spam" sketch, Monty Python's Flying Circus, series 2 episode 12 (1970), written by Terry Jones and Michael Palin. Two customers are lowered by wires into a greasy-spoon cafe whose menu includes Spam in almost every dish. As the waitress recites the Spam-heavy menu, a group of Vikings in the cafe drown out conversations by loudly singing the word over and over. When the waitress orders them to shut up, they sing louder. An audio version appears on the album Another Monty Python Record (1971).
Sources (1)
- Wikipedia: Spam (Monty Python sketch)Lead, Plot and Impact sectionsReference checked
Context reviewed
