The Mighty Boosh
This text analysis will focus on the surreal British comedy show The Mighty Boosh written and performed by Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt. The first television series of The Mighty Boosh was screened in Sweden on the channel ZTV in 2008. The first season takes place in a zoo named “the Zooniverse” where the two main-characters Howard Moon (Julian Barrat) and Vince Noir (Noel Fielding) work as zoo keepers. The episode that will be focussed upon, and analysed along the theme of textual narrative, is episode 4 - Tundra.
Tundra begins with Howard and Vince introducing the show on a traditional red-curtained theatre stage and talking about the themes in the story to come. They mention at the same time many strange asides such as the fact a friend named “Leroy” may rewrite the script. They also start to create a motif of ice and coldness, foreshadowing the mystical Arctic destination around which the episode is centred. With the bizarre conversation they have, Barret and Fielding create a sort of post-modern random irony, which plays with the very idea of narrative (Herman, Vervaeck 2005:108).
The premise for Tundra, we are told in the introduction by Howard, is the traditional narrative of heroes engaging in a “terrifying journey to distant lands”. Mythology expert Joseph Campbell famously explored this common pattern in the world's storytelling in his book The Hero`s Way (Campbell 1949). The conditions for this quest are set up when the owner of the Zooniverse, an entrepreneur and explorer called Dixon Bainbridge (Matt Berry) returns from a trip to the Arctic tundra where he has apparently been on some kind of adventure of discovery (Might Boosh 2004).
Anthony Easthope's idea of “The Masculine Myth” that “saturates popular culture today” (Easthope 1986:2) has entered the story already in the form of Bainbridge and his character and quest, and as in all Mighty Boosh episodes, such traditional archetypes are dealt with by being presented in an exaggerated way, and mocked. Bainbridge represents an archetype of the masculine hero explorer. Bainbridge's most obvious symbol of masculinity is a giant “horseshoe” moustache, which is comically large. There is irony here with obvious phallic symbolism. As Richard Dyer states: “Even when other parts of the male body are used to represent sexuality, it is only because they can symbolize the penis...” (Dyer 1993b:90) These ideas of masculinity in the narrative are further developed when Bainbridge bullies Howard because his moustache is tinier. The jealousy this causes is very primal and very masculine and the humour of this is used for a number of jokes. Vince directly compares the moustaches (masculinity) of the two men. Of Howard he states “As if that's a moustache, that's a cappucino stain!” and of Bainbridge: “Look at his, it's like a silver horseshoe!” ( Mighty Boosh 2004).
Bainbridge stirs the jealousy and curiosity of our two heroes (Vince and particularly Howard) when he presents a slide-show of his failed quest to the Arctic tundra. This slide-show is like a mini-narrative in which more deliberate fun is made, not only of the strong British/American male explorer archetype, but of the simplicity and bravado of the traditional story-telling narrative.
“I fell off the mountain ledge, but luckily...my fall was broken by a wolf. [applause] The wolf attacked me, but fortunately I had a pistol hidden in my moustache. [applause] I shot him, but he was only wounded, and took my hand. [Bainbridge holds up his false hand and points to it.] … After fighting with the wolf, I set off to find the egg of Mantumbi: a sapphire, as big as a schoolboy's head.”
[When Vince's cellphone interrupts the slide-show, Bob Fossil, the subservient pseudo-homosexual assistant to Bainbridge (challenging traditional ideas of the male explorer) starts to shout angrily at Vince:]
“All right you two beatniks! What do you think this is? A day at the races with uncle Bobo? This is a real live action man. With loads of action stories. Now listen up and fly right!”
[To Bainbridge:] “Go ahead Pumpkin.” (Mighty Boosh 2004)
This scene is a perfect example of The Mighty Boosh's method of presenting ideas such as masculinity and traditional narrative in a completely warped post-modern way. The surreal scene of the slide-show from Bainbridge, the bizarre pastiche ( Storey 2006:192) of the masculine mainstream Indiana Jones character closes ironically with Fossil engaging in more sexual flamboyance, dancing, and singing a kind of lovers' duet with Bainbridge of Bonnie Tyler's Total Eclipse of the Heart.
Even with all the seemingly random comedy elements of the slide-show scene, The Mighty Boosh is carefully structured. A vital plot exposition has happened. During the slide-show Bainbridge has told of the faraway location (the Arctic tundra) of the prize (The egg of Mantumbi) and more importantly the foe who prevented him from taking it, (a terrifying entity called the Black Frost). We now have all the ingredients for a mythical adventure story.
Here it is easy to see the similarities between the formulaic narrative of Indiana Jones films and Tundra, they both have basic features like the foreign enemy and the treasure that they need to find.(Zander 2006:224). This kind of derivative element for comic effect is what The Mighty Boosh writing team do best. With the same intention as the writers of The Simpsons they bring together characters, music, and literary works from various genres. This helps to create the kind of surreal comedy Barret and Feilding are aiming for. In this way pastiche and the creation of intentional simulacrum (Baudrillard 1994) are frequently used within their post-modern approach.
The narrative used is thus no exception to The Mighty Boosh formula. They tend to make a pastiche of famous traditional narratives and alter and add to them for comic effect. Yet although particular reference is made to Indiana Jones, Tundra is not limited to re-enacting just those stories. In fact the episode's story structure follows the usual dramaturgy of all classic Hollywood films. It begins with an appetising intro, followed by a presentation of the heroes and the villains as well as their conflict, moving on to a deeper understanding of the context, and further on comes the point-of-no-return, the escalation of the conflict, and finally the climax and the denouement. (Gripsrud 2002:239)
The deepening of the conflict occurs when, after Howard expresses his desire to find the egg of Mantumbi, Howard and Vince are suddenly transported to the Arctic. This happens in a brief animated sequence, aboard 1980s electro-pop star Gary Numan's private jet. The next thing the viewer sees is Howard dressed like a traditional Arctic explorer with goggles and in a huge fur coat informing a dictaphone that it is their 4th day in the Arctic. Vince, with comedic contrast is dressed in a bright red “ glam rock ski-suit!” which Howard describes as the “human coke can”(Storey 2006:204). Their dialogue in this scene leads to Howard convincing Vince that the Arctic is a great challenge to the human mind, as they are surrounded by terrifying white nothingness. This leads on to a musical number: – (The Mighty Boosh is a musical comedy) - an ironic rap containing silly mostly meaningless lyrics loosely themed on the Arctic like “ Boosh Boosh stronger than the moose!” (Might Boosh 2004).
The great white “nothingness” of the snow and ice of the Arctic tundra is just one of the challenges that are presented to the heroes on their quest for the egg of Mantumbi. They also have their enemies to face in Dixon Bainbridge and the Black Frost, as well as other unknown obstacles to come. In the meantime Bainbridge has noticed that Howard and Vince are missing from the zoo and goes to Naboo “the Enigma” (the zoo's shaman) to seek advice on where he might find them. Naboo uses his very postmodern “blow-up crystal ball for the Shaman who likes to travel” to find out that they are in the tundra, and Bainbridge storms off. (Might Boosh 2004)
This is perhaps the half way point in the story and moving towards the point of no return. It is at this time Vince finds the frozen body of Biggie Shackelton (a comedic merging of the British explorer Ernest Shackleton and the rapper “Biggie” Smalls aka the Notorious BIG). Vince at first believes it is his own reflection and is terrified. They defrost his last words and thereby find out where the treasure is, but when they are about to reveal the last part Vince's phone rings with a ringtone to the tune of Gary Numan's hit “ Cars”. Gary Numan has now become a motif, a common thread in the narrative that is repeatedly referred back to.
Vince is punished by Howard for the Gary Numan mobile incident and made to sleep outside the tent. In the middle of the night Vince gets kidnapped of a polar bear which rapidly leads the narrative to the point of no return. Amongst the ongoing momentum of the plot however there are still many silly diversions in The Mighty Boosh. For example in the midst of this Arctic action the viewer is again taken back to the zoo where Bob Fossil has a job interview with two cavemen whom he is attempting to employee as new zoo keepers. They strangely mumble and point at their clothes and keep shouting “TOP SHOP!”. Such moments are scattered through Mighty Boosh episodes, making things more surreal yet not destroying the narrative.
Out in the Arctic tundra where the real story is happening Howard wakes up and is really upset because he thinks Vince has been killed by a polar bear. What he doesn't know is that Vince has become friends with the polar bear and is happily dancing along with him, playing badminton and reading funny stories. There is a humorous scene that cuts back and forth between Howard fighting through a blizzard in the dark and crying for Vince, and Vince enjoying his time in the sun with the polar bear to light hearted music. This is post-modernism at work and makes fun of serious dramatic narrative. This is something The Mighty Boosh does often, especially mocking famously depressing Russian theatre.
On day 12 Howard is desperate and walking in the snowstorm, starting to give up his belief in the quest. Then suddenly a bizarre dark voiced creature with a huge parka occurs which asks Howard to “look deep into the parka” (Might Boosh 2004). In their attempt to emphasise the 'other' in this encounter the writers have the creature speak to Howard of things he could never dream of. When Howard challenges the creature to name something of which he has never dreamed, the creature surreally states “Lesbian Ham”. To mix the comedy with the continuing narrative Howard then has a vision of the egg in the parka and passes out. Howard wakes up in the cave where all the parka creatures are gathered. The irony within in this chapter is that he talks about Vince as “not understanding the seriousness of the situation” which is exactly what he is missing himself.
What Howard misses is that he is in grave danger and his experience in the cave will be the point of no return for both himself and Vince. The leader of the parka creatures invites Howard to dine with them as another of the creatures vomits on a plate. Howard eats some, thinking this is what is expected. It turns out that actually they were offering him sandwiches and the vomiting was accidental. On top of this they surprise him by finally revealing he is to be sacrificed. Howard's awkwardness in this section of the narrative can be seen as a specific commentary on the social issue of presumptions we all make about things that are foreign (Holliday, Hyde, Kullman 2004).
When the parka creatures go to fetch the Black Frost another one approaches Howard. It is Vince in disguise, who explains that he got on with the polar bear is here to rescue Howard. While on their way out the two men try to steal the Egg of Mantumbi – the great prize of the narrative. But the alarm goes off and they are captured again.
The next scene is significant as it is the true point of no return in the story structure. This is not accidental. When they are sitting tied together around the egg they are literally waiting to die and discussing – with the irony present in all of The Mighty Boosh – what it will be like to be killed by the Black Frost and what their last words will be. Suddenly however, Bainbridge shows up and steals the egg, ridiculously turning the security alarm off with his car keys. The postmodernism is neverending, mixing the mythological with the everyday and the technological and producing the surreal.
It is at this time we have the escalation of conflict and the climax. Bainbridge is confronted by the terrifying (yet ironically slightly silly) Black Frost, who dances in a menacing way to a techno tune that sounds like British band The Prodigy. The Black Frost freezes Bainbridge and then sets out to freeze Howard and Vince. Suddenly though, the techno tune cuts out. The polar bear has come to the rescue and has pulled the plug out of a DJ turntable in the corner of the ice cave. The menacing dancing stops and the polar bear knocks down Black Frost with his giant paw. Vince then expresses that he wants the Black Frost's sparkly red boots – referencing more popular culture (The Wizard of Oz) and making fun of modern commercialism at the same time.
The denouement comes with Howard and Vince returning home as heroes with the egg only to find that it is fake. Dixon Bainbridge finding the real one, having defrosted himself with the “heat stored in my moustache”. It then all ends with a line spoken by a random ape hiding in a tree in the zoo who says “And so the moral of the story is: never lo...”( Might Boosh 2004). In post-modern fashion the ape never gets to finish and is cut off by the credits. The moral remains a matter of opinion for the viewer. The mocking of the idea of traditional narrative thus continues right to the end of the episode in this post-modernist TV comedy. The irony is that this ancient narrative structure is what is holding the show together, like any good story.
Bibliography:
Printed sources:
Baudrillard, Jean (1994) Ur ”The Precession of Simulacra”, i Simulacra and Simulations, Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press
Dyer, Richard (1993b) ”Male Sexuality in the Media”, i The Matter of Images. Essays on
Representation, New York: Routledge
Easthope, Anthony (1986) ”Introduction”, ”The Male Body” + ”Man and Nation”, i What a
Man ́s Gotta Do. The masculine myth in popular culture, Boston: Unwin Hyman
Gripsrud, Jostein ( 2002) Mediekultur, mediesamhälle, Göteborg: Daidalo
Herman, Luc, Bart Vervaeck (2005) Handbook of Narrative Analysis, United States of America: Thomson-Shore.
Holliday, Adrian, Martin Hyde & John Kullman (2004) ”Otherization”, i Intercultural
Communication : An Advanced Source Book, London & New York: Routledge
Storey, John (2001) Cultural Theory and Popular Culture, 5th ed. Harlow: Pearson Education
Limited.
Zander, Ulf (2006) Ur Clio på bio: Om amerikansk film, historia och identitet. Lund :
Historiska Media.
Unprinted sources:
WWW-source
Campbell, Joseph (1949) “Hjältens väg”, efter (The Hero with a Thousand Faces), https://inside.jmk.su.se/documents/560/download
TV-show
Might Boosh: ” Tundra” (2004) Season 1, episode 4. Noel Fielding & Julian Barratt
