View source for Module:Argument Clinic

{{short description|Monty Python sketch}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{Infobox
|name         = Argument Clinic
|title        = Argument Clinic
|image        = [[File:Monty Python Live 02-07-14 13 00 13 (14415341590).jpg|250px|alt=A scene from the sketch]]
|caption      = Cleese and Palin performing the sketch live in 2014
|headerstyle  = background:#ccf;
|labelstyle   = background:#ddf;
|label1  = Writers
|data1   = [[John Cleese]]<br>[[Graham Chapman]]
|label2 = Actors
|data2 = [[Michael Palin]]<br>[[John Cleese]]<br>[[Graham Chapman]]<br>[[Eric Idle]]<br>[[Terry Jones]]<br>Rita Davies<br/>[[Carol Cleveland]]<br/>[[Dawn French]]<br/>[[Chris Langham]]
|label3 = First appearance
|data3  = "[[List of Monty Python's Flying Circus episodes#3. The Money Programme|The Money Programme]]" (2 November 1972)<ref name="mullany-stockwell"/>
}}

"'''Argument Clinic'''" is a sketch from ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]'', written by [[John Cleese]] and [[Graham Chapman]]. The sketch was originally broadcast as part of the television series and has subsequently been performed live by the group. It relies heavily on wordplay and dialogue, and has been used as an example of how language works.

==Plot==
After the episode's end credits have scrolled, a BBC voiceover announces that there will be "Five more minutes of ''Monty Python's Flying Circus.''"<ref name="script"/> In the ensuing sketch, an unnamed man portrayed by [[Michael Palin]] approaches a receptionist (Rita Davies) and says he would like to have an [[argument]]. She directs him to a Mr. Barnard (identified as Mr. Vibrating in episode transcripts), who occupies an office along the corridor. Palin initially enters the wrong office, in which a man played by [[Graham Chapman]] hurls angry insults at him. Palin says that he came into Chapman's room for an argument, causing Chapman to apologize and clarify that his office is dedicated to "abuse". Even after politely sending Palin on his way, Chapman calls him a "stupid [[Git (slang)|git]]".<ref name="script"/>

Palin enters the next office, which contains Mr. Barnard/Vibrating, played by [[John Cleese]]. Palin asks if he is in the right office for an argument, to which Cleese responds that he has already told him he is. Palin disputes this, and the men begin an argumentative back-and-forth. Their exchange is a very shallow one, consisting mostly of petty and [[Contradiction|contradictory]] "is/isn't" responses, to the point that Palin feels he is not getting what he paid for. They then argue over the very definition of an argument until Cleese rings a bell and announces that Palin's paid time has concluded.

Palin is dissatisfied, and tries to argue with Cleese over whether he really got as much time as he paid for, but Cleese insists he is not allowed to argue unless Palin pays for another session. When Palin finally relents and pays more money for additional arguing time, Cleese continues to insist he has not paid, and another argument breaks out over that issue. Palin believes he has caught Cleese in a contradiction—arguing without being paid—but Cleese counters that he could be arguing in his spare time. Frustrated, Palin storms out of the room.

The original broadcast version features Palin exploring other rooms in the clinic; he enters a room marked "Complaints" hoping to lodge a complaint, only to find that it is a complaint ''clinic'' in which [[Eric Idle]] is complaining about his shoes. The next office contains [[Terry Jones]] offering "being-hit-on-the-head lessons", which Palin finds a stupid concept. Eventually, a series of policemen enter the room to end the sketch, one remarking on the skits’ tendency to end in policemen halting the skit. As he realizes he is a part of the skits’ absurdity, another policeman enters the room, and the sketch ends. <ref name="script">{{cite book|title=The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus: All the Words, Volume 2|author=Monty Python|publisher=Pantheon Books|year=1989|page=86|isbn=9780679726487}}</ref>

==Writing==
The sketch parodies modern consumer culture, implying that anything can be purchased, even absurd things such as arguing, abuse, or being hit over the head.{{sfn|Larsen|2008|p=376}}
The sketch was typical for Cleese's and Chapman's writing at the time, as it relied on verbal comedy.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V-SLkIap93wC&q=cleese+chapman+dialogue+writing&pg=PA18|title=Best of the Britcoms: From Fawlty Towers to The Office|page=18|first=Garry|last=Berman|publisher=Taylor Trade Publications|year=2011|isbn=9781589795662}}</ref> Python author Darl Larsen believes the sketch was influenced by [[music hall]] and radio comedy, particularly that of [[the Goons]], and notes that there is little camera movement during the original television recording.{{sfn|Larsen|2008|p=376}}

One line in the middle of the sketch, "An argument is a connected series of statements intended to establish a definite proposition" was taken almost verbatim from the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]''.{{sfn|Larsen|2008|p=376}}

==Performances==
The sketch originally appeared in the 29th episode of the original television series, entitled "[[List of Monty Python's Flying Circus episodes#3. The Money Programme|The Money Programme]]",{{sfn|Brighouse|2013|p=50}} and was released (in audio only) on the LP ''[[Monty Python's Previous Record]]'', on [[Charisma Records]] in 1972.<ref>{{cite book|title=Monty Python: a chronological listing of the troupe's creative output, and articles and reviews about them, 1969–1989|page=60|first=Douglas|last=McCall|year=1991|publisher=McFarland|isbn=9780899505596}}</ref>

The sketch was subsequently performed live at the [[Hollywood Bowl]] in September 1980, which was filmed and released as ''[[Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl]]''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/06/25/movies/python-in-hollywood.html|title='Python' in Hollywood|first=Vincent|last=Canby|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=25 June 1982|access-date=15 September 2013}}</ref> The sketch features the discussion with the receptionist (played here by [[Carol Cleveland]]), the abuse from Chapman, and most of the argument between Cleese and Palin. It is then ended abruptly by the entrance of [[Terry Gilliam]], on wires, singing "[[I've Got Two Legs]]".<ref>{{cite book|title=Monty Python: A Chronology, 1969–2012|first=Douglas|last=McCall|publisher=McFarland|year=2013|page=88|isbn=978-0-786-47811-8}}</ref> A further live performance occurred in 1989 at the [[The Secret Policeman's Balls|Secret Policeman's Ball]], where Cleveland's and Chapman's roles were replaced by [[Dawn French]] and [[Chris Langham]]. This performance was subsequently released on DVD.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.readexpress.com/2009/01/the_secret_policemans_balls/|title=The Secret Policemens Balls|work=Read Express|publisher=The Washington Post Company|date=28 January 2009|access-date=15 September 2013}}</ref> The sketch was performed again in July 2014 during ''[[Monty Python Live (Mostly)]]'', with [[Terry Jones]] filling in for Chapman's role and Gilliam reprising "I've Got Two Legs".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/comedy/10940401/The-almost-definitive-guide-to-Monty-Python-Live-Mostly.html|title=The (almost) definitive guide to Monty Python Live (Mostly)|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|first=Dominic|last=Cavendish|date=2 July 2014|access-date=5 June 2015}}</ref>

==Cultural references==
The sketch has been frequently used as an example of how not to argue, because, as Palin's character notes, it contains little more than [[ad hominem]] attacks and [[contradiction]],<ref>{{cite book|title=Wired for Survival: The Rational (and Irrational) Choices We Make, from the Gas Pump to Terrorism|first=Margaret|last=Polski|page=50|publisher=FT Press|year=2008|isbn=9780138140595}}</ref> and does not contribute to [[critical thinking]].<ref>{{cite book|title=FOCUS on College and Career Success|first1=Constance|last1=Staley|first2=Steve|last2=Staley|pages=109–110|publisher=Cengage Learning|year=2011|isbn=9781439083901}}</ref> It has also been described as a "classical case in point" of dialogue where two parties are unwilling to co-operate,<ref>{{cite book|title=Dialogue and Instruction: Modelling Interaction in Intelligent Tutoring Systems|page=22|editor1-first=Robbert-Jan|editor1-last=Beun|editor2-first=Michael|editor2-last=Baker|editor3-first=Miriam|editor3-last=Reiner|publisher=Springer|year=1995|isbn=9783540588344}}</ref> and as an example of flawed [[logic]], since Palin is attempting to argue that Cleese is not arguing with him.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/philosophygoesto0002falz|url-access=registration|title=Philosophy Goes to the Movies: An Introduction to Philosophy|page=[https://archive.org/details/philosophygoesto0002falz/page/218 218]|first=Christopher|last=Falzon|publisher=Routledge|year=2007|isbn=9780415357258}}</ref>

The text of the argument has been presented as a good example of the workings of [[English grammar]], where sentences can be reduced to simple subject/verb pairs.<ref>{{cite book|title=Analysing English Grammar: A Systemic Functional Introduction|page=115|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2012|first=Lise|last=Fontaine|isbn=9780521190664}}</ref> It has been included as an example of analysing English in school textbooks.<ref name="mullany-stockwell">{{cite book|title=Introducing English Language: A Resource Book for Students|url=https://archive.org/details/introducingengli00mull|url-access=limited|first1=Louise|last1=Mullany|first2=Peter|last2=Stockwell|publisher=Routledge|year=2010|page=[https://archive.org/details/introducingengli00mull/page/n189 175]|isbn=9780203858110}}</ref> The sketch has become popular with [[philosophy]] students, who note that arguing is "all we are good at", and wonder about the intellectual exercise one could get from paying for a professional quality debate.{{sfn|Brighouse|2013|p=52}}

The [[Python (programming language)|Python programming language]], which contains many Monty Python references as feature names, has an internal-only module called "Argument Clinic" to pre-process Python files.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://docs.python.org/3/howto/clinic.html|title = Argument Clinic How-To — Python 3.10.0 documentation}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0436/|title = PEP 436 -- the Argument Clinic DSL}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Equivocation]]
*[[Ipse dixit]]
*[[Kettle logic]]

==References==
===Citations===
{{reflist|30em}}

===Sources===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book|title=Monty Python and Philosophy: Nudge Nudge, Think Think!|first=Harry|last=Brighouse|publisher=Open Court|year=2013|isbn=9780812696981}}
* {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gSFYYKbtDCsC&q=%22argument+clinic%22+language&pg=PA376|title=Monty Python's Flying Circus: An Utterly Complete, Thoroughly Unillustrated, Absolutely Unauthorized Guide to Possibly All the References : from Arthur "Two-Sheds" Jackson to Zambesi|first=Darl|last=Larsen|publisher=Rowman and Littlefield|year=2008|isbn=9780810861312}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkQhK8O9Jik Live performance at the Secret Policeman's Ball] (from the official channel)
*[http://www.ibras.dk/montypython/episode29.htm#11 Transcription of the script]

{{Monty Python}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Argument Sketch}}
[[Category:Arguments]]
[[Category:Monty Python sketches]]
[[Category:1972 in British television]]