Mr Bean Goes to Church

Mr Bean is a legend. He is probably the funniest fictional character in the past thirty years to come out of Britain. I know that's a pretty big claim but I think it's not far off. He has universal appeal (when I was in Peru the Peruvians loved to watch him!) It is pure facial expression and body language.

This is part of a classic episode where Mr Bean goes to church. Aside from the hilarity of Rowan Atkinson, what I find interesting about this is what it tells us about the popular notion of church.

Part of what makes Mr Bean funny to almost everybody is that he is shown doing ordinary things e.g. going to the beach, going to the swimming pool, eating lunch in the park, and getting into the type of problems that we have experienced, or at least feared (losing your swimming shorts in the pool!). In this way almost everybody can relate to most scenes. So when the creators were making the scene in the church they undoubtedly sought to create an experience of church that most people would recognise. This is what they thought most people would recognise as church:

• The building- Obviously an old Anglican church, bare, dirty looking walls, dimly lit, old wooden pews.

• The people- Old. Not very friendly (the man beside Bean is brilliantly played by Richard Briers). Dressed very formally and in an old fashioned style.

• The sermon- Incredibly boring, hence Bean falls asleep. It's actually very well done when you listen to it. It sounds just the way older men preach (the rhythm and pitch) and even conveys the posh English accent an older Anglican vicar would have. It does all this without actually pronouncing the words. I've thought a lot about this, maybe too much! The main reason for this is probably so as to not distract from the actions of Mr Bean. But I think it's very telling. It shows that the sermon is seen as just something that is said by the minister and endured by the congregation. What is said doesn't really mater, just as long as it is said and said in the manner people recognise, it might as well just be empty syllables.

• The overall atmosphere- Cold and boring.

The creators have done an excellent job of portraying what most people think of when they consider church, or have they? This was made over ten, maybe fifteen, years ago. Let me know how your notion of church now differs from the one shown in this clip.