Gilbert and Sullivan and institutions more freely by clothing them in superficial Japanese trappings. Gilbert wrote, "The Mikado of the opera was an imaginary monarch of a remote period and cannot by any exercise of ingenuity be taken to be a slap on an existing institution." G. K. Chesterton compared it to Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels": "Gilbert pursued and persecuted the evils of modern England till they had literally not a leg to stand on, exactly as Swift did... I doubt if there is a single joke in the whole play that fits the Japanese. But all the jokes in the play fit
Gilbert and Sullivan a Gilbert and Sullivan opera, such as in the film "The Girl Said No". There are also a number of Gilbert and Sullivan biographical films, such as Mike Leigh's "Topsy-Turvy" (2000) and "The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan" (1953), as well as shows about the partnership, including a 1938 Broadway show, "Knights of Song" and a 1975 West End show called "Tarantara! Tarantara!" It is not surprising, given the focus of Gilbert on politics, that politicians and political observers have often found inspiration in these works. Chief Justice of the United States William Rehnquist added gold stripes to his judicial