Family Guy is an extremely controversial show due to its outrageous and harsh cartoon humor that seems to stay within no boundries of political correctness when it comes to the content. Although the show may seem ludicrous sometimes, it uses satirical humor as a tool that helps viewers reflect on and even question culturally sensitive aspects of our society. Family Guy initiates a dialogue about these sensitive yet relevant topics through critically sarcastic humor that makes viewers laugh and think at the same time. Since the material can be so sensitive, J. Jeremy Wisnewski, author of the book Family Guy and Philosophy questions if “Family Guy is encouraging us to laugh at things that we shouldn’t joke about” (Wisnewski, 14). Yes the show …show more content…
Family Guy accomplishes the cultivation of an episode that illustrates and criticizes this, which in turn could compel viewers to reflect on how it is harmful. In the episode “Excellence in Broadcasting,” Brian the very liberal dog, expresses his hate of Rush Limbaugh's book about conservative values to Rush Limbaugh. He is then asked by Rush to read the book and upon reading it, Brian discovers that he actually agrees with many of the things being said. Prior to enhancing his education about the other side of the political spectrum, Brian assumed that he disagreed with all conservative views because it was the opposing party. Yet, when he became open to gaining knowledge of these different views, his opinions changed because he was able to compose a conclusion based off of more than just the one side of values that he was familiar with. Through Brian’s experience, Family Guy criticises peoples’ closed-minded and uneducated views when it comes to politics. The show reminds us to get all the information we can, from both sides, so that we can make an educated decision because there are always two sides to a
They both believe that intelligent aspects can be pulled from or seen in subjects that are not traditionally thought to involve intelligence. According to Graff, “Making students’ nonacademic interests an object of academic study is useful…” (386). Here one sees that he believes having personal interests as a choice of study can have benefits if they are examined properly. He also believes that any subject has the potential to be intellectual, and Antonia Peacocke writes to this same effect when arguing that Family Guy, in a way, enhances ones intelligence. The average viewer may see the show on the surface as controversial with its brand of comedy, but according to Peacocke, “[T]hose who pay more attention and think about the creator’s intentions can see that Family Guy intellectually satirizes some aspects of American culture” (303).
One point where she uses humor is at the bottom of page 305 where Peacocke writes about how taking Family Guy at face value is like taking Jonathan Swift 's "Modest Proposal" seriously. Another point where Peacocke uses humor is at the top of page 300 where she talks about how she is fascinated with the show and how her perfect high school match would be Stewie Griffin. Humor helps Peacocke’s argument in that it helps get across her point that the show makes jokes that the viewer has to know current events, as well as be more on the intelligent side, to understand completely and truly appreciate
The Futurama episode entitled “The Problem with Popplers” (2000) satirically pokes at meat-eating, while openly mocking animal rights protestors in the face of their ignorant compassion. And while targeting the hypocrisy that exists within modern society and presenting the far too common avarice of corporations and businesses, the episode never truly lets the audience get comfortable. That being said, a general feeling of moral ambiguity underlies the episode. And without becoming unpalatable and unenjoyable, the content reaches the brink of legitimate trepidation, while maintaining cunning social commentary and foolishness. Therefore, the audience most likely consists of young adults and adults, sci-fi fans, and those
Television programs often retain an aspect of reality in order to relate to the audience and commentate on social issues. Although both The Goldbergs and The Twilight Zone address controversial issues such as gender roles, insanity, and ethnic stereotypes, genre differentiates their approach and their audiences’ receptiveness to change. Whereas The Goldbergs, an ethnic sitcom, addresses the external world using comedic relief, The Twilight Zone, a science fiction program, delves into the human mind using imagination. Despite their common efforts to direct social change, the programs are inverse images of one another, and The Twilight Zone’s genre structure allows it to resonate more with the audience. From 1949 to 1956, The Goldbergs dominated television as the first televised sitcom.
“The Influence on the Unconscious” As young adults, we have laid around our homes for countless hours watching different types of television programing. Many of us, have a good idea on whether a program tries to offend viewers with their content. For over a decade, the popular television show “Family Guy” created by Seth MacFarlane, has shown controversial content that many people throughout the world have either loved or hated. In the writing piece titled, “Family Guy and Freud: Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious” by Antonia Peacocke that is discussed below encourages us to distinguish between offensive and insightful content that airs on Family Guy.
There is no shortage of programs to watch on television today. While many shows have different variables when it comes to the circumstances or world the characters live in, the formula and roles for the characters is generally the same across the board. Also, many shows still use internalized racism and sexism to deliver cheap jokes to their audiences, although some shows have strayed from this formula to become even better than the aforementioned programs. Bob’s Burgers is a relatable television show that portrays a healthy family, while disregarding commonly accepted gender roles and stereotypes.
The article “South Park and the Carnivalesque” written by Alison Halsall delves into both parody and satire within the context of the program. South Park’s Carnivalesque humor, or carnival laughter “is a method by which popular culture in general, and South Park in particular, provides liberation from constraint” (Halsall 24). South Park makes it a point to use humor that provokes the inherent “dirtiness” that we contain, in an attempt to expose cultural aspects that generally go undiscussed (Halsall 34). Through profanity, South Park brings carnival humor down to the basic grotesque humor that serves to “critique linguistic sanitation” (Halsall 34).
For example, while talking about the “Virtues” of “fake” news, Zinser states, “If viewers simply parrot what they happen to hear on The Daily Show, How can they be expected to make informed decisions about public policy? As the saying goes, 'a little knowledge can be dangerous '" (Graff 371). This statement is completely true; if the public is not correctly informed or only has a fraction of the information, then they cannot make informed decisions. He goes on to say that more than the “fake” news The Daily Show airs during an episode is needed to make accurately informed decisions.
The show strives to expose all the preconceived notions and beliefs society has put in place and mocks ALL stereotypes. The show portrays both low and high culture in general and makes fun of them, but at the same time does not encourage it. Most people who watch Family Guy can relate strongly. That’s because the show acts like a mirror and we the audience are forced to take a look at ourselves, but at the same time providing amusement and humor for the reflection.
In Jason Zinser’s article, “The Good, the Bad, and The Daily Show,” he argues that Americans have dissociated from the conventional mainstream of news into a new program that is often filled with “fake” news, such as the The Daily Show. Zinser questions the ethics and validity of “fake” news sources, since these new programs have gained a considerable amount of popularity that can cause a detrimental effect into peoples’ mentality. Zinser acknowledges that fake news is a method to obtain information from a comical and satirical news source, however Zinser exhorts that, “The question isn’t whether Jon Stewart or the show’s producers and writers are morally corrupt people, but whether or not fake news is, on the whole, beneficial or damaging
I am also better able to see that deep down, the show produces positive messages about family, relationships, risk-taking, and self-discovery. In essence, the environment of Family Guy is existential, where characters have the ability to make extreme choices; this allows episodes
Challenging Stereotypes: How “Modern” Is Modern Family? The show won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series in each of its first five years and the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series four times. If you have never heard about “Modern Family," you have never seen comedy. Modern Family is an American television show that portrays the ‘Modernism’ in families nowadays in America.
The fact that the cartoon is funny cannot be denied, but the way it is made funny is no more socially
Modern Family is a hilarious sitcom that depicts the diversity of today’s American family and is one of the highest rated comedy shows on TV. The show, which is produced by ABC was a success from the first season with over seven million viewers and grew to more than fourteen million views by season three. The shows underlying message, that there is more than just one kind of family and that we are all crazy is done with a kind humor that is a refreshing change from the modern reality TV we now see on most nights. The comedy combined with diversity and great acting makes this show attracting to a broad range of viewers and proves that everyone loves a good laugh. One reason Modern Family has been a continued success over the years is their dedication to what the show was made to be, a comedy.
Many audiences of stand up comedy enjoy hearing their favorite comedian entertain them. But what would one think when a comedian cracks a joke about a sensitive topic, for example, a tragedy that affected hundreds of people. Some may argue that, comedians are not supposed to overstep the boundary of controversial jokes. These controversial jokes are linked with political correctness—which is used to describe language, policies, and measures that are taken to avoid offense to certain groups of people. Comedians are not compelled to restrain from controversial topics due to the topic not being sugar-coated, the higher level of contemplation that the joke can reach, and the job of the comedian—to make the current issue manageable.