family guy universe (rant)

bearded · July 25, 2009, 07:14:53 AM

i'm a fan. the show is hilarious. but deep down, isn't there a subtle feeling of wrong? a subliminel uneasiness? you know what i mean, the total innappropriateness of some of the show's themes. i know, this is what sparks the humor, the wrongness. but that's not what has me worried.
i have an 8 year old daughter, and there is no way i let her watch this show, or any show remotely like it. but what really has me concerned is i have 2 co workers, both have children around that age, and they let their kids watch this type of thing freely.
the show is becoming part of the pervading culture. her peers are being indoctrinated in this brand of humor, and she will still be influenced by it.
i don't know what to do.

tommyboy · July 25, 2009, 10:23:29 AM

Do nothing.
See, the thing with shows like family guy is I wouldn't feel comfortable watching it with my hypothetical kids, but neither would I be comfortable watching it with my hypothetical parents. It is funny at times, but the humour is dark and socially unacceptable most of the time.
There have always been "adult" or "blue" comedians who are not really mainstream in the "whole family enjoys together" sense, but are mainstream in that most adults know of them, even if not every one enjoys them. And whilst this may be part of the downfall of civilization, I sort of doubt it. With "innocent" family friendly comedians like Laurel and Hardy we laughed at others misfortune, pain and humiliation, does that mean that society became mean-spirited and people stopped caring about others? Have hospitals closed because it's funny to watch Stan and Ollie get hurt? No. It's just humour, and the majority of people will not be guided or influenced by it, except to laugh and forget.
And those who are influenced by it are going to be messed up by something else if we ban family guy. Films, comics, books, even stories told orally will cause those idiots to do the wrong thing. I'd wager some of them could be locked in a white room for forty years and still get "the wrong idea".
Just teach her right from wrong and trust her to know which is which, she'll be fine, even if some of her peers have watched family guy.

bearded · July 25, 2009, 10:57:21 AM

thanks, good words. and you make me remember eddie murphy's delirious from my childhood. i somehow was able to watch it, and it didn't traumatize me. that i can tell. who knows?
does anyone have or know of kids that watch this show? maybe i am overreacting.

marhawkman · July 25, 2009, 06:21:32 PM

"universe"? how do you have a universe without continuity? (/silly rhetoric)

But yeah, it's not so much the way the humor is presented, it's just that the level of "you don't want to go there" that they regularly visit is the problem.

Silver Shocker · July 26, 2009, 03:37:44 AM

I used to enjoy Family Guy, but with the newer episodes I've been quite turned off of it, as I find it's getting grosser and more over-the-top. As to whether or not it's okay for children, my nephew whose now in his early-mid teens has watched it for several years now and he's turned out fine.

primus · July 26, 2009, 03:39:24 AM

I love it. If you can't handle the show I'd understand, but I love that they go for the shock value

thalaw2 · July 26, 2009, 05:15:07 AM

I have similar problems with some eps of Family Guy...whatever happened to social responsibility? I have the same problem with South Park. This kind of comedy just gets old and seems to be too preachy while trying to be different.

Talavar · July 26, 2009, 05:44:30 AM

My problem with Family guy isn't it's vulgarity, but that it's just not that great in its newer episodes - reused jokes from earlier in the show, numerous time sinks for whenever an episode is running short (Conway Twitty & Chicken fights leap to mind), dead weight characters and increasingly random asides, etc.

As to South Park, I think it's one of the most socially responsible shows on television, despite the vulgarity.

Silver Shocker · July 27, 2009, 04:01:37 AM

Quote from: thalaw2 on July 26, 2009, 05:15:07 AM
...and seems to be too preachy while trying to be different.

I wasn't going to mention it in this thread, but one of the things about modern Family Guy that I can't stand is the political soapbox stuff....every other episode seems to have a plot that involves Seth McFarlane voicing his views through Brian, and I tend to not find them funny because they're so incredibly preachy.

QuoteMy problem with Family guy isn't it's vulgarity, but that it's just not that great in its newer episodes - reused jokes from earlier in the show, numerous time sinks for whenever an episode is running short (Conway Twitty & Chicken fights leap to mind), dead weight characters and increasingly random asides, etc.

Now I enjoyed the chicken fight (though the last one they did was a little too long), but yes, the Conway Twitty segments were brutal. I don't think it's remotely funny, and I found it boring. I believe they used that gag in three different episodes, and the third one ran for several minutes. In general though, yes, I think the newer episodes really are a lot worse than the older ones.

marhawkman · July 27, 2009, 04:59:56 PM

the problem with these shows is that by trying to be "edgy" they have to constantly top themselves and that usually kills them.

AfghanAnt · July 28, 2009, 04:55:50 PM

Didn't people say the same thing about the Simpson in the early 90's?

bearded · July 28, 2009, 05:00:23 PM

Quote from: AfghanAnt on July 28, 2009, 04:55:50 PM
Didn't people say the same thing about the Simpson in the early 90's?

right. and i'm liberal about most things like this, anti censorship and all. i would and do let my family watch the simpsons.
but, and i'm going to use foul language to a degree, family guy has cartoon versions of bestiality, homophobia, racism, pedophelia...the list goes on. and on. and i don't want to get too foul, as foul as they get. i understand the humor, i do. i watch it and laugh. but it desensitizes. as an adult, i can deal with that. i'm concerned about the children watching it. and there are a lot.
comparing stewie to bart, is like comparing bart to dennis the menace.

AfghanAnt · July 28, 2009, 05:55:54 PM

Quote from: bearded on July 28, 2009, 05:00:23 PM
...comparing stewie to bart, is like comparing bart to dennis the menace.

"I'm this century's Dennis the Menace."
- Bart Simpson.

marhawkman · July 30, 2009, 07:47:16 PM

Also the Simpsons realized that there IS such a thing as going to far.

thalaw2 · July 30, 2009, 09:18:33 PM

Quote from: Silver Shocker on July 27, 2009, 04:01:37 AM
Quote from: thalaw2 on July 26, 2009, 05:15:07 AM
...and seems to be too preachy while trying to be different.

I wasn't going to mention it in this thread, but one of the things about modern Family Guy that I can't stand is the political soapbox stuff....every other episode seems to have a plot that involves Seth McFarlane voicing his views through Brian, and I tend to not find them funny because they're so incredibly preachy.

Amen. All that preachyness just ain't funny after a while. I stopped being able to laugh at Family Guy and South Park because of this. I could say that George Carlin was preachy, but he had awesome delivery.

Furthermore, they are depicting kids doing things that most sane adults wouldn't do. Just because they stand on some moral soapbox at the end doesn't make the other 20min. of ethical insensitivity null and void.

One example is from Family Guy's first run had Stewy having "relations" with a girl for a cookie! In my book it's quite irresponsible.

BWPS · July 31, 2009, 04:17:46 AM

Quote from: marhawkman on July 30, 2009, 07:47:16 PM
Also the Simpsons realized that there IS such a thing as going to far.

I actually use Simpsons as a moral guideline for what I will say in front of people who I don't want to offend. If someone looks shocked at something I say, I can usually just say "Simpsons did it"

stumpy · July 31, 2009, 05:52:34 AM

Quote from: BWPS on July 31, 2009, 04:17:46 AMIf someone looks shocked at something I say, I can usually just say "Simpsons did it"

Particularly apropos if you are wearing a foil helmet and have a sidekick named General Disarray.

Talavar · July 31, 2009, 06:24:38 AM

The Simpsons also realized you can churn out inferior product for a decade past a show's prime and still turn a tidy profit. That's not a lesson I want other quality shows to learn.

marhawkman · July 31, 2009, 08:03:27 PM

Inferior to what?

Talavar · July 31, 2009, 08:28:28 PM

Inferior to when the Simpsons was actually worth watching, or at this point, approximately 2/5ths of the seasons of Simpsons that have been made.

The most recent 10 seasons are also inferior to the original 4 seasons of Futurama, some of Family Guy's run, all of South Park, and most of King of the Hill. The most recent 5 or 6 seasons are inferior to looking at a blank wall or sitting with my eyes shut.

marhawkman · August 01, 2009, 01:32:18 AM

hmm... interesting point of view.... but i'm sure there are many who would disagree with you. Such as myself. I Hate south park.

Silver Shocker · August 01, 2009, 02:20:37 AM

Yeah, I can't say I agree with that one. I found the Simpsons was at it's worst when I was going through grade 7-8 (late nineties). Back then every episode seemed to be the family going on a wacky adventure/scheme ("The Simpsons are going to ____!!") The current ones I can enjoy for what they are, an extension of a show that is at the point where they are consistently recycling plot ideas, and trying to compete with other Sunday night Fox shows (+ South Park) that are willing to be much more outrageous, without actually going to the same level of edgy humor. But as of the latest season I found the Simpsons more enjoyable than Family Guy. But not even close to must-see TV. If I missed either or just out-and-out forgot they were on that week, I really wouldn't mind.

On the other hand, I really liked the Simpsons movie. it was wacky in a similar way to the newer seasons, but was willing to be a little serious and emotional the way the early seasons did.

Talavar · August 01, 2009, 04:30:53 AM

The first season of the Simpsons wasn't very good. It wasn't particularly funny, the emotional side of the episodes were corny, and everything was fairly hackneyed - it was the Flintstones set in the present, or an animated Honeymooners with kids. The second season saw a mild improvement, but the third through about sixth or seventh seasons were brilliant. They weren't just funny (and they were very, very funny), they were insightful, and they were sometimes even moving. The eighth through about 12th seasons were a gradual decline - the plots got zanier, and insight and the ability to move its audience emotionally were lost entirely. It also just got less funny. Beyond the 12th season that progression had become so noticeable I can't bring myself to even watch the show any more; it can still be funny, but it's such a shadow of what it once was that I just get mad at everyone involved for keeping it on the air.

That's why the Simpsons seems so bad to me now, and why I can't enjoy the new episodes for simply what they are - because it was once great, and now it's a shell of itself kept alive because syndication makes a lot of money, and it's still relatively cheap to produce, a zombified relic of a once-great show that should have received a bullet to the brainpan ten years ago. It's easy to bemoan great shows that get cancelled too soon, but it's much rarer that shows stay on the air too long, and almost make you forget why you liked them in the first place (strangely, both I can think of were from Fox - Simpsons & the X-Files).

Family Guy has never been great. It's ratio of hits to misses with jokes is pretty bad, it's satire is heavy-handed and almost entirely one-sided, but I can still watch it without yelling at the television (too often anyway) because it was a mostly funny show that has gotten a little less funny in the more recent seasons.

The humour of South Park isn't for everyone, but the reason it remains a good show is its fearless willingness to go after any target for as a target for satire or to demonstrate hypocrisy, from the political left or right.

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family guy universe (rant)