I have never been one to hold back my opinions of the television show Family Guy. My experience with the show being that for every accidental incident of view this revolting and sad excuse for a show is the feeling of hatred that I’ve never known. This show pees on everything I love about animation. However, due to an assignment I sat down and watched the first two episodes of season one and two random episodes from later seasons. And while my opinion of the show has not changed in the slightest I do now have more information to fuel my loathing for Family Guy.
From what I watched the least offensive episodes where the two from the first season Death Has a Shadow and I Never Met the Dead Man. It was very clear the influence of the Simpsons, a spectacular show by the way. There is the overweight dim husband, the attractive and smart wife, a son, a daughter, and a baby. Even in the way of plot you can see the Simpson family going through the same situation. While the episodes are certainly not good they don’t give me the urge to kill everything related to the show. In fact I grew a sort of fondness for Stewie who wanted to kill his family.
However all of this changed when I saw the later episodes. These episodes made me feel like a Boa Constrictor was slowly wrapping itself around my brain and squeezing. The episodes in question where Peter's Daughter and Dial Meg for Murder. The episodes try to show abuse and rape in a humorous way. Call me uptight if you must but I don’t think any aspect about rape or abuse is humorous. The way Meg is treated in the beginning of Peter’s Daughter is awful, and from glimpses of episodes that I’ve seen before this she is treated this way all the time. Also in Dial Meg for Murder I did not find Peter’s off screen rape by an animal amusing. And the fact that they bring it up again in the episodes was revolting.
This show can also never let a joke go. I do not find peter holding his knee going “hssss ah!” for two minutes funny. It’s annoying and I wanted to punch whoever came up with that joke. Also the constant cut a ways are never funny and they are everywhere. What really enrages me is when they reference another animated show. I don’t care if you take a crack at another show, if done right if can be hilarious, the Animaniacs make fun of Disney all the time and it very funny. But Family Guy is just plain mean and rude to the other shows that it references.
It’s discussing and I don’t’ know how anyone can watch it. The only thing tolerable in the show is the character Stewie, and I know the only reason I like him is because he wants to kill everyone. I feel like the show is trying to be edgy when it makes jokes about subjects like abuse and rape. But it only comes across as being ignorant and insensitive. And the fact that these jokes are in almost every episode is nauseating. Perhaps the creators should be abused or rape so they would know that it is not a funny matter. And it is certainly not funny enough to keep making jokes about it.
FIRST OMG LOLZ
ReplyDeleteNow that we have that out of the way, I thought this was an interesting look at Family Guy. I really appreciated going into the similarities of The Simpsons, but there was nothing on how the shows are different. You obviously like The Simpsons more, but why, if the shows have the same stereotypical characters? I feel like this review could be benefited with some specific examples of jokes that weren't funny (specifically the abuse of Meg). As someone who doesn't regularly watch the show, it would be nice to see some plot or character details to make this review go further.
Well, I can't agree that I hate family guy at all. I think the humor relies heavily on satire and references. It is a brand of comedy that is definitly not for everyone, especally those who offend easily. You do a good job pointing out all the methods of comedy and it is clear that you did watch the show. I am interested to know if you found anything funny at all, and if so, what? Also, do you have issues with all kinds of satire or is it just family guy?
ReplyDeleteAlthough I agree that the subject matter is somewhat derogatory, I think it's meant to be viewed with the best intentions. It's references to other shows of it's type and even those that are entirely dissimilar are what make it a successful show. I do like that you clearly stated your opinions and gave support as to why you feel that way. I also liked how your described Stewie as your favorite character because he really is funny and his homicidal tendencies are hard to ignore.
ReplyDeleteJaclyn,
ReplyDeleteYour review was very insightful on "Family Guy", I too am not a fan of the show and only makes me hate it even more. You even managed to insert some humorous comments in your review. The few things I found a little jarring though were the countless typos in your text. Just in a grammatical sense, there's lots of errors like putting qoutation marks around TV episodes and italicizing the show's title. You also mention liking Stewie twice for wanting to kill his family (funny!), but the second time isn't necessary. Reading the assignment, it says to think of people who would give this show a "thumbs up", but I don't think you address it very clearly in the text. Overall, you gave a clear and thoughtful critique on the show.
I'm sort of in agreement with most of the above comments. I think you clearly state your opinion in detail so we all know where you're coming from, but what I wanted more from is where such opinions can go. A lot of people feel similar ways about Family Guy, but a lot of people also love the show. I think in order to make this opinion more useful in a Kipnis way you should address this. You state "It’s disgusting and I don’t’ know how anyone can watch it." but the fact of the matter is that people DO watch it, so why do you think that is?
ReplyDeleteJacyln, I suggest you read through your reviews before you post them. There are countless spelling and grammatical errors. I'm not the best at this sort of stuff but if I take notice to your mistakes then that means you're doing worse than I am. Try using 'were' instead of 'where' or maybe using commas or periods to end your thoughts and allow me to understand where one ends and the other begins.
ReplyDeleteI don't feel like you did an especially great job at explaining why people might enjoy Family Guy. Instead, you raped and abused the writers and audience with your reasons for why you don't like it. You talk about enjoying Stewie as a character because he wants to kill everyone. Do you not think murder is as serious, if not more, than abuse and rape?
I appreciate that you watched four episodes to try to understand the show but I feel like you watched it with closed eyes. That is to say you went into it looking for reasons to loathe it. The bit where Peter holds his legs saying, "hsss ahhh" is HILARIOUS. I'm sorry you don't see humor in that. Actually, I find humor in you hating it so much. haha.
“My experience with the show being that for every accidental incident of view this revolting and sad excuse for a show is the feeling of hatred that I’ve never known. “—awkwardly worded, try to rehash. Also, using the word “pees” comes off adolescent and unfocused. Especially with the market being college age peers—if you want to convey this, you’re going to have to get grittier.
ReplyDelete“The episodes in question where”<typo—were
“I do not find peter holding his knee going “hssss ah!” for two minutes funny. It’s annoying and I wanted to punch whoever came up with that joke.” Although knowing what you want to do is humorours to readers—try maybe arguing about jokes length and duration as a comment on our ability to focus and dwell on the stupid—because we (as a general) won’t get clever humor, has Family Guy (and shows like it) dumbed our culture?
I like that you take a stance on abuse/rape being revolting as subject matter—but I would be interested in hearing more about it—and you defending your opinion against the glazed over masses.
Lastly, although well written for all viewers to understand, I wonder if you may have missed the prompt a bit—with Family Guy being such a huge success-why do people like it so much? That’s sort of what makes this review assignment interesting—trying to understand the evil. I’m interested in how you did this.
Very well like your point of view of the show and yes I do not like the show either. Only saw one episode because my friends wanted to watch it. Nice part on commenting how rape is not a funny thing to talk about and it should not be taken lightly. Could defiantly see your hatred in your writing.
ReplyDeleteGood review overall. I personally don’t like the show either, or any of Seth’s copy/paste shows, like American Dad or The Cleveland Show. I really liked that you explored the series in a way, by watching a couple episodes from season 1, then onto a few later, because the show drastically changed from Simpsons-clone to “LOLSORANDOMAND EDGY XD” crap. I found the review to be a great read and didn’t find any real problems with it. The only thing is maybe at the end. I felt that you could have rephrased about what the creators of the show “should get,” because “wishing” something like that onto someone is kind of bad taste.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on many aspects of the show. I never like to poke fun at abuse and molestation because there really is nothing funny about it, so I often turn off any glimmer of hope when they pop into comedy pieces such as these on television. I'll back you up on that. I just wonder if you were completely open-minded when you watched the show. You were brave to watch so many episodes, but perhaps you could've shined light on the actually funny parts. Maybe the show wasn't that bad. Or maybe you're right. I haven't given the show a chance, really, either. Your analysis is still clear and thought-provoking. I applaud you for this.
ReplyDeleteJaclyn, I think you've gotten a lot of good advice here. Feels good to really take a hatchet to something every now and then, doesn't it? So at the end I'm clear that you DO NOT LIKE Family Guy for many good reasons. But I'm still wondering (as a non-viewer of FG) what it is that FG does for its viewers that keeps them coming back.
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