“It seems today that all we see is violence in movies and sex on TV, but where are those good old fashion values, on which we used to rely (Family Guy)?” This phrase is heard often by individuals who choose to watch one of the most famous animated sitcoms in the past decade, Family Guy. The first sentence happens to be the key slogan in the series theme song. Seth MacFarlane used this saying when the show was brought back to the air in 2005. This was around the time that I had originally started to watch the sitcom, after I watched a few of the episodes that aired before the cancellation in 2002. Family Guy’s popularity had increased astoundingly since it’s cancellation in 2002. In 2005, it became the first television show to have ever been resurrected due to the high volume of DVD sales (Gablan). Since then, its popularity has increased to become a consistent sitcom to appear in the Nielsen Ratings top 20 each week, while becoming the forty-third most popular overall show, and second most popular animated series on Tv.com, the most popular online television viewing site in North America (Richards).
Family Guy first hit national television on December 20, 1998, although, Seth MacFarlane had been working on a thesis film quite similar to Family Guy while majoring in animation at the Rhode Island School of Design. The film he created was titled The Life of Larry. His professor, Dr. Suissna submitted the film to Hanna-Barbera, a North American animated publishing company (Richards). After submission, Seth was hired by the company. Shortly after, he was asked to create a sequel to his thesis film; he scripted Larry and Steve, a film that featured a middle aged character Larry and his brainy dog Steve (Richards). The show was broa...
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...f his study show that even for people who criticize Family Guy are able to find what it presents to be comical, allowing them to laugh and live a healthier life.
It may not be politically correct and improperly depict pop culture events; nevertheless Family Guy is a valuable source for comedy and entertainment. Though it holds a top two ranking for all animated shows, it is often criticized and could be shut down once again. Until then, we should enjoy the freedom of speech which grants them the right to broadcast the comical satire and continue to express many of Americans societal problems to the world. As viewers we can enjoy the comedy by accepting one simple fact, all Family Guy is putting a mirror in front of our society and having us look into it, it shows discrimination and stereotypes, but in no way does it condone either. Family Guy is America’s comedy.
Television provides an avenue for which we can analyze people, cultures, and more. My favorite show is Family Guy. The show often pokes fun at either social norms or popular trends occurring in current society. Its humor is supported by the relationship of a talking baby named Stewie, and a talking dog named Brian who live in Rhode Island. Through out the many seasons of Family Guy, the viewer can see through a sociological perspective how all three common theories in sociology are used on Stewie and Brian.
Now, the new sitcoms have introduced new family situations, and controversies around them. However, these family members aren’t the sweet, funny, semi-normal characters that were adored in (Full House). They seem to have very different, weird and somehow funny personalities. (Modern Family) introduces the typical “mom, dad, and three kids” family along with an old man married to a younger Columbian woman and gay men with an adopted Asian baby. These new sitcoms like Modern Family introduce family diversity, something that wasn’t exactly present in older sitcoms. Another difference between the old sitcoms and the new is that the humor is a bit more old school. Now the older sitcoms were very seldom and profane and they relied on more classic, clean cut direct humor. Current sitcoms often include less G-rated humor, relying on crude humor to get laughs. There’s not much harm in that though, as long as it doesn’t go overboard. Older sitcoms were based on more functional families, where newer ones tend to be based on dysfunctional families; new sitcoms, Modern Family especially, rely on this dysfunctionality to make their viewers laugh. Older sitcoms, like Full House, had a lot of feel-good moments of bonding between family characters, but new sitcoms seem to take away from that
The first mitigation banking guidance was released in 1995 by the EPA and Corps of Engineers. The most recent wetland mitigation banking guidance was released in 2008. The idea behind both wetland mitigation banking and conservation banking is to provide compensation for unavoidable impacts to resources prior to the environmental impact taking place (FWS, 2003). Based on the rules set forth in section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act and section 404 of the Clean Water Act, wetland impacts are reduced by using the following sequence of steps: avoiding impacts, minimizing impacts, and as a last resort, mitigating for impacts. Although the Corps has enforced a mitigation policy to reg...
DUI’s vision is, “…wetlands sufficient to fill the skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow and forever.” The site’s main focus stays true to DUI’s vision; protecting important waterfow...
“Oh my God, they killed Kenny!” South Park is a adult cartoon that circles around the abnormal life of four boys living in Colorado. This hilarious animated television series strives to be the most controversial show on air. The series has been on air since August 13, 1997 and while the show seems ridiculous, it is commonly known for incorporating high and low culture within the show. South Park has been known to take current issues from today’s society and convert them to a more simplified version while transforming it into a satire. One episode that stood out from the rest was an episode called “The Cissy” which focused on gender relations and transgender issues. This episode reflected on how today’s society see gender and transgender.
Roseanne was a hit sitcom that debuted in the late 80s and continued into the late 90s. It was one of the most watched shows of its time despite the controversy that surrounded it. The series still airs on popular television networks today but, because it functionally paved the way, it is not considered questionable in today’s society. Although the show had its share of controversial issues and what was then thought to be “inappropriate” dialogue, the America population continued to tune-in to Roseanne and empathized with the weekly problems the Conner’s would face. The show depicted life much like people actually experienced it (and still do) and therefore captured the hearts of America, which translated to a better acceptance of the material folks found inappropriate or unacceptable. Over time, as people were more often exposed to the matters that Roseanne felt were pertinent, the disputes became fewer and the issues surrounding them became irrelevant. Dealing with issues such as sex, homosexuality, and a not so functional family, Roseanne proved to be very functional to society as a whole.
The first thing people notice, and criticize about South Park is the fact that the show is based around four children who promote crude humor and vulgarity. This display, they say is inappropriate because of the fact that the show is in cartoon format, and thus is attractive to children. After watching the show a little more, they see many other disturbing ideas promoted by the show, including but not limited to: religious ridicule, the promotion of extreme ideals, and childish po...
For example, she claims that "not all of Family guy 's humor could be construed as offensive. Some of its jokes are more tame and insightful, the kind you might expect from the New Yorker" (Peacocke 306). With this statement she attempts to inform us about the shows humor to be intellectually reasonable and uses the New Yorker magaizine as a reliable source where this humor may also be found. If readers can see that some of the comedy used in show can meet "requiremnets" to be in the show on a credible magazine such as the New Yorker, then Family Guy is not a pointless and useless waste of
"Seinfeld" was always present in my home during its nine-year run on Thursday nights as "Must See TV," and the social commentary was welcome humor. However, not everyone was thrilled by Seinfeld's prominence in American society and the subject matter with which Seinfeld dealt. Many Christians, Jews and other minorities had problems with the show's portrayal of their respective groups. Despite criticism from ethnic and religious groups, Jerry Seinfeld and his show were possibly the best sources of social commentary that America's mainstream had to offer. The show is missed in today's current television line-up and no post-"Seinfeld" sitcom has come to the same level of cultural criticism.
Family Guy, an animated sitcom about a New England family and their everyday dilemmas, is a way for viewers to see the comedic side of a dysfunctional family. The Griffins consist of Peter and Lois, the patriarch and matriarch, and Meg, Chris, and Stewie are the children(Family Guy). Every character is different from the next character. They are also weird in their own way. The television show itself displays feminism, structuralism, and gay and lesbian criticism. Each character in the show also displays those criticisms in a certain fashion. Family Guy can be offensive to viewers with its satire, and the way the show delivers its message can make the family and the other characters in the show seem dysfunctional.
American Broadcasting Company's sitcom, Modern Family, debuted in 2009 and is in its sixth season. It was met with critical acclaim and good ratings (Modern Family). The show airs once per week on the ABC network (ABC shows schedule). The show attempts to portray the humor behind three different families of varying composition. However, Modern Family’s attempt at giving an honest portrayal of the titular modern family falls short and instead relies upon tired tropes and clichés to derive its humor. Modern Family does not attempt to depict the state of gender roles in today’s society, sadly falling back on old gender standards found in sitcoms since their start.
According to McClennen however, all mirror images of satire might not be beneficial. She believes that shows such as South Park and The Simpsons, which are not afraid to attack anything, do not lead to any kind of positive political discourse. This is because they provide negative critique that does not offer the elements required from an effective public pedagogy (McClennen 74). Theodore Gournelos, the author of The Tao of South Park: Dissonant Visual Culture and the Future of Politics refutes McClennen´s claim by arguing that eventhough South Park does not directly intervene with policy making or legislative initiatives, it forms a social landscape in which we challenge the status quo. He continues by saying that ”conflict-oriented cultural productions like South Park suggest an arra...
Since television came into existence, it has evolved into a useful tool to spread ideas, both social and political, and has had a great effect on the generations growing up with these heavily influential shows. To these younger generations, television has taken the role of a teacher, with the task of creating a social construction by which many of us base our personal beliefs and judgments on. This power allows television shows take the opportunity to address problems in a manner that many audiences can take to heart. Many television shows present controversial topics in a comical matter, in some ways to soften the blow of hard-hitting reality at the same time bringing attention to the issue being addressed. In the television show, Everybody Hates Chris, season one, episode four entitled “Everybody Hates Sausage”, the stereotypes that continue to fuel racism are examined in a satirical motif, and class is presented in a comical way, but carries serious undertones which present a somewhat realistic view of the different social strata within the United States.
While they don’t always do the right thing they learn from their mistakes and improve on them. The writers of the television program use comedy as the vehicle for their message on the American society and culture. They also often use references from famous literature and media in American culture to help convey their point. The writers use parodies and references so the audience can relate with the story and truly understand the message behind the episodes. The television show conveys strong messages on the society that surrounds the writers. The episode while designed to make people laugh are also based on truths in the American society. Through episodes of The Simpsons and the book The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D 'oh! of Homer byAeon J. Skoble, Mark T. Conard, and William Irwin it can be seen that there is truth in the myths about the community in American society, the American dream, and American family values as portrayed in The Simpsons. Americans are goodhearted people with good intentions and The Simpsons show