Political Conservatism In 'Family Guy And American Dad'

The use of political satire is something that has become prevalent in modern day cartoons. “Family Guy” features a family from Quahog, Rhode Island called the Griffins which includes a moronic father named Peter, a seductive mother named Lois, two awkward teenagers named Chris and Megan, an evil baby named Stewie and a talking dog named Brian. “American Dad!” centers on the Smith family from Langley Falls, Virginia which includes a CIA agent and father named Stan, a mother named Francine, a pothead daughter named Hayley, a geeky son named Steve, a troublemaker alien named Roger, and a German CIA agent in a fish’s body named Klaus. These two shows by Seth MacFarlane have something in common and that is the stereotypical representation of political ideologies. “Family Guy” is about the stereotypical liberal family and “American Dad!” is about the stereotypical conservative family.

To begin with, a political ideology is a belief system that an individual or group bases their actions on for a preferred order for society. Liberalism, represented by “Family Guy”, is a political philosophy based on the belief of change in order to achieve progress. Liberals believe it is the duty of the government to provide equal opportunity and equality for all, emphasizing the need for government. On the other hand, Conservatism, represented by “American Dad!” is a political philosophy based on traditional practices in politics and society. Conservatives believe in the conservation or preservation of what is already established and dislikes the idea of change. Conservatives value individual rights and freedoms, the rule of law, free markets, minimal government involvement, traditional American values and a strong national defense. Overall, they bel...

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...itations in magazine capacity, bans of military semi-automatic guns, and more gun control laws. They believe that it is the duty of law enforcement agencies to protect the people. This liberal viewpoint can be seen in the 3rd episode of Season 2, “Da Boom”, where there is a scene when the people come together to plan to collect all guns and weapons in town, and then to burn it all. In opposite, the conservatives believe that they have the right to defend themselves. Conservatives believe there are too many gun laws, which is not helping crime rates go down. This conservative viewpoint can be seen in almost every single “American Dad!” episode because of Stan’s job as a CIA agent. While Stan sometimes goes on assassination missions, he is known to be a “trigger-happy” agent. He believes in protecting his country at all costs, which means he always has a gun with him.