Friday, February 17, 2017

Family Guy: Satire full of Idiocy

If you have ever watched Family Guy then you may have reported losing brain cells due to the stupidity filled into every episode. Peter who is the main character is a middle aged working man that is borderline mentally disabled. The whole show is his wacky adventures and situation that he puts himself and his family through. Most people think it is a stupid show for the less gifted minds of the world but if you pay attention to some of their gags then you will see that they actually have a real message. In the first episode "Death has a Shadow" Peter gets fired from his job from sleeping on the job thus allowing dangerous children toys to be released to the public. He then files for welfare and realized that they gave him way to much money per month. He decided that instead of telling the government he will spend the money every month to allude suspicions. He is caught and right before he is sent to jail his youngest son Stewie uses a mind control device to trick the judge into declaring Peter not guilty and letting him go home. It is very silly and kind of funny but the message in the story was to make fun of the people who steal taxpayers money by being on welfare to avoid getting a job. This was not intended for people who actually need welfare. This was intended for individuals who lives off the government and rips off taxpayers when they are fully capable of getting a job and supporting themselves. At the end they take it a step further by stating that next time he will do a sexual harassment suit or a disability claim. He pokes fun at people who file fake sexual harassment charges and disability claims to steal money from the government. Family Guy has a lot of messages filled into every episode and understanding the messages help you appreciate the show more.  

3 comments:

  1. I think this is a very interesting analysis of Family Guy. I don't watch the show frequently however through the lens that you provide here definitely adds a whole other layer to the show that I did not consider previously.

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  2. I'm not trying to start anything, but I really really hate Family Guy. Comedies have a place in society, but I'm just really skeptical about Family Guy's ability to provide insight into our society. I've never watched an episode of that show that actually made me think.

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  3. I watch Family Guy a decent amount and I agree that it sometimes has meaningful messages. The show also does a great job of covering what is currently going on.

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