Family Guy: Funny But Not Saying Anything

For my comedy critique, I would like to zoom in on the animated hit "Family Guy". The show follows a dysfunctional family and all of their misadventures, with hilarious twists and turns along the way. One of the trademarks of "Family Guy" that makes it so funny, is its cutaways. Cutaways are a comedic technique mostly utilized in animated shows, in which a character will be describing something and the scene shifts to a flashback or something else that happened, or is happening. The way Family Guy chooses to use them is normally set up with a simile, where a character will say something like "God, this is worse than the time Peter....." then it goes to a cutaway. This is where most of Family Guy's comedy comes from, they almost use it as a crutch, but that is their trademark and that is where they attempt to use pop-culture references or political issues to make a joke. A comedy is supposed to be dramatic, and according to Aristotle, it must broaden our understanding of the world, or really say something about it, and Family Guy certainly does not do that. While it is hilarious at times and will surely make you laugh by its shock value and cruel humor, it doesn't tell you anything about yourself or the world, all it does is make you laugh. This could possibly why Family Guy has been on a decline in quality and ratings as of late, with so much more content coming out due to streaming services, it is getting harder for network television to dominate as it used to, especially if the show isn't doing anything to affect its audience, and that is Family Guy. While it does mention issues and problems of the world, it does not offer a solution, or a different view on it, all the show does is poke fun to make people laugh. There is no problem with that, it just doesn't fit the mold of dramatic comedy, but I highly recommend if you want a good laugh.