On the 100th episode of Family Guy in November of 2007, creator Seth MacFarlane conducted a series of interviews conducted by MacFarlane with several individuals who had no idea who he was. He asked them questions like, “Would you ever recommend Family Guy to your friends?” and “Would Jesus watch Family Guy?” The responses across the board were that this animated TV series was offensive, gross, and all around deplorable. And no, “Jesus would not watch Family Guy, come on!” My buddy in seminary, who has fantastic taste in comedy TV, hated the series and said, “It’s nothing but dumb fart jokes.”

I like to refer to my conversations with people about Family Guy as “Adventures in Missing the Point.” The thing about MacFarlane and his team is, they don’t necessarily give a rat’s ass if you “like” Family Guy or not, but, it is quite telling that a majority of the American adults I have spoken to tend to dislike the animated sitcom. The disapproval actually proves that MacFarlane and Family Guy works. Much like Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s South Park, Family Guy is an animated sitcom that picks on everyone and everything. It is a satire in the sense that it leaves “no stone unturned,” so to speak. No one is safe. People who are offended that they got picked on are not alone, but, they are also proving that the majority of Americans, particularly conservative white Americans, just don’t get it. There’s a whole Wikipedia page dedicated to the fact.

So, is Family Guy immature and too offensive to enjoy? Is it REALLY “nothing but dumb fart jokes?” No, it’s not. And the folks who have taken the time to actually watch an episode, or two, know this to be the case.

THE HISTORY

Seth MacFarlane, a gifted animator, voice actor, and singer started his career working with Hanna-Barbera and animating for shows like Cartoon Network’s Johnny Bravo. Eventually, MacFarlane would develop his own cartoon short titled The Life of Larry and then follow it with a sequel short about a middle-aged man and his intellectual dog called Larry and Steve. This paved the way for Family Guy, a series MacFarlane attempted to pitch to Fox, but was turned down. After the success of Mike Judge’s King of the Hill, MacFarlane attempted to pitch his new series yet again. Fox gave him a measly budget of $5,000 to create a pilot. MacFarlane spent six months in his kitchen, at the age of 23, feverishly drawing his new cartoon. As it turns out, Fox loved it, and MacFarlane was given a spot on MADtv. Family Guy was going to air in short segments much like The Simpsons first did on The Tracy Ullman Show. At the fresh age of 24, MacFarlane became the youngest executive producer in the business and, in 1999, Family Guy became its own series.

Struggling with its adult content and the way it encroached upon shows like Survivor, The Simpsons, and Frasier, Fox canceled the series in 2002 after putting it through development hell. In April of 2003, Cartoon Network swept in and rescued the series, officially buying the rights from Fox. Cartoon Network featured Family Guy reruns in their highly successful Adult Swim lineup. It became an overnight success and the most watched Adult Swim series. Soon enough, Family Guy was considered a cult phenomenon. On May 20, 2004, a disgruntled and pleading Fox begged MacFarlane to return in light of the show’s massive success in reruns and DVD sales. On May 1, 2005, an episode titled “North by North Quahog” aired on Fox and began Family Guy’s successful fourth season. Family Guy has kept its place in the Fox evening lineup ever since, now into its sixteenth year.

THE GRIFFINS

The series focuses on the Griffin family. Peter Griffin (voiced by Seth MacFarlane) is another example of the blue collar failure of a husband and father. Peter is part of the “death of the patriarch” movement in cinema and television. Homer Simpson, Ralph Kramden, Archie Bunker and Fred Flintstone, are all part of this movement. Peter is, in a sense, a blend of all of these characters. He has unfairly been referred to as a “lesser clone” of Homer Simpson, but, the truth of the matter is, Peter is a very different character.Matt Groening’s depiction of Homer Simpson is of a blue collar, clueless dad and husband who works hard to make his family happy despite his frequent idiocy. Peter Griffin is, yes, a blue collar bumbling fool, but he has little to no moral compass or understanding of what it means to “do unto others.” He is, in every way, a walking stereotype of the white, loud, crass American male. He drinks too much, farts on his daughter’s face, crashes his wife’s car, and makes his dog, baby, and son puke all over the living room carpet by giving them ipecac. He is terribly racist, homophobic, sexist, and abusive to poor people and people living with disabilities. He shows no remorse until his back is up against the wall. (SPOILER ALERT) When Brian (MacFarlane), his dog and best friend, dies in a car accident, he can’t even resist mean-spirited jokes at his funeral.

Lois Griffin (Alex Borstein) is Alice Kramden meets Edith Bunker in a role that is ANYTHING BUT Marge Simpson. There is nothing sweet about Lois. She is the spoiled, attractive daughter of a wealthy businessman and made porn films and snorted coke in the 80’s. A younger Lois would have been right out of a Bret Easton Ellis novel. She has that nagging, nasal, whiny voice, and she is vindictive and cruel toward her children, especially her homely, awkward daughter Meg (Mila Kunis). In one early episode, Lois goes on a stealing spree, making her way from shop to shop stealing clothes and expensive handbags. She starts to become addicted to the high associated with stealing. In her car, after stealing a fur coat, she shouts “What a rush!” and she lights a cigarette, takes a couple of puffs, and puts the hot ash out on her arm. She resents Peter, unless he is screwing her, and she resents the fact that she has to prepare meals and do laundry for her extraordinarily dysfunctional family. She is an unhappy, middle-aged housewife who would rather party and wreck her life than stay home and coddle a drunken maniac who cannot hold down a job to save his life. Lois often acts just as irresponsibly as Peter.

Chris and Meg Griffin are the incarnations of pathetic. Chris (Seth Green) is the overweight, grungy adolescent boy with the grating voice who poops himself when he laughs and always embarrasses himself in front of his classmates. Chris has an evil monkey living in his closet that menacingly points at him when he gets home from school. He is easily taken advantage of. His wealthy grandfather, Carter Pewterschmidt (MacFarlane), names him heir to the family fortune and Peter proposes that he and Chris go to Vermont and be married because “Fathers and sons can do that in Vermont now.” His baby brother Stewie (MacFarlane), a wicked and scathingly intelligent toddler with a British accent, convinces him to date a “Down Syndrome girl” by including him in a song and dance number reminiscent of Gene Kelly in Singin’ in the Rain. Chris is not Bart Simpson any more than his older sister Meg is Lisa Simpson. Meg is the clinically depressed, socially anxious, occasionally psychotic oldest Griffin child. Meg falls for prison inmates and, in one episode, Peter’s middle-aged friend and next door neighbor, the sex addicted Glen Quagmire (MacFarlane)…. “Giggigty.” In another episode, she visits the rotting corpse of a man that she found in the woods. She shares a picnic with him and pretends he’s her boyfriend. Meg is also the brunt of most of the Griffin family jokes. She is hated, even despised, by her family members. I find myself doing the HARD cringe when Peter returns from a dangerous journey in the wilderness and Meg gives him a heartfelt, “Welcome home, Dad!” to which Peter replies with his favorite phrase, “Shut up, Meg!”

Stewie and Brian Griffin are the baby and the dog of the family. They are also, collectively, the brains of the family. They might do crazy shit, but they are thoughtful and they quickly recognize that their actions have consequences. Stewie has the best football head since Nickelodeon’s Hey, Arnold! He is a genius mastermind who builds time machines and has a large hi-tech weapons arsenal behind his toy chest. He is also gay, “partnered” with his stuffed bear Rupert. The comedy is, of course, that the show never comes out and says this about Stewie.

Stewie is also the character that seems to grow the most throughout the series. In the early seasons, he is portrayed as a maniacally devious child with a deep, unsatisfied desire to kill “that vile woman,” his mother Lois. As the series progresses, we see a thoughtful prodigy who may have a wicked sense of humor, but dearly loves his dog and best friend, Brian. Brian is the anthropomorphic dog who is probably the most like the man who voices him (McFarlane). He is a liberal atheist intellectual living with a blue collar Irish Catholic New England family. He is a writer working on a failed book called “Faster Than the Speed of Love.” He is a frequent womanizer (which is weird, let’s be honest) and he is always trying to “talk sense” into his wacky family. He is a smug, arrogant alcoholic with a love of weed. Plus, MacFarlane gets to show off his extraordinary pipes because Brian is a crooner in the spirit of Sinatra and Dean Martin. Brian even attempts to open a night club with Frank Sinatra, Jr. Yes, he is a dog.

THE SHOW

Family Guy has absolutely mastered what they call “the cutaway.” Peter and crew, but mostly Peter, are known for making very random pop culture references throughout an episode. These result in, at times, lengthy scenes involving scenarios that have little or nothing to do with the plot. They are, literally, comic devices designed to do two things: Get some “nyucks” and promote the satirical analysis of our society. If you are teaching a college course on contemporary American pop culture, you could not do so successfully unless you referenced Family Guy cutaways as a teaching tool.

Family Guy is also, as mentioned before, the most self-aware and genuine of satires. Every great satire has welcomed controversy and public criticism. Family Guy covers everything from pedophiles like Mr. Herbert (Mike Henry), greased up deaf guys, Quagmire’s trans parent , racist jokes featuring Peter’s buddy Cleveland Brown (Henry) and Mort Goldman (Green), the disabled like Officer Joe Swanson (Patrick Warburton), abortion, “the gay gene,” obesity, American politics, American celebrity culture, etc. The abortion episode was taken off the air by Fox. The series even features a white Jesus who is a stoner working at a local record store. In one episode, Peter, Quagmire, and Lois try to “get Jesus laid.” When Jesus asks Peter if he can sleep with Lois, Peter accepts and then turns to the camera and says, “Several of you are offended by this so why don’t you call the Family Religious Council with the number at the bottom of the screen and complain. You could save my marriage and your religious beliefs.”

Next. Family Guy is actually a well-made cartoon. It isn’t just a stuffy “animated series for adults.” It actually draws on a rich history of American animation and entertainment. Peter’s character resembles the archetype developed by Hanna-Barbera, MacFarlane’s old gig, in Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble, particularly. Fred Flintstone even has several cameo appearances in the series as does George Jetson. The series honors the history of animation by frequently including cutaways that depict silent black & white cartoons and vaudeville. It also has great music, and features a tremendous big band musical score. Cartoons from Tom & Jerry to The Simpsons have a history of excellent, complex musical arrangements.

Finally, Family Guy actually has more in common with South Park than The Simpsons. It is a true and clear indictment of American culture on every conceivable level. We may root for “every man” Peter, but, the joke’s on us because he is a horribly racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic pig. MacFarlane, likes most good comics and satirists, is a staunch human rights activist regularly stands by the marginalized communities of our nation, and does so eloquently and with bracing intellect. Look up some of his public speeches on YouTube if you have any questions. MacFarlane does not think that the developmentally disabled or trans persons are worthless or disgusting. He does not think that they are a joke…well…any more than any other human being is a joke. As said before, no one is safe.

So, is this series “nothing but dumb fart jokes?” Sure, there are fart jokes. Farts are innately funny. MacFarlane thinks farts are just as funny, however, as a George W. Bush presidency, our obsession with social media, our religious beliefs, our obesity, etc. I contend that the reason most WASPS don’t want to watch Family Guy is because they don’t like what the series has to say about them. Let’s face it, Americans in the social media age are sensitive and do not like being picked on. Family Guy is not just a good and well-made cartoon series, it is a great TV series, period.

Joey Armstrong is a hospital chaplain from Western New York. He is also a playwright and amateur cartoonist. Follow him on Twitter @chaplainmystic and Medium, where he writes more reviews for film and television.

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