Monday, February 22, 2010

Paula Nechodom "Family Guy and Freud: Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious"

Thesis: "Before I was such a devotee, however, I was adamantly opposed to the program for its particular brand of humor. It will come to no surprise that I was not alone in this view; many still denounce Family Guy as bigoted and crude."

Page 259: “In 2007, comedian Carol Burnett sued Fox for 6 million dollars, claiming that the show’s parody of the Charwomen, a character that she created for The Carol Burnett Show, not only violated copyright but also besmirched the character’s name in revenge for Burnett’s refusal to grant permission to use her theme song.” This quote proves that there are many people out there who think that Family Guy is a bad show.

Page 261: “Those who don’t often watch the program (Family Guy) could easily come to think that the cartoon takes pleasure in controversial humor just for its own sake. But those who pay more attention and think about the creator’s intensions can see that Family Guy intelligently satirizes some aspects of American culture.” I think that this is an important part of Peacocke’s writing; she feels that it is a common misconception that the creator’s of Family Guy are making all these jokes for their own humor. The show should be taken a little less seriously about the content of the show and people should dissect the content of the show to figure out the deeper meaning.

Page 262: “The more off-color jokes, though, those that give Family Guy a bad name, attract a different kind of viewer.” These are the viewer who are able to look deeper into what the creator’s are actually trying to point out, not to just poke jokes at different cultures or whoever is being targeted in the particular episode.

Respond to Douglas Ruskoff Bart Simpson: Prince of Irreverence

I believe that Peacocke would think that Ruskoff’s argument about The Simpsons applies to Family Guy as well. She would believe that there are many similarities between the two shows, but differ in a sense of how explicit the creator’s are about the point they are making. Family Guy relies on their viewers to analyze what they are watching, whereas The Simpsons simply point out the “media imagery around a particular social issue.”

Respond to Dana Stevens Thinking Outside the Idiot Box

I think that Peacocke would agree with Stevens in the fact that adult men and women should be able to decide on what and how much TV they should be allowed to watch. The fact the TV shows like Family Guy and The Simpsons are not made for child viewers, they are made for adult viewers and they should be able to make their own choices on what to watch.

4 comments:

  1. I think that your blog is very informal on the subject about how television is not influencing younger viewers. I still think that the show points out some of the views that we see or come to conscious and say that is true in away. I enjoyed reading the writing and I think that the the family guy and the Simpsons was two of a kind. The writing was excellent I would have comment on at least one opposing view.

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  2. I agree with what you wrote and what your author thought about her topic! I think you explained things very clearly. I like where you talk about viewers that dont really watch the show wont like it, but those who are dedicated to the show find it entertaining and i agree i totally agree. Before I never really liked that show but once I watched a couple episodes I realized that it is really entertaining and that their episodes had topics that had to do with social topics and cultural topics that we deal with. But overall i liked the way you set this up and the writing was really good!

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  3. I totally agree with the three points that you used to back up your thesis. Being a Family Guy fan myself, I will admit that there are some jokes on the show that just go right over my head but most of the jokes I can tell what is going on. Family Guy has gotten a bad name because of some of the jokes that it uses and takes a little to far. However, there are so many more jokes on the show that everyone can enjoy and if you know something about American culture, can really enjoy. The jokes that get the show in trouble are the ones they take to far, but there are so few of them that it is not even worth making a fuss about.

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  4. I like the way you shared your points. I am not a huge fan of the show, mostly because I do not watch much TV, but the few episodes that I have seen are quite funny. The show does not just make fun of one specific person, or group, but everyone and therefore I think it is funny.

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