Family Guy: An ugly truth dressed in the cloak of comedy
There is truth in comedy and sometimes that truth is an ugly one. I personally have no problem with edgy comedy. I do take issue with programs that marginalize certain groups of people in the name of comedy. These are programs that have no respect for their respective audiences. They assume by way of their programming that we the people are too simple to know when the joke is on us. In the case of Family Guy with a viewership of 4.5 million people every week, and total DVD sales grossing more than $400 million dollars to date, the joke is on us. We have taken up a tab that we cannot afford, paying to laugh at ourselves because we say we are bored. Are we the simple people that they assume we are? Are we to simple to see the truth placed right in front our faces because it is dressed in comedy and wearing funny faces?
Case and point made by Family Guy episode “Perfect Castaway” where Peter who is one of the main character of the program leads a conversation among his friends by asking “What would you guys rather be, Blind or a midget?” After a mouth full of mindless blabber Peter interrupted and said “ok alright here’s another one. Black or crippled?” If this is ok with you, it is time for you to question your own humanity, and if it isn’t, it is time for you to exemplify what it means to be humane. It is beside the point that in this case the group being marginalize is black people, because I am of the opinion that regardless of what group is being discriminated against it is the responsibility of all people to stand up and say enough. Why? Because injustice somewhere against some people is injustice everywhere against all people.
with edgy comedy. I do take issue with programs that marginalize certain groups of people in the name of comedy. These are programs that have no respect for their respective audiences. They assume by way of their programming that we the people are too simple to know when the joke is on us. In the case of Family Guy with a viewership of 4.5 million people every week, and total DVD sales grossing more than $400 million dollars to date, the joke is on us. We have taken up a tab that we cannot afford, paying to laugh at ourselves because we say we are bored. Are we the simple people that they assume we are? Are we to simple to see the truth placed right in front our faces because it is dressed in comedy and wearing funny faces?
Family guy is certainly full of funny moments, but how long do we need to laugh until we realize we are laughing at our own expense. Sometimes I think to myself why do I bother with trying to get people to wake up to things that other people are benefiting from them being blinded to? Then the answer comes to me loud and clear and it is because this is who I am. The minute I forget that, I also forget my value and that’s when it becomes acceptable for others to make a joke out of me. They hope I am stupid enough to laugh at and not smart enough to see. We have become the joke America, and we are unaware because we’ve been laughing so loudly that we forgot to look. We are the bait now and buried within us is the hook. This is the ugly truth steering at our faces, but it is dressed in funny clothes and making funny faces. Stop laughing for a minute and maybe you’ll see the true nature of the jokes. Comedy isn’t so funny sometimes without its funny coat.09/20/09 Copyright © 2008 Akil Johnson All Rights Reserved 
