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Argumentative Essay On Family Guy

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Argumentative Essay On Family Guy
For my media choice, I chose the TV show Family Guy. I decided to choose this specific TV show since it’s one of the more popular TV shows playing right now. Being that it’s one of the more popular TV shows, it’s broadcasted to more of the population than most other TV shows. Despite trying to be funny, Family Guy portrays certain races/ethnicities in such ways that it can be classified as offensive and racist. Family Guy loves to perpetuate the stereotypes of said races/ethnicities and tries to give a ‘comedic’ spin on the oppression of others for a quick laugh.

a) Who is the audience (geography, gender, age, etc.)? Do you think the audience influences the author or creator in any way? How?

The audience for Family Guy is young adults
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Do you think the meaning of the article/television show/song would change if the subjects were or were not identified by race? In what way?

Macfarlane, in my opinion, isn’t trying to say anything. He’s using racial jokes for a quick laugh since he knows that’s why people watch Family Guy. If the subjects of Family Guy were not identified by race I think the tone of the show would change completely. Not giving the subjects race would basically kill Family Guy, for what it’s worth. Family Guy is built on racist implications, and without that the show is close to nothing. There’s no substance to the show other than the ‘jokes.’

d) Who is visible (or invisible) in your piece of media? Does this visibility challenge or perpetuate the race ideology?
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As stated in my introduction, Family Guy is an extremely popular show. The show has been running for years, despite being cancelled twice. Being cancelled twice, but still coming back, means that some people must be watching it for there to be any reason to bring it back. The visibility of Family Guy only continues the perpetuation of race ideology. The characters in Family Guy are the main component of the show continuing the perpetuation of race ideology. Continuing with the stereotypes given to certain races/ethnicities only perpetuates race

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