Satire And Irony In Peacocke's 'Family Guy'

“Family Guy and Freud”

Satire is the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people 's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues. “Family Guy” portrays carnivalesque imagery such as those seen in “South Park” and “The Simpsons.” The author Peacocke is a fan of “Family Guy” but she says, “It’s important not to lose sight of what’s truly unfunny in real life-even as we appreciate what is hilarious in fiction (308).” Peacocke liked “Family Guy” at first when she realized that the jokes were taking things too far she started to dislike it then liked it again. She felt some people was going overboard and not looking at it to be funny. The show is based
on how you look at it. Some people took offense to it and thought it had bad influence and brought negative energy. Others thought the show was funny and most jokes hit home. The show was cancelled many times, because people were against the show and it had inappropriate and humiliating things in the show. Then it came back on the air because of the fans who loved it. Peacocke felt like “Family Guy” shouldn’t be taken so seriously and it’s not there to humiliate people, it’s just satire.
Firstly, everything in life is not supposed to be intentional, something’s are funny, others are to be taking at a certain extent and some things are meant to hurt, “Family Guy” is not there to hurt anyone’s feelings, it’s just a cartoon. “Family Guy” has some scenes to whereas it’s funny and gives positive reinforcement. For example, in an episode of “Family Guy” there was a kid smuggling for someone and in rewards he had received a bunny. The character used the bunny as his stimulus in order for the kid to continue smuggling drugs for him. In this example positive reinforcement is used to increase a bad behavior. This scene wasn’t to offend anyone it was a good example of positive even though it wasn’t funny. If you don’t pay attention or watch the show, you will catch more of the negatives than positives.
Secondly, there were several complaints about how “family guy” was a negative, and humiliating. So the show was cancelled and then came back on air because of the fans that loved “Family Guy.” The show was cancelled more than 2 times. But it proved to be humorous and fascinating to those who loved the show. Peacocke would say, “Lighten up a little and give the show a shot just like she did”. At first Peacocke didn’t like the show because she couldn’t see how people could laugh at such shameful things then she had forced herself to see “Family Guy” in a different way. After she started to like the show she couldn’t get enough of the Griffin family, she crafted a more positive view of “Family Guy” (Peacocke, 303). Thirdly, some parts of the show might seem offensive if taken at face value.
Such as, a sexist scene in the show where a businessman says, “Female coworkers are a peculiar animal and they are very insecure about their appearance, and tell them every day how beautiful they look even if they’re homely and unkempt; or even a firm open-palm slap on the behind (302).” People were offended and felt ashamed. That’s when Peacocke disagreed with her own point and then understood Dubner point where he said, “Those who don’t often watch the program, he could easily see how the cartoon takes pleasure in controversial humor just for its own sake; but those who pay more attention and think about the creators’ intentions can see how family guy satires some aspects of American culture (303).” Peacocke looked at that as an eye opener and started to like the show
again.
My response to this essay is that I agreed with the author and I characterized Antonia Peacocke argument about “Family Guy” is that it was an eye opener and it was entertaining and real in some ways.
She had an opposing view about the show, always try to get over things in life and see things in your own way before misjudging. Sometimes there has to be a way to look at the brighter picture rather than in a negative and an offensive way. Some dislike the show and some love the show. Peacocke proved that “Family Guy” isn’t bad at all, it’s just satire. Even the fans who loved the show got “Family Guy” back on the air, because it was funny and not there to humiliate. Some people are sensitive to what they watch. But just like Peacocke stated, “It’s important not to lose sight of what’s truly unfunny in real life-even as we appreciate what is hilarious in fiction (308).” Everyone will see the show in different ways, it’s your own perspective. Take it how the show comes off to
be.

Word Count: 879

Work Cited
Peacocke Antonia. “Family Guy and Freud: Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious.” They Say /I Say With Readings. Second Edition. Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein and Russell Durst. New York: W. W Norton & Company, 2012. 277-294. Print