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Peter Griffin becomes a "Family Gay" in this Week's "Family Guy"I'm not sure what to think of this preview from next Sunday's episode of Family Guy. The story has Peter signing up for medical experiments for money, eventually leading to his being injected with the gay gene. That prompts Peter to develop a lisp, go limp in the wrists and wear a lavender scarf. My knee-jerk reaction is annoyance at seeing the usual stereotypes at work in Peter's turning gay. Then again, the joke could easily be about how Peter thinks he should behave after being told he's been injected with the gay gene. I mean, remember how Frank dealt with being "gay for Jaime" on 30 Rock?
Family Guy has a pretty good record in handling gay topics (and creator Seth MacFarlane has been outspoken in his support of gays), so I'll wait and see how this plays out. I'm sure I'll be offended by Peter's behavior in any case because I always am (hey, I'm still hoping for a Simpsons episode where Frank Grimes finally gets his revenge on Homer Simpson). What do you think? Submitted by on Mon, 2009-03-02 15:08. |
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I really hope...
It's going to be rough
Impressionable Peter
A big part of the joke to Peter Griffin is that he's extremely susceptible to suggestion. Remember the episode where he discovered that he had a black ancestor that was also coincidentally a slave to Lois's ancestors? Or the time he started a religion centered around Happy Days? Or the time he decided to become a redneck?
The point being that Peter latching on to stereotypes is a core part of his gag. I wouldn't spend to much time worrying about it. Especially after all these years of Stewie's penchant for drag.
I hope you are right.
Isn't Stewie gay enough?
It might not be offensive...
...but I still won't be watching. I could see how Peter only thinks he was given the gene and is supposed to act all stereotypically gay. But the fact that the show is using that type of humor at all is disturbing. I mean they are banking on the fact that Peter acting effeminate gay = LOL funny. And I honestly believe that the majority of America will not be able to see at the end of the story that not all gay people behave like that. Also I fell out of love with the show when it was apparent Peter was an asshole. I just hate Peter's character. His character gets away with practically every thing without remorse. I stopped watching the show because it was just preposterous.
At least Homer Simpson is a charming jerk, who always learns that his actions were wrong by the end of an episode. Well I mean, except with Grimey. I don't think we will ever see Grimey again, unless its zombie Grimey in a Halloween special.
Going back to the Redneck thing...
How many of us were offended by the episode where Peter became a redneck? Remember, watching dumbed-down TV? Driving a giant pickup with the rear-window painted over? Attempting to have sex with Meg?
Some people need to just chill out! There's a lot of irony to the gay community in that we're often very ready to make fun of other people or laugh at jokes targeted at other groups, but when the joke is about us we suddenly become obsessive in our political correctness.
Given that it's Peter acting this way...
Whoa Whoa Whoa
I certainly make my disdain for the show known, but it's not like im calling for a boycott or something. I was not telling everyone to not watch or hate the show, that's up to your tastes and clearly you are an ardent fan of the show. Whatever, thats your business. But this new found sensitivity is false, I find many aspects of the show offensive. And that's why I have personally decided to stop watching the show. Also not being a redneck (or a caucasion male for that matter), I never found the redneck stereotype offensive. But being from the south, I can attest to rednecks not being offended either. They often are very proud of such stereotypes.
I don't think this is a case where the gays make fun of others, but when they make fun of us we can't handle it. If it were a legitimate joke that was actually funny, that is fine. But when it's the same old tired gay stereotype....not so funny.
I think rednecks
I knew that would be the obvious rebuttal
I was speaking from anecdoatal experience and in no way made blanket generalizations about it being ok to make fun of the "other group" because I was not a part of it. Not once. What I did say about rednecks, I said because that was the example psionycx brought up and I happen to have a lot of experience with rednecks. I wasn't offended by redneck stereotypes because if I had a nickel for every time a redneck hurled a racial slur, well I'd have a lot of nickels. So I have issues with that certainly, and that is just me and I never condoned similar behavior. But I never "flat out" said because I'm not a black man, disabled person, etc... I should not be offended because I don't belong to that group. Well that is erroneous sir, I am an ardent feminist (all sisters), disabled defender, and a sassy black woman (on occasion *snap)....so obviously I would never say something like that.
I'm not offended by all gay jokes, and I haven't said I was offended yet...I even titled my first response "might be offensive"...I'm just tired of all the same old gay jokes is all.
Rick & Steve
So now draw the comparison to Rick & Steve, which I consider to be hillarious (more so than Family Guy in fact).
Sure it's on Logo and the voice actors are gay and lesbian - it pokes brutal fun of gay stereotypes. Moreover, the stereotypes are funny because we've all seen the real world instances of them. But is it okay because it's gays making fun of ourselves? Would the LGBT community find Rick & Steve offensive if it were made by straights and broadcast on Fox?
I honestly suspect it would be seen as offensive if that were the case.
A sign of healthy self-esteem is the ability to laugh at oneself. I once had a back and forth with one of the guys that builds tradeshow boothes for our company and he was making the gay jokes, I was making the redneck jokes at him and we were having a blast. Then in a moment of seriousness he remarked about how great it was that I wasn't "over-sensitive" like all the "PC people".
I thought about it for a second and realized that he was right. Neither of us was intending malice towards each other and our banter was playful, not mean-spirited. But a lot of people think that any off-color comments (directed at their own demographic group but rarely at others) is offensive.
The issue is that a lot of people are looking for reasons to be offended. There's self-righteous sense that it's no okay to make fun of "us", but all too often it's okay to make fun of others - and just hope they'll be okay with it.
I'd be shocked if they managed to say or do anything on this episode of Family Guy that hasn't been matched or exceeded by Rick & Steve, Outlaugh or the Gay Sketch Show.
Well If I only had those nickels...
I could afford Logo, and watch Rick & Steve. I do know what kind of humor is on the show by having seen snippets. But I don't know what kind of conclusions you are drawing by such a comparison. If Rick & Steve were made by straight people, Rick & Steve wouldn't be Rick & Steve. We may find it hilarious because only we could truly appreciate it on a different level than straights. Although I wish I knew more about the show. It's like if Black comedy or Hispanic comedy were performed by caucasians....the execution would be all wrong....and the target audience would not find it as funny.
Also of course there are people who are always looking to be offended (I am not one of them)...I don't know how I was swept up in that crossfire....I just have a personal vendetta against Family Guy ok...and this [potentially negative] portrayal of gays isn't helping.
There's always iTunes...
...as a lower cost way to view R&S.
In any case, here's something to consider: how do you know that there weren't gays involved in making this episode of Family Guy (or the series in general), just as gays make Rick & Steve? Sure Seth McFarlane is straight (a tragic loss if ever there was!) but that doesn't mean that there aren't gays on the writing and/or production staff's.
Indeed, there's a HUGE number of gay people working in entertainment. Often they write humor about heterosexuals of all flavors. Based on your argument, do you suppose that they ought to be unable to do so, or do so well, simply because they're not straight and don't have a first-person perspective on what they're writing?
I drew the Rick & Steve comparison for that reason. We know that there's a bunch of gays behind it because that's no secret. There's gays behind most television for that matter. Seriously. But what if Rick & Steve were shown on a Fox channel, or MTV or Comedy Central and targeted at a straight audience looking to laugh at LGBT people? Then this exact same show could, and probably would, be seen as offensive by the gay community. Simply because it pokes fun at LGBT people and stereotypes.
Now, Family Guy may not be to everyone's taste. A lot of the humor does get pretty brutal, as is also the case with South Park. But at the same time it is meant in fun and not malice, except to people who are looking for it.
I watched the preview for this Family Guy episode and laughed hysterically. It's over the top (as usual) and nobody is going to take it as a "serious" representation of what gay people are like. Also, they need to reset back to normal at the end of every episode so I wouldn't be surprised if the "Gay Gene" Peter gets injected with was just imaginary and he was just doing another one of his over-impressionable schticks.
I love family guy...
American Dad's funnier.
Maybe we all just need a laugh
It's Family Guy. The only
Of Course it wil be offensive!
Awesome.
I created account specifically to thumbs-up all your comments. You sound like a truly rational person and I was happy to see your kind of reasoning on the web.
(Judging by high frequency of gay references, I can bet my firstborn that there are gays on the writing staff of Family Guy.)
Anyway, a joke is only racist/sexist/homophobic/anti-Semitic if the the person saying it is. Listeners who use jokes to reinforce negative stereotypes are already racist/sexist/homophobic/anti-Semitic to begin with and will probably be that way no matter what. Shows like South Park, Family Guy, and to some extent the Daily Show and the Colbert Report are not intended for those audiences.
PC Backlash
Why does it always seem that Gays are quick to roll over when ever anyone kicks us? I just don't get that. It should make straight people uncomfortable when we call them out for their bigoted comments. Because it isn't PC. PC in this day and age is about being respectful. No, being equally disrespectful doesn't cut it for me. And yes, I do have a sense of humor and I can take a joke. And teasing amongst friends is different than when it happens on a sit-com.
Some folks believe that they should be allowed to make any kind of disparaging remark toward anyone at anytime they fell like it. I'm sure that those people are relieved when a gay guy rolls over and plays dead. I'm sorry a red neck joke will never have the impact of a gay joke because red-necks murder about one gay person a week at the going rate of reportage. (it would be different if red-necks weren't the oppressor) It is like honky and nigger, honky will never have the same weight. You gotta know that. So, if you want to be some jack-ass' whipping boy, be my guest.
That little clip is patently offensive because of the obvious stereotype it charades. I can't call the acceptance of that, on face value, progress. I can take a joke, but think, if the character had a blood transfusion with a black man, and tried to pimp his daughter, steal chickens and sell crack? The problem with this is that there is no litmus test because gays are constantly asked to prove they have a sense of humor in the face of these staggering hate crime murder rates. I am gob-smacked when I hear gay people disparage 'PC'. I can only hope that this clip is taken out of context in order to create a provocative advert.