Family Guy: A Postive Medium

Newspapers, the Internet, radio, and television: all of these things are considered mediums. They give out messages, good or bad, to the world. Mediums also depict the culture of the surrounding area. Merriam-Webster has a range of definitions of the word 'culture', the best definition given is, 'the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group; also : the characteristic features of everyday existence (as diversions or a way of life} shared by people in a place or time. So in short, not everyone will receive the same message from mediums. Obviously over in the Middle East you won't be able to catch an episode of Real Housewives of New Jersey, Pretty Little Liars, or the topic I will be covering, Family Guy. 

Family Guy is a popular cartoon that is considered adult and also controversial. Most people are quick to say that it conveys a negative message overall and therefore is a bad medium. That may be true, it does depict a lot of violence and has endless sexual and drug references. However, most people don't stop to realize that it can also be a positive thing. It is realistic about our society, about our culture.Despite that it is a part of our pop culture, it can make fun  of our culture and of itself. In my own opinion, there is nothing better than being able to laugh and make fun of yourself from time to time.

Last night I watched the episode 'Padre de Familia'. In this episode, Peter becomes overly patriotic. He starts to really be against illegal Mexican immigrants, but his view is changed once he learns he himself is an illegal immigrant. He ends up having to work several stereotypical illegal immigrant jobs such as a maid and for the wealthy. The Griffins go live in a shed at Carter Pewterschimdt's house (despite the fact Carter is Peter's father-in-law) and are considered the help. Peter really starts to realize how bad life as an illegal immigrant is and feels sympathy for the others. Of course the show ends with everything being normal and the event is forgotten, never to be brought up in future episodes.

The fact remains though, that Peter learned from his mistake. He realized it was easy to say you don't like a certain demographic, but to be in there shoes is another story. In this way, it becomes easy to see how positive Family Guy can be for anyone. The show has the ability to show the viewers that maybe what they think is not always right, maybe they need to hold a little more compassion and understanding for others. Although there will always be a lot of crude humor and plenty of offensive comments, in the end Family Guy is a positive medium that helps people step back and reevaluate their opinions.



http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/culture