Seth Macfarlane Family Guy creator has appeared on Keith Olbermann’s Countdown to No Ratings Freak Show last year. We all know nobodys gets on his show that don’t share his anti-America views. Thus, no surprise here.

I wish Glynnis or Rachel watched The Boondocks.

Family Guy is not at all politically incorrect. It tows a fairly straight left-wing party line. And as the writers have become more open in their personal politics, the media, unsurprisingly, now haild the show as genius satire.

If anything, Family Guy is very, very tame and doesn’t go nearly far enough. There, i said it.

Family Guy is very easy humor. Sure, they do superficially “offensive” things, but does anyone really have their ideology questioned by the show? Is the shock ever really over anything but a superficially un-PC statement or the pairing of an 80s cartoon icon with sexual references?

People forget how edgy a lot of comedy used to be. Films like Airplane!, Blazing Saddles, Animal House, etc could scarcely be made today. The “shock” of today is an American Pie gag where someone accidentally drinks piss (or some other substance from the genital region). Yes, it’s shocking and gross, but no one, at the end of that, thinks “they just made fun of how I feel or act or what I believe. I don’t know how to feel about that.” No one thinks, “wow, that was a DANGEROUS joke to tell!”

Not that there aren’t still trailblazers out there of course. South Park is far better than Family Guy, and not the least because it will actually force the audience to question what they believe and why the believe it from time to time in between the fart jokes. Family Guy’s staff doesn’t have nearly the guts South Park does, or The Simpsons used to.

I wish Mediaite would change its name to Concern Troll Central. My dad and my uncles fought in Vietnam and if they were alive today they’d laugh out loud. Most vets aren’t sob sisters.

I hope Glynnis MacNicol doesn’t watch one of those celebrity roasts on Comedy Central. Family Guy is nothing compared to that. Here’s a taste from the Joan Rivers roast:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhXVknk-Iqs

Does anybody still watch this show?

@Jelperman: spot-on. But inviting manufactured outrage is the modern blog’s most reliable way to generate traffic… so what if most people don’t think this is funny? Just don’t watch it.

@ImNotBlue: It’s tied with Desperate Housewives and Grey’s Anatomy for 10th place (18-49 demo) across all broadcast and cable programming.

I generally only watch Family Guy on reruns and Hulu, so I didn’t see the episode earlier. It’s Sunday, so that means Housewives and Sally Field around my house. It’s one of the few nights that I watch television with my wife.

Nonetheless, I personally found the above clip shocking, which I consider adjacent to funny and I have no problem with the content. (And before anyone attacks me, I know plenty of folks who served in Vietnam and I have relatives who have been casualities of war)

What’s the old saying… “history is written by the victors”? Well, the above seems like a legitimate play on point-of-view. I mean, how would a Vietcong vet react to Apocolypse Now, Platoon or any of the other Vietnam movies? And for that matter, Family Guy is for a worldwide audience, so one wonders if the show plays in Vietnam and whether this “joke” may have been for them.

Seth MacFarlane and his crew are masters of their game. For years Seth has been tuned in to the frequency of this nations’ tensions and has been rattling those nerves with the same precision as Tchaikovsky composing a musical score.

This is material that is powerful enough to produce laughter, and also just as powerful to produce anger…
-that is the work of an artist, and it is because of this that I will always support Seth MacFarlane in every
venture he pursues.

Never forget-the purpose of Family Guy is to evoke emotion….whatever that may be.

Chainaman says- Viet Nam Undefeated….

Jack Burns says…Viet Nam Still nothing but very poor rice, nut, and pepper farmers,

Japan— Defeated by the United States. Now a most respected and powerful County Leading everyone in Technology…

Whoopee for Viet Nam, Hows that Socialist-oriented market economy working out for ya…

We have all heard the libs and far left screech about how much they love the troops, so it couldnt be them right?

Whoever did this should be hung from the nearest tree.

http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/force-factor-review-amp-free-trial-2113761.html

Jelperman says:
May 17, 2010 at 12:09 am

I wish Mediaite would change its name to Concern Troll Central. My dad and my uncles fought in Vietnam and if they were alive today they’d laugh out loud. Most vets aren’t sob sisters.”

No, they were cowards like you.

I’ve got chunks of your sorry lib ass in my stool.

Right! really are you asking if its too much? You were all crying free speech when south park took the meek with Islam. Now you’r crying fowl, CRY ME A RIVER. Now I see its free speech, as long as it doesn’t offend you.

I have a brother, an uncle, and a cousin whose names are on there.

FUCK YOU, McFarlane..you fucking libtard piece of shit. I fucking dare you to pull that shit in front of me.

Kam Fet:
You were all crying free speech when south park took the meek with Islam. Now you’r crying fowl, CRY ME A RIVER. Now I see its free speech, as long as it doesn’t offend you.”

BS- The SP people were hypocrites- they censor poor Mohammad but then come back attacking Christianity.

Hypocrites like you don’t see the difference and that surprises no one.

Seems to be only a very little outrage by the regular Fox News fans here. Would they object more if the Family Guy was not a Fox program? How much outrage would there be if this was an NBC show? Not that I think there should be outrage.

How much outrage would there be if this was an NBC show? ”

The same.

Has anyone saw a news organization of any stripe that has covered this traitorous act? I sent it to my local paper and TV station and they are ignoring it. Guess they wonder why no one buys their paper or watches they’re programs.
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/everbrite-smile-review-does-ever-brite-smile-work-2371666.html

henrysmit says:
May 17, 2010 at 8:53 am

Learn to write English, you illegal POS.

CRZ says:
May 16, 2010 at 11:54 pm
You should read the strip sometime, the show has nothing on it. In the strip they tried to find a man for Condoleeza Rice “so she won’t be so hell-bent on destroying the world”

And to all the conservatives on here, I don’t see you talking sh*t when Rush Limbaugh does the same, talks phony soldiers and makes light of the situation in Haiti. Unless you’re going to judge people by the same standard then shut the f*ck up!

the last part of our culture political correctness has not infected. cartoons. we need to laugh at more than the mediate comments section. plus the pinko liberals don’t care if we make fun of veterans anyway.

Not offended. It’s a joke. McFarlane is a lefty loon. If we don’t appreciate his humor, don’t watch the show. It’s doesn’t bother me. But then again, I’m not a tight a**.

Chainaman says- Viet Nam Undefeated….

I have a new definition for “fucktard”: someone too stupid to spell racist slurs properly.

Jack Burns says…Viet Nam Still nothing but very poor rice, nut, and pepper farmers,

Whoopee for Viet Nam, Hows that Socialist-oriented market economy working out for ya…

Japan was a modern, industrial country long before WW2, fucktard. You failed history and spelling, I see.

Munch: I’ve got chunks of your sorry lib ass in my stool.

Really?

lol @ the Conservatives here who say that McFarlane is a Leftist.

valkyrie101 says:
May 17, 2010 at 8:48 am

Seems to be only a very little outrage by the regular Fox News fans here.

Well… you wrote that comment at 8:49 am. And the article was posted the night before… on a Sunday.

And yet… if you were to scroll up, you’d see plenty of comments attacking FG from the band of regulars. Are you sure you read the thread before posting, val?

The_Reasonable_Lib says:
May 17, 2010 at 9:25 am

Unless you’re going to judge people by the same standard then shut the f*ck up!

The irony in you trying to point out “hypocrisy,” is that you wind up being hypocritical yourself. So are you saying that FG is okay to say things like this, and so is Limbaugh? See… in the “hypocrisy gotcha” you’re laying out… you’ve caught yourself as well.

nocountryforwho says:
May 17, 2010 at 11:08 am

lol @ the Conservatives here who say that McFarlane is a Leftist.

Do you disagree with that statement? What’s the joke?

If the poor cartoonist had any courage, it would have been the likes of John Kerry, Jane Fonda and their socialist brothers on the left taunting the vets. They caused the US to withdraw and let South Vietnam fall, they were the ones taunting the vets forty years ago. The viet cong had nothing to do with it. Gag humor, just below mimes in the rank of entertainment.

Who cares? Family Guy sucks, not because of this bit, it is just totally played out and has been for about 7 years. Who watches that show anyway? It’s lame. It is just a collection tangents that end with a lame joke made for the sole purpose of offending people and getting attention. The Simpsons and South Park are better on their worst days.

Ok, I’m a liberal, but this joke did go too far. When I saw this, I thought, “Wow, McFarlane and Co. will go out of their way to offend people, won’t they?”

I love Family Guy, it’s absolutely hilarious, but little bits like these leave a bad taste in my mouth. I’ve seen every episode of FG and I’ve been able to take a lot of offensive things, but this? Not this time.

rayray says:
May 17, 2010 at 11:14 am

You hit the nail on the head here, RayRay.

The same script with the Vietnamese replaced by Fonda and Kerry would have been really out there cutting edge and would have showcased the true depths of division over Vietnam. Of course, Hanoi Jane is terribly sensitive over her actions now and I don’t think Kerry enjoys any reminders of his despicable behavior then.

I didn’t like the joke, but seeing conservatives complain with political correctness makes it all worth.

Now I suppose we’ll be deluged with posts from the left defending Limbaugh’s dialogues.

It wasn’t funny at all, there’s no kick to it other than laughing at the vets (which for most of us Americans isn’t funny).

Now it WOULD have been funny if one of the vets landed a sucker punch on the guy and knocked him out cold after he taunted. Actually I am surprised that didn’t happen, since it seems to happen in the show a lot.

I don’t think Kerry enjoys any reminders of his despicable behavior then.

What “despicable behavior”?

I love how Republitards are more upset by what what John Kerry said about Vietnam than what William Calley did in Vietnam.

Offensive yes, but also funny.

Jelperman says:
May 17, 2010 at 1:17 pm

I don’t think Kerry enjoys any reminders of his despicable behavior then.

What “despicable behavior”?”

You just proved what a lib moron you truly are!

#

Calley did in Vietnam.
#
NewHampster NewHampster says:
May 17, 2010 at 1:44 pm

Offensive yes, but also funny”

You must be referring to your wife.

Yes, this went too far. If McFarlane had left it at “Scoreboard!” then *maybe* he can get away with it. But the “cry like a bitch” bit? No fucking way. It’s an outright insult to those who fought and died over there. Unacceptable.

Jelperman says:
May 17, 2010 at 1:17 pm

I don’t think Kerry enjoys any reminders of his despicable behavior then.

What “despicable behavior”?

For starters, how about applying for and accepting three purple hearts in as many months for three band aid wounds.

Then there is that “seared in his mind Christmas” that was impossible to have actually happened.

There was that lovely moment of his trowing his medals, no really ribbons, no someone else’s medals over the White House fence.

His Ghenghis Kahn” testimony before congress that resulted in zero, zip nada charges or actions.

That charge which has never been debunked of him meeting with the Viet Cong in Paris.

I realize that my word might not carry much weight with you, Jelperman, so I’ll bring out proof from a source that I have found to be sacrosanct to many on the left:

“Communist Vietnamese honor John Kerry, the war protestor, as a hero in their victory over the United States in the Vietnam War.

In the Vietnamese Communist War Remnants Museum (formerly known as the “War Crimes Museum”) in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), a photograph of John Kerry hangs in a room dedicated to the anti-war activists who helped the Vietnamese Communists win the Vietnam War. The photograph shows Senator Kerry being greeted by the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Comrade Do Muoi.

Jeffrey M. Epstein of Vietnam Vets for the Truth acquired the photograph over the Memorial Day weekend as America was commemorating its military heroes. Epstein’s organization, Vietnam Vets for the Truth, issued a general request last week for photographs documenting Kerry’s activities on behalf of the enemy. Bob Shirley, a Vietnam Swift Boat veteran (www.pcf45.com), sent the photograph to Epstein in response to that call. Shirley recently joined over 200 other Swift Boat veterans in signing an open letter questioning Kerry’s fitness to serve as Commander-in-Chief.

“Photograph of John Kerry meeting with Comrade Do Muoi, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, in Vietnam, July 15-18, 1993. Photo taken in the War Remnants Museum (formerly the “War Crimes Museum”) in Saigon in May 2004.

.

Jeff Epstein explains the importance of the photograph:

This photograph’s unquestionable significance lies in its placement in the American protestors’ section of the War Crimes Museum in Saigon. The Vietnamese communists clearly recognize John Kerry’s contributions to their victory. This find can be compared to the discovery of a painting of Neville Chamberlain hanging in a place of honor in Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest in 1945.”

http://www.wintersoldier.com/staticpages/index.php?page=20040531140357545

You did ask!

ImNotBlue says:
May 17, 2010 at 11:13 am
I see you’re still reading into things. I never said I was okay with this, not once. You will find nothing of the sort in my post, nice try though. I don’t condone this, if you must know. It’s grossly distasteful, as are many of the things Limbaugh says. Death is never a funny subject. Family Guy also crossed the line with the Laura Bush killed a guy thing. But if you’re going to argue for freedom of speech, it can’t be okay when Limbaugh does it, but not Family Guy. It’s the same as when Palin gave limbaugh a pass as a “satirist” but not MacFarlane who is an actual satirist. Still waiting for a reply in our other debate by the way.

Nice post, Grammie!

“BS- The SP people were hypocrites- they censor poor Mohammad but then come back attacking Christianity.”

You’re only half-right…COMEDY CENTRAL were the hypocrites, not the actual creators of South Park. They pushed and pushed to be able to show Muhammad, and were making a point about, in fact, the hypocrisy of such a taboo (and the hypocrisy of their own network). Next time you might want to watch the show or at least read more about what happened before speaking about it.

BTW, continuing on why I find this show (Family Guy) so gutless….

Consider the big thing they did with Palin a couple months ago. In the joke, Chris’ date, a girl with down-syndrome, tells him that her mother “is the former governor of Alaska.” Palin and one of her daughters got really upset about it, and it was a huge controversy. When I heard about what the actual joke was though, all I could think was….”that’s it?”

And here was the problem with it, two-fold:

1. It’s not really much of a joke, just a very tenuous reference. Palin has a kid with down-syndrome, and the character has down-syndrome, so they loosely connect the dots and hope someone will laugh out of recognition. It’s a non-joke that relies on the audience not being able to tell the difference; a simple reference substituted for actual humor. Palin’s real kid is much, much younger and a different gender, too, so it really doesn’t work that well as a reference anyway. At best, it’s a potshot without any real target.

2. It’s not nearly harsh enough. To be a daring, hilarious gag, it should have gone further. How about make a joke, or at least a point, about how Palin drags her kid around for publicity and seems to ignore it the rest of the time (the actress who played the character, in fact, DID make a similar statement to the press)? How about making a joke about her politics, or that of her opponents? How about insulting her as a person in some way? Hell, what if you suggested that the disorder is hereditary and actually went as far as to portray her as being similarly-disabled? (Some of these might be in poor-taste, but they’d actually be, ya know, JOKES).

It was a typical Family Guy joke. Designed to seem daring, but actually safe and cuddly. It’s designed to create the illusion that someone, somewhere is going to be genuinely offended, while not actually doing so and therefore keeping the advertisers happy (the fact that Palin actually WAS upset and went on her little crusade only proves how thin-skinned she is). Basically, it’s a joke that’s absolutely perfect for network-television.

The_Reasonable_Lib says:
May 17, 2010 at 9:25 am

CRZ says:
May 16, 2010 at 11:54 pm

You should read the strip sometime, the show has nothing on it. In the strip they tried to find a man for Condoleeza Rice “so she won’t be so hell-bent on destroying the world”
And to all the conservatives on here, I don’t see you talking sh*t when Rush Limbaugh does the same, talks phony soldiers and makes light of the situation in Haiti. Unless you’re going to judge people by the same standard then shut the f*ck up!

The_Reasonable_Lib says:
May 17, 2010 at 3:54 pm

I see you’re still reading into things. You will find nothing of the sort in my post, nice try though.

I got to. You make a lot of mistakes, and never correct them (and then pretend like you don’t know what I’m talking about, despite provided links)… so I gotta figure out the truth somehow.

I never said I was okay with this, not once.

Nope… just attacked Limbaugh for no related reason. But since you offerened no opinion on the topic at hand (only an attack on Limbaugh, because attacking the right is much easier than criticizing the left… right?)… I’m forced to figure you agree. A non-statement is as good as an affirmative statement, isn’t it? But please, clear it up for us…

I don’t condone this, if you must know.

Yes, in a thread about FG, you said nothing about FG… sorry if it’s a stretch for me to want to know your opinion on something you’ve non-commented about.

It’s grossly distasteful, as are many of the things Limbaugh says. Death is never a funny subject. Family Guy also crossed the line with the Laura Bush killed a guy thing. But if you’re going to argue for freedom of speech, it can’t be okay when Limbaugh does it, but not Family Guy. It’s the same as when Palin gave limbaugh a pass as a “satirist” but not MacFarlane who is an actual satirist.

Okay… so which is it? Is it distasteful, but acceptable… or is it unacceptable? And would you be willing to also tell the defenders of FG, who routinely call for Limbaugh, Beck, O’Reilly, FNC, etc. to “STFU?” Will you be consistant?

Still waiting for a reply in our other debate by the way.

OOOH… so weeks later you posted a reply to your Palin lies? Neat! Perhaps a link… or do I have to now go back a month and find it?

Jeremy Montano says:
May 17, 2010 at 9:12 pm

I disagree with you b/c the reference was to a specific CHILD and was just a cheap shot at that child that served no purpose.

You accuse Palin, in effect, of simply displaying her child for personal gain akin to an old time sideshow. If she had sequestered the baby behind completely closed doors with blacked out windows (a fairly common practice in earlier times) would you then be accusing her of hiding her baby in shame?

So, exactly how much exposure and of what type of her baby would satisfy your sense of political propriety?

I saw the episode. The scene immediately repulsed me. Without getting too deep, I’ve noticed that McFarland pits race against race often. For what reason………….I have my own ideas, and they are not kind or jocular in nature. This being said, I’ll continue to watch the show on occasion, not for it’s humor, but to see what products there are springing from the mind of a Hollywood progressive. Liberals are a simple lot, telegraphing their swings long in advance. It doesn’t take a college education to look into their souls. It takes something infinitely more renown than that…….it takes a bit of wisdom and a mind that remembers.

“I disagree with you b/c the reference was to a specific CHILD and was just a cheap shot at that child that served no purpose.”

See, this is part of what I was getting at…it really wasn’t a cheap shot at all. It doesn’t say anything in particular about Palin or her child, just that she happens to have one with down-syndrome. A simple fact, and one Palin is hardly shy about.

I’m not looking for all comedians to start harping on her or her baby, but I was using it as an example to show how gutless that series is. It really didn’t say anything, positive or negative, about Palin or the baby….it really didn’t say anything at all and wasn’t much of a joke. That’s my point. The fact that anyone was seriously shocked or angered by it is far funnier than Family Guy has ever been in its entire 8 seasons.

And I don’t really give much of a rat’s a-hole about what Palin does with her baby, or what others say about her or her behavior with said baby, but it isn’t exactly a secret that Palin frequently uses the kid (and her other kids) to her political advantage, so she’s the one putting them (and the political issues she attempts to use them in) up for public scrutiny.

Jeremy Montano says:
May 17, 2010 at 10:27 pm

So, you really don’t care what she does or doesn’t do with her children nor do you care what others think of her behavior as long as it is quite clear that you disapprove of her obvious exploitation of her children.

OK.

Making a joke about the exploitation of her child was just a random example of what they could have done with that joke. There are other directions it could have gone. Or they could have made a much meaner joke about Palin that had nothing to do with the kid, for that matter.

All I’m saying is that Family Guy kinda sucks and it’s jokes are pretty tame. I moved on from caring about anything Palin does (except when it’s really funny, which granted is quite often) when the ’08 election was over.

I guess freedom of speech includes the freedom to make a complete ass of one’s self. So far, it’s neck and neck between the writers for family guy and comedy central.

For starters, how about applying for and accepting three purple hearts in as many months for three band aid wounds.

A flat-out fucking lie. First of all, you don’t “apply” for medals, asshole. They are awarded by your superiors if evidence shows they are merited. A Purple Heart is only awarded if one is injured enough in action against the enemy to be treated by a doctor or aid station. Maybe you know something about medals that the United States Navy does not. I doubt it since you think people “apply” for medals like you applied for that job at Taco Bell, only to be rejected for being a diseased liar and an utter moron.

Then there is that “seared in his mind Christmas” that was impossible to have actually happened.

Another lie:

http://www.slate.com/id/2105529

But one thing is for sure: Lt. Kerry did not spend that Christmas Eve just lying around, dreaming of sugarplums and roasted chestnuts. He had plenty of time to cover the 40 miles from the Cambodian border to the safety of Sa Dec (he did command a swift boat, after all). More to the point, the evidence indicates he did cover those 40 miles: He was near (or in?) Cambodia in the morning, in Sa Dec that night.

There was that lovely moment of his trowing his medals, no really ribbons, no someone else’s medals over the White House fence.

Guess what, moron -he can do whatever he wants with his medals. He earned them:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/kerry/service.asp

His Ghenghis Kahn” testimony before congress that resulted in zero, zip nada charges or actions.

And no one went to prison for My Lai. This proves what, exactly?

That charge which has never been debunked of him meeting with the Viet Cong in Paris.

And the charge that Glenn Beck raped and killed a young girl in 1990 was never debunked either. It’s not up to someone to prove a negative, fucktard.

I realize that my word might not carry much weight with you, Jelperman, so I’ll bring out proof from a source that I have found to be sacrosanct to many on the left:

“Communist Vietnamese honor John Kerry, the war protestor, as a hero in their victory over the United States in the Vietnam War.

You are a fucking liar -here’s the real caption:

http://www.snopes.com/politics/kerry/museum.asp

“Mr. Do Muoi, Secretary General of the Vietnam Communist Party met with Congressmen and Veterans Delegation in Vietnam (July 15-18, 1993)”

Jeff Epstein explains the importance of the photograph:

This photograph’s unquestionable significance lies in its placement in the American protestors’ section of the War Crimes Museum in Saigon. The Vietnamese communists clearly recognize John Kerry’s contributions to their victory. This find can be compared to the discovery of a painting of Neville Chamberlain hanging in a place of honor in Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest in 1945.”

Oh, so that’s why they use a picture from 1993 and don’t even mention him by name.

From Snopes:

“As analogies go, this exhibit is less like ‘the discovery of a painting of Neville Chamberlain hanging in a place of honor in Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest in 1945′ than it is like finding a photograph of President Richard Nixon meeting with Chinese Premier Chou En-lai hanging in Beijing’s Museum of the Chinese Revolution.”

You did ask!

I asked you for evidence John Kerry did something wrong. You have only provided evidence that you are a lying little prick.

No matter how hard they try it seems they’ll never be able to match, overtake, catch up or outdo the Masters at Southpark. It is sadly reminiscent of the Southpark episode “Simpsons did it!”

Hey Libtards – DEM Senate candidate LIED about service in Vietnam . LOL!! Shocker !! http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/18/nyregion/18blumenthal.html

South Park’s creators are conservative, and so are allowed to make fun of everyone. MacFarlane is a leftie and lets political correctness determine his targets.

“South Park’s creators are conservative, and so are allowed to make fun of everyone. MacFarlane is a leftie and lets political correctness determine his targets.”

Actually, the South Park creators have consistently rejected the idea that they’re liberal OR conservative. They consider themselves to be in the middle and possibly libertarian. The recent episode where the kids write “The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs” was done, I think, largely as a response to their frustration with people trying to peg them as one or the other.

And anyways, why should it matter? There are plenty of liberal comedians who are very un-PC (the original Simpsons writers, George Carlin, Bill Maher, the Zucker brothers before one of them went nuts, etc). Even Seth McFarlane isn’t exactly PC. He’s just not very funny.

This should put the lie to anyone that says “it was just a joke”….no, it wasn’t. Comedians and people who tell jokes (not necessarily are comedians BTW), know full well that tell “jokes” is one good way to put ugly, hateful, mean information and/or your true feelings out there. But, if it offends too many, you just say “it’s just a joke”!

Too far? Not far enough! Whatever it takes to make this crap show funny.

stop being a little bitch, its funny. who cares.