Does FG go too far ?

sheldor · May 06, 2008, 06:25:32 AM

Last Sunday's episode had a quip about Michael J. Fox. I'll admit it busted me up but I thought they went a little too far on this. Any one else watch the show ?

Geekyfanboy · May 06, 2008, 07:51:44 AM

Funny you should post that.. my partner and I thought the same thing.. when they did the joke both Harry and I didn't laugh and just looked at each other and said... "Ohh That was bad". Family Guy pushed the envelope once in a while and this was just another push. It won't stop me from watching it every week but I do think they step over that line.. at least for me.

If you don't know the joke or see the show.. Peter says something like "The producers really regret casting Micheal J Fox as the new Zorro" and then they cut to the "Z" that Zorro makes with his sword and it's a huge scribble. Of course the joke is MJF has Parkinson disease and can't hold his hand steady to draw a Z.

X · May 06, 2008, 09:38:47 AM

LOL. They can never go too far. If they held back on anything it would violate the idea of the show that nothing is sacred. Sure some jokes are in better taste than others, but when you draw a line in social commentary, you make your work seem unfair because you actually protect someone.

It becomes an all or nothing situation. Not having seen this episode, I think that they have done worse in the past and that was a very light attack given their past works.

billybob476 · May 06, 2008, 09:42:34 AM

I agree with Just X, basically it's Family Guy's job to go too far.

Rico · May 06, 2008, 10:04:53 AM

I haven't watched this week's episode yet, but they do push things pretty far sometimes. Comedy is a funny thing. And I don't mean that as a joke. I try very hard to be able to laugh at myself. What I have found is if you can make fun of yourself everyone else kind of loses power over you. And I agree with some of the above, if you start telling FG what is ok to make fun of what isn't it becomes a form of censorship. And that I have never liked.

Geekyfanboy · May 06, 2008, 10:05:38 AM

Quote from: billybob476 on May 06, 2008, 09:42:34 AM
I agree with Just X, basically it's Family Guy's job to go too far.

I agree.. that's one reason why i love Family Guy.. but it definitely was one of those cringing moments.. at least for me.

sheldor · May 06, 2008, 10:31:00 AM

I think it was a little in bad taste this time because MJF is very likable and everyone has a lot of respect for him and his family.

billybob476 · May 06, 2008, 10:37:03 AM

Well that brings up an interesting point. Say MJF wasn't such a nice guy, would it be more justifiable to make fun of him?

FG has made fun of Britney Spears on many occasions and people don't seem to find that very offensive. Granted she doesn't have a terminal illness, but she obviously isn't in the best of mental health. Why are those jokes more palatable to us?

Again, I agree that FG has every right to push the envelope of taste. What I find interesting is how we react to it.

X · May 06, 2008, 10:39:44 AM

I think that OJ, Britney, and MJF all are open targets as part of the price of celeb.

Didn't south park do an AIDS episode with Magic?

Jen · May 06, 2008, 10:48:48 AM

Quote from: Rico on May 06, 2008, 10:04:53 AM
I haven't watched this week's episode yet, but they do push things pretty far sometimes. Comedy is a funny thing. And I don't mean that as a joke. I try very hard to be able to laugh at myself. What I have found is if you can make fun of yourself everyone else kind of loses power over you. And I agree with some of the above, if you start telling FG what is ok to make fun of what isn't it becomes a form of censorship. And that I have never liked.

I don't like this show. Some of their jokes are funny, but they go too far too often for my taste. So I make the choice not to watch it... and I don't hold anything against those who do.

I agree with you Rico with regards to censorship, but if I were MJF I might be inclined to consider the 'joke' a personal attack. When and where do you draw the line?

Rico · May 06, 2008, 10:59:59 AM

It's all a matter of taste I suppose. For me, using a disease for a joke is a bit much and if I wrote the show I wouldn't of written that type of thing. I put it in this type of perspective. A disease like MJF has is out of someone's control and it is a pretty cheap shot to make fun of that. However, when another celeb does something of their own free will (like something Britney typically has done) I find that much more fair game. I still find the show very funny most of the time. And the truth is when everything and everyone is fair game it does make things pretty even. Celebs have been and always will be very easy targets.

X · May 06, 2008, 11:07:40 AM

Quote from: Jen on May 06, 2008, 10:48:48 AM
I agree with you Rico with regards to censorship, but if I were MJF I might be inclined to consider the 'joke' a personal attack. When and where do you draw the line?

I don't think that you can draw a line, but I do think that if you are going to make fun of someone then MJF would be a better choice than Brittany Spears.

Sure MJF has a serious condition, but who do you think would be able to better see the joke as a joke and not see it as yet another attack?

Sometimes I think that comedians and jokes target the weakest of the herd with no consideration that they might not be up to taking the joke.

It's this reason that I don't think that a line should be drawn. Just because MJF is sick doesn't mean he wants to be treated differently. I wouldn't. If that means I become the fodder of jokes, so be it. I personally would hate to be treated like a china doll or handled with care because of a condition that I had.

Mental illness is just as serious a condition as Parkinson's but the fact that people sympathize with one condition above the other shouldn't make them immune to being the target of a joke.

And this is why I love FG. Even a joke in bad taste can cause you to think about your perspective on the world around you.

Rico · May 06, 2008, 11:53:19 AM

Is Britney Spears mentally ill?

billybob476 · May 06, 2008, 12:23:30 PM

Reportedly she is and has been for quite some time. At least this is what my celebrity-gossip consuming wife tells me.

sheldor · May 06, 2008, 12:31:29 PM

Quote from: Jen on May 06, 2008, 10:48:48 AM
I don't like this show. Some of their jokes are funny, but they go too far too often for my taste. So I make the choice not to watch it... and I don't hold anything against those who do.

I agree with you Rico with regards to censorship, but if I were MJF I might be inclined to consider the 'joke' a personal attack. When and where do you draw the line?

I doubt they targeted MJF. They would be in a heap of trouble if that were the case. Last season Marlee Matlin was the subject of one joke. Once they did a joke on Liza Minelli that I found in bad taste. I can imagine the amount of mail Fox receives on this show.