MacFarlane: Boldly Undermining People for the Sake of Comedy

American Dad

Seth MacFarlane is not a stranger to most Americans. He is best known for his animated television series “Family Guy” (1999-). Seth MacFarlane has played quite a hand in the television and movie industry writing and producing more than five television shows and movies that have proven to be quite successful. So one may ask, what is the secret of his success? Most would agree all of his work revolves around crudeness. He has been known for pushing buttons and taking things too far. MacFarlane recently hosted the Oscars, which led people to say, whoa…too far. The Atlantic said, “If only he’d kept his mouth shut more frequently.” MacFarlane has America talking, is that only based off his well-known crude humor? In his shows like “Family Guy” and “American Dad” I see more than just the crude jokes, but overt racism. Seth MacFarlane cannot mask his jokes in crude humor, but they are plainly seen as racism.

Recently I watched some episodes of “American Dad”(2005-). “American Dad” is an animated comedy about a CIA agent and his family who live in Langley Falls, Virginia. This television show, though seemingly lighthearted, due to it animation, is dipped in political, racist, sexist, age-ist, and homophobic jokes. I watched an episode in which the family is moved to Saudi Arabia. The episode contained a lot of racist and sexist overtones that were too hard to ignore.

Stan, the main character of this show, is a married father of two, an “American dad”. Stan is very masculine in his demeanor, a sports loving, gun wielding, republican. His wife Francine is a housewife, isn’t very intelligent, cooks and cleans all day, and is frequently wearing yellow rubber gloves, insisting that she is a “typical housewife”. Stan’s children are Haley and Steve. Haley is stereotyped as a liberal drug user who goes out of her way to press her views on others just like her father. Steve is a self-proclaimed geek, who would rather watch Star Trek than go out for sports like his father would want. Both kids are a drain on Stan’s principles of manliness and Republican views. Stan’s overt “American-ness” causes much dysfunction within his family and in everyday situations. Seth MacFarlane displays many racist and sexist overtones through the character Stan.

MacFarlane displays racism in a particular episode of “American Dad” where the CIA relocates the family to the Middle East. Before the big move actually occurs, there are many jokes made about Stan’s daughter Haley. She goes to a Michael Moore documentary and is criticized for her vegetarian food choices. Stan continues demeaning his family by lamenting about how his wife doesn’t submit to his authority. Later in the same episode racism is displayed without question when a scene from the 1960’s is shown. Stan walks by a diner that reads, “Whites Only” and a black man is shown trying to enter. Before the black man can enter the diner, two policemen promptly spray him with a hose with a K-9 unit, snarling close behind. Apparently this show makes light the injustices committed during the civil rights movement. The Washington Post reports that gags against African-Americans apparently are brushed off lightly by the shows growing number of African-American viewers. However that episode displays racism in a very blatant manor and is supposed to be seen as comical. Racism is still very prevalent in American society, and we can see that through the mind of Seth MacFarlane.

The racism continues to seep through the episode not only by cracking jokes at the expense of African American, but also Saudi Arabians. We find out that Stan’s boss, Bollock transferred Stan to Saudi Arabia as a punishment for ruining his birthday party. At his new job Stan is hitting golf balls with his co-workers. As a co-worker hits his ball it explodes, insinuating that Saudi Arabia is littered with explosives and dangerous materials. His co-worker then starts singing and is shot by two men who say, “no singing”. This view displays Saudi Arabia as a cold, non-creative, strict country.

Later on when Stan gets a second wife, which is apparently a custom in this show’s view of the Middle East, he admits he can’t pronounce her name and says he just calls her “Thundercat”. This chauvinist attitude shows no knowledge or acceptance for Middle Eastern culture at the base level of names of other human beings. This misogynistic view of Stan’s new wife is very disrespectful to both the woman and the culture he is refusing to even attempt to understand. The Middle East is a bit of a rough spot in most Americans minds with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but MacFarlane uses these issues to just humiliate Middle Eastern countries. He uses stereotypes that have developed because of the war in the Middle East to his advantage. 

As shown in “American Dad”, MacFarlane will stop at nothing to get a laugh employing jokes layered in racism, sexism, and overall disrespect of anyone/thing that falls in his sights. A simple Google search will indicate that I am not the only one who sees beyond his layered comedy. The Google search provides websites criticizing his new show, “Dads” (2013-) for the racist and sexist content. MacFarlane is back at it again; racism and sexism seem to be the signature to his all too successful empire.

Sources

France, Lisa Respers. "Sorry, Seth MacFarlane, but Not Everybody Loved You." CNN. Cable News Network, 25 Feb. 2013. Web. 24 Oct. 2013.

Fox Broadcasting. "American Dad." American Dad. Fox, n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2013.

McEwen, Lauren. "‘American Dad’: One of the Most Sophisticated Mainstream Shows on African American Culture." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 12 Oct. 2012. Web. 21 Oct. 2013.

Sacks, Ethan. "Seth MacFarlane Sitcom 'Dads' Won't Reshoot Scenes Deemed 'racist' by Asian American Watchdog Group." NY Daily News. Daily News, 20 Aug. 2013. Web. 22 Oct. 2013.

"Seth MacFarlane Biography." Bio. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2013.