Criticism of Family Guy

The animated series Family Guy has been the target of numerous complaints concerning taste and indecency. Parents Television Council has expressed moral opposition to the series, and filed complaints with the Federal Communications Commission over allegedly indecent content.

Criticism also originates from animators concerning quality and originality. While most attention has been given to the moral criticisms (i.e. crude and blue humor), stylistic content and thin storytelling with a loose plot and overuse of "cutaway sequences" have drawn criticism. The animated sitcoms South Park and The Simpsons have both poked fun of the show's writing and organization.

Moral criticism and controversy

A few controversies have occurred over the series' jokes about a number of sensitive issues. The "You Have AIDS" sequence, in which Peter Griffin dances and sings in a barbershop quartet fashion around the bed of a man with end-stage AIDS about his diagnosis, drew protests from several AIDS service organizations. In his 2006 book The Decency Wars: The Campaign to Cleanse American Culture , author Frederick S. Lane described Family Guy as among several television sitcoms that premiered in the 1980s and 1990s he felt were "aimed at the darker side of family life".

Parents Television Council

The Parents Television Council, a watchdog group founded by L. Brent Bozell III of the Media Research Center, has a stated mission to "promote and restore responsibility and decency to the entertainment industry", has published outspoken critical views of Family Guy . Initially, the PTC had speculated that Family Guy would be "pushing the envelope" before the series' 1999 premiere. In May 2000, in its weekly "E-Alert" email newsletter, the PTC launched a letter-writing campaign to the Fox network to persuade the network to cancel Family Guy following a return from a long hiatus in the show's second season, due to what the PTC claimed were "strong advertiser resistance and low ratings".

Family Guy made the PTC's 2000, 2005 and 2006 lists of "worst prime-time shows for family viewing", having been chosen and several Family Guy episodes were chosen as "Worst TV Shows of the Week" for reasons of profanity, animated nudity and violence. The Council has frequently noted that the series was among the most popular shows among children aged 2 to 12, cautioning parents that children will be attracted by the show because of its animated format while asserting that the series is suitable only for adults. Family Guy was also named the worst show of the 2006-2007 season by the PTC. The PTC has also objected to Fox scheduling Family Guy during early primetime hours due to their concerns of children being likely to watch the series.

Additionally, the PTC, which has generated most of the indecency complaints received by the United States Federal Communications Commission, has twice filed formal FCC complaints about Family Guy . The first indecency complaint, following the January 2005 rebroadcast of "And the Wiener Is...", was denied by the FCC on the grounds "that because of the absence of explicit or graphic descriptions or depictions of any sexual organ, along with the absence of shocking, pandering, and/or titillating effect, the episode ... is not patently offensive." In November 2005, during "sweeps" period for the 2005-2006 television season, the Parents Television Council launched a campaign for its members to file indecency complaints to the FCC for the episode "PTV", the Family Guy episode that satirized the FCC, for its sexually explicit humor. However, the PTC had expressed doubt over whether they would formally complain to the FCC over that episode; the PTC has not logged any complaints filed through their website. In fact, that episode was highlighted in the Fox special TV's Funniest Moments that was broadcast on June 1, 2007; a rerun of the program on August 20 that year was named "Worst of the Week" by the PTC, noting that the "PTV" episode was among the highlights in the special. On March 11, 2009, PTC filed complaints about the episode "Family Gay" over claims that the episode contained sexual content in violation of indecency law. Then on December 15, 2009, PTC filed an indecency complaint about the episode "Business Guy" two days after its airdate, citing a scene including a lap dance as a possible violation of federal law regarding broadcast decency.

The PTC have also accused Fox of failing to include "S" (sexual content) and "V" (violence) descriptors in content ratings for some Family Guy episodes, part of what they consider a pattern of broadcast networks of giving programs inaccurate ratings. Additionally, the Council has asked Family Guy sponsors Wrigley Company and Burger King to stop advertising for the show and has frequently accused the Fox network of what they perceive as the show being marketed to children. Several weeks following the 2007 Writers Guild of America strike, PTC TV Trends columnist Christopher Gildemeister recommended that fans of Family Guy watch other animated shows that he had claimed were less vulgar: The Flintstones , The Jetsons , and The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show , although he also wrote that The Flintstones and The Jetsons were "every bit as intelligent as Family Guy , even if they lack its lascivious and grotesque elements". On January 2, 2008, The Washington Times reported that the Cadbury Adams company told the PTC that it would discreetly sponsor Family Guy based on a preview of episode content.

Family Guy executive producer David Goodman responded to the PTC's criticisms by claiming that Family Guy is "absolutely for teenagers and adults" and he does not allow his two children to watch the show.

Allegations of religious bigotry

The group Answers in Genesis accused the show of being anti-Christian for mocking creationism in the episode "Petarded". Also, Entertainment Weekly TV critic Ken Tucker criticized the show for being anti-Semitic. In 1999, L. Brent Bozell III wrote that he felt the episode "Holy Crap" promoted anti-Catholicism.

The Parents Television Council has criticized what it perceives as Family Guy' s negative treatment of religion, concluding in its 2006 report Faith in a Box: Entertainment Television and Religion 2005-2006 that "mockery of God is a constant" on the show.

On October 3, 2007, the Bourne Company publishing house, sole owner of the song "When You Wish Upon a Star", filed a lawsuit against the makers of Family Guy , claiming copyright infringement over the song "I Need a Jew". The suit claims harm to the value of the song due to the offensive nature of the lyrics. On March 16, 2009, U.S. District Judge Deborah Batts ruled that Family Guy did not infringe copyright when they transformed the song "When You Wish Upon a Star" for comical use in an episode.

Sarah Palin controversy

In February 2010, following the airing of the episode "Extra Large Medium", in which Ellen, a female character with Down Syndrome, mentions that her mother is a former governor of Alaska, Bristol Palin, daughter of former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, criticized the show for mocking her brother Trig, who has Down syndrome, and people with special needs in general. Stating on her mother's Facebook page, "If the writers of a particularly pathetic cartoon show thought they were being clever in mocking my mom and my family yesterday, they failed." Sarah Palin herself also criticized the episode in an appearance on The O'Reilly Factor , calling those who made the show "cruel, cold-hearted people."

MacFarlane responded that the series uses biting satire as the basis of its humor, and that it was an "equal-opportunity offender".

Andrea Fay Friedman, the actress and public speaker who voiced Ellen, and who herself has Down syndrome, responded to the criticisms, saying that the Palin joke in the show was aimed at Sarah and not her son, and that "former Governor Palin does not have a sense of humor." In a subsequent interview Friedman rebuked Palin personally, saying she was angry with Sarah Palin for using her son Trig as a political prop to pander for votes, that she has a normal life and that Palin's son Trig should be treated as normal rather than like a "loaf of bread."

MacFarlane characterized Palin's outrage as a presumptuous attempt to defend people with Down syndrome, and characterizing Friedman's statement as her way of saying that she does not need feigned pity from Sarah Palin.

Media critics

In addition, Family Guy has been panned by some media critics. Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly has frequently panned the show, grading it with a "D", and naming it the worst show of the 1999-2000 television season. Tucker responded to a reader's question in 2005 that he continued to dislike the series. Mark Graham noted "MacFarlane's incredibly rocky relationship with both the magazine and its lead television critic, Ken Tucker" in a blog on the New York magazine website.

In the commentary for the Family Guy direct-to-video film, Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story , Seth MacFarlane notes that Entertainment Weekly had been much nicer to them recently, giving them a cover story upon their return to the air. In that same film, Stewie breaks the neck of an Entert