Family_Guy_Satirical_Speech

Family Guy- Extension English Speech “Damn Long Ears trying to take Easter away from Jesus”. This quote is one of the many classic examples of Family Guys satirical comments on modern day America. With its ability to entertain and educate, this hilarious animated sitcom has continuously been applauded for its excessive use of clever cut-out gags and tongue and cheek sendups of American culture. Epitomising a dysfunctional family, the show revolves around the adventures of the Peter Griffin clan; each a mask representing stereotypes of typical Americans and satires in themselves. First of all there is there is of course Peter, a larger than life caricature of Middle America. He is characterized by complete social ineptitude and an exceptionally low I.Q.; He has no personal identity of his own and is swept away by the whims of whatever comes to mind, be it patriotism, racism, anti-racism, homosexuality or family values. His character alone is a dig on how debase American society has become, the main satire the show revolves around. Then there is Lois, his wife. Lois Griffin is an atypical housewife that goes along with whatever her very inept husband says or does. While she is the character foil in all episodes, we are made to see that as a female she is powerless to overcome his stupid antics. Next there are their three children, Meg, Chris and Stewie. Meg, their teenage daughter is a caricature of teen angst. She is awkward, doesn’t fit in at school, and is constantly ridiculed and ignored by the family; Chris, their teenage son, is overweight, unintelligent and a younger version of his father in many respects; his character representing the stereotype of the unintelligent child; or the child that is always seeking their parents approval. Finally there is the youngest Stewie; a diabolical infant of ambiguous sexual orientation. He is an inversion of a child ; his adult thoughts and mannerisms creating hilarity in the juxtaposition of his mind and body. The particular episode I have chosen to talk to you about today, is in Season 2 Episode 3,”Da Boom”. Following the destruction of the world’s infrastructure and the post-apocalyptic travels of the Griffin family; this episode highlights the dysfunctions of humanity and its unhealthy dependence on technology and weaponry. The consequential now nuclear holocaust is a send up of the Y2K scare back in the 90’s. Using absurdity in the concept of pinning their hopes of survival on a Twinkie Factory, the audience is defamiliarised from the families situation, leaving them to ridicule the stupidity of how people are acting at the “end of the world”, which only in translation is the end of technology. The calm nature of the characters are incongruent with their hyperbolic situation as they are left with no food, no shelter and for some people, no sanity. At this stage, the tone of the script writer is displayed; using allusion to make the audience realize what little society takes seriously. Later on, inaugurating himself as mayor of a new town, Peter becomes a symbol for humanities love of violence, greed and power. Paradox is used when Peter decides he will make a “better” society. Instead of learning from the countries past unethical mistakes, as leader he plans to rebuild not only a replica of old America, but one just as corrupt. This is also a plot foil for the dysfunctions of humanity. The first snippet I would like to show you introduces the beginning of the plot. Buying groceries from “the 13th Step Liquor Store”; Peter talks to a man giving out chicken coupons. Prophesizing the end of the world, Peter becomes a mask of society, finding a bunny with a packet of Twix more interesting and worthy of paying attention to than an apocalypse. Being distracted by something so stupid when talking about something so serious satires peoples disregard for serious topics and how such matters fall on deaf ears. The distraction literally being a bunny creates visual humor as like their own family pet, it is anthropomorphic and absurd. (Go to 03:08; play till 03:23) The next scene takes place out the front of the Griffins home. Worried, Peter shares his learning’s with his friends, only to which they of course find amusing. Caricature is used as Peter goes on to reveal the source from which he learnt such groundbreaking news; a chicken. Exaggerating how easily humanity is manipulated into believing things , extreme irony is used as Peter believes the theory coming from not only a man in a chicken suit, but from the kind of person he said previously he wouldn’t take anything , even a chicken coupon from. (Go to 3:43; play till 3:48) Moving on to the morning after the apocalypse, already the people of Quahog face problems with shelter, food shortage and nuclear waste. Despite the exaggeration of Quagmire and Cleveland’s mutation creating humor, their conversation with Lois alludes to how wasteful society is with its vital commodities such as food and water. “When I think back on all the food we have wasted in this house “Lois admits. Absurdity is used to show just how much society really does take things such as food granted, cutting to Peter feeding the television screen. (8:30 to 8:40 or 8:48) On their endeavor to find the legendary Twinkie factory, the Griffins run into a gang of hungry citizens. Asking them for food only to find they don’t have any, the mob leader proceeds to ask them a question, after which upon answering, they can leave. Situational irony is used as the audience expects the question to be along the lines of a complicated riddle, only for them to ponder what things they could bring on a picnic. Tying in with society’s lack of appreciation of what they have, when technology is taken away, food with it, the exaggerated crazy people become caricatures that emphasize society’s laziness and inability to survive without the conveniences of technology. The purpose of this scene is to warn people that they shouldn’t be solely dependent on advancements. (Play 11:31 to 11:49) After finding and establishing a “new Quahog” , the episode moves on to satirize humanities poor choices in leaders and their ludicrous practices. Finding the factory first, Peter is crowned mayor. Dramatic irony is used here as despite his friends condoning Peter’s new role, the audiences sees how poor a decision that is. Recruiting a new town member, the man claims to be a Physician, a Doctor being a very important job in a surviving city. Absurdity is used when Peter reveals his process in employing the townsfolk into different jobs; picking them out of a hat. The irony of the doctor getting the role of town idiot creates an inversion with the doctor and Peter whom really should be town idiot. Peters inappropriate costuming also symbolizes the inappropriateness of his position. (Play 16:32 to 16:44) Moving towards the end of the episode, the audience still finds itself in the Peters Mayor Office. They discuss how much better the town is with “no crime, no guns, no pollution..” however once again Peter becomes a mask for the part of the American populous that promote violence .”You are right, we have left ourselves defenseless!” This paradox satirizes humanities inability to recognize that weaponry isn’t America’s greatest defense, but its greatest downfall. The exaggeration of a perfect town without any crime etc. juxtaposes beautifully with the idea of introducing weaponry. This encourages the audience disapprove with Peter’s opinion. (Play 17:30 – 17:38) As you can all see, in its entirety the episode Da Boom successfully targets the dysfunctions of humanity and its unhealthy dependence on technology and weaponry. It also extends to include civilizations lack of appreciation in what it has; its laziness and inability to survive without machinery; the easiness of manipulating people’s beliefs, and finally its incompetence in taking possible issues such as the 92K seriously. Furthermore, presenting these issues to the audience in a humorous light, Family Guy more than fulfills its role as an effective satire. Thank you for listening. By Jade McGlynn