The press covers for FAMILY GUY
In the midst of a so-so episode Sunday, FAMILY GUY announced (via the
character Peter) that it was "scaling back" from gay jokes. This led to
repetition, not reporting. Here's THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER:
Executive producers Alec Sulkin and Rich Appel confirmed the move, telling TV Line that it was an effort for the series — which launched in 1999 — to better reflect the current landscape.
"If you look at a show from 2005 or 2006 and put it side by side with a show from 2018 or 2019, they’re going to have a few differences," Sulkin said. "Some of the things we felt comfortable saying and joking about back then, we now understand is not acceptable."
Added Appel: "If a show has literally been on the air for 20 years, the culture changes. And it’s not us reacting and thinking, 'They won’t let us [say certain things].' No, we’ve changed too. The climate is different, the culture is different and our views are different. They’ve been shaped by the reality around us, so I think the show has to shift and evolve in a lot of different ways."
Here's VULTURE:
What a load of s**t.
"You've got AIDS!"
I'm sorry, am I the only one who remembers that?
In what time period in the last 20 years was that okay?
"You've got AIDS! Not HIV but full blown AIDS!"
In what world was it funny or appropriate to have a barber shop quartet mocking a gay man? Making fun of him for having AIDS?
The climate is different? That was always offensive.
It's amazing how eager the so-called press is to give FAMILY GUY a pass. And that's long before we get into all the 'swish' jokes about Bruce over the years.
I'm not objecting to gay as humor. I thought the "Family Gay" episode was often funny (though, again, with conversion therapy, they felt the need for total 'swish' which is usually the only way FAMILY GUY portrays gays).
I am objecting to what was offensive even 20 years ago.
So they're finally moving a little forward? I might take that seriously if they were taking any accountability. But they won't and the media won't provide the context or reality of what has gone down.
Going out with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Executive producers Alec Sulkin and Rich Appel confirmed the move, telling TV Line that it was an effort for the series — which launched in 1999 — to better reflect the current landscape.
"If you look at a show from 2005 or 2006 and put it side by side with a show from 2018 or 2019, they’re going to have a few differences," Sulkin said. "Some of the things we felt comfortable saying and joking about back then, we now understand is not acceptable."
Added Appel: "If a show has literally been on the air for 20 years, the culture changes. And it’s not us reacting and thinking, 'They won’t let us [say certain things].' No, we’ve changed too. The climate is different, the culture is different and our views are different. They’ve been shaped by the reality around us, so I think the show has to shift and evolve in a lot of different ways."
Here's VULTURE:
According
to fellow executive producer Rich Appel, stepping back from a genre of
jokes that may have once felt “acceptable” is particularly (and glaring)
obvious for a long-running series. (See also: the ongoing argument over The Simpsons’s Apu Nahasapeemapetilon.) “It’s almost unique to Family Guy,
though I can think of one other show that’s been on the air longer,”
says Appel. “But if a show has literally been on the air for 20 years,
the culture changes.” For reference, Family Guy initially debuted on Fox on January 31, 1999.
And
in case you’re wondering if the network simply passed down an
(extremely late-to-the-party) edict for Seth McFarlane’s brain child to
follow, the show’s EPs insist the retreat from gay jokes stems from the
writers room itself. “[I]t’s not us reacting and thinking, ‘They won’t
let us [say certain things],’” says Appel. “No, we’ve changed too. The
climate is different, the culture is different and our views are
different. They’ve been shaped by the reality around us, so I think the
show has to shift and evolve in a lot of different ways.”
What a load of s**t.
"You've got AIDS!"
I'm sorry, am I the only one who remembers that?
In what time period in the last 20 years was that okay?
"You've got AIDS! Not HIV but full blown AIDS!"
In what world was it funny or appropriate to have a barber shop quartet mocking a gay man? Making fun of him for having AIDS?
The climate is different? That was always offensive.
It's amazing how eager the so-called press is to give FAMILY GUY a pass. And that's long before we get into all the 'swish' jokes about Bruce over the years.
I'm not objecting to gay as humor. I thought the "Family Gay" episode was often funny (though, again, with conversion therapy, they felt the need for total 'swish' which is usually the only way FAMILY GUY portrays gays).
I am objecting to what was offensive even 20 years ago.
So they're finally moving a little forward? I might take that seriously if they were taking any accountability. But they won't and the media won't provide the context or reality of what has gone down.
Going out with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"