Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Family Guy Episode
I was watching Family Guy the other night and in this episode Peter takes a test and finds out that he is "mentally retarded". I cringed every time I heard this label used. As a result of his discovery, he begins to change his behaviors to mimic the stereotypical behaviors of those who are mentally challenged. First, he calls an old girlfriend and tells her that she should have tests done to make sure that she didn't get it from him. He also asks Joe, who is in a wheelchair, how he deals with it. Joe, in turn tells him that he is not "mentally retarded", he is "handicapped". Then, Peter began throwing plates, going into the girls restroom and opening the stalls, getting his own food at McDonald's because "he didn't know better". This episode really frustrated me. I know they were trying to be funny, but how would someone who is mentally challenged feel after seeing this episode? I feel like I would only see them making fun of me. Also, I've always wondered why they had Joe describe himself as "handicapped" and not "disabled". According to the definition, you are handicapped when the environment is stopping you from being able to function. For example, you are disabled if you are in a wheelchair and handicapped if there is no ramp. I wonder if they knew the difference between these terms when they had Joe identify himself as "handicapped"?
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I see your point to this. I know we discussed this in class and I felt that ohhh its just Family Guy and they are trying to be funny, but like you said how would someone who had special needs feel if they saw the show. I feel like there is two ways to take it. In a sense I feel like Family Guy is poking fun more at people who have those stereotypes about people with special needs because of how much the dramatasize the whole thing, but at the same time, not everyone has the type of humor and it could really come off offensive. On the other hand Family Guy is certainly not picky about who they put joke on because there is often crude humor about woman, race, and culture. So, like I said I think its how you take the humor, some find it offensive and I really understand that, and others take it as them mocking people who truly are ignorant.
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