Open Letter To Seth McFarlane
(Note: This is a repost of the original).
Dear Seth,
I am a big fan of your show (note the singular there. American Dad just okay…and we will not discuss the Cleveland show.) and watch it as often as I can. You seem to be under some sort of internet backlash at the moment where it has become cool to hate Family Guy. Sometimes when South Park says “Jump” internet losers like me will say “How high?”. But I have always defended you. But lately it has become harder and harder to do that. I guess what I’m saying is:
You are coming across like a huge misogynist douche. Cut it out.
Let’s rewind the clock a little. I watched your show right from the beginning, and I was one of the ones who was delighted to hear that the network came crawling back to you on their hands and knees. And I continued to enjoy the new episodes. I didn’t care that there were too many cut aways.That’s what the show was about. I always said it was less like a sitcom and more like a sketch show with a loosely connected thread of plot. I liked it that way. “Manatee” comments be damned. When I heard the phrase “This is worse than the time I…” I actually perked up. I liked how you play with the fourth wall, I like the Stewie Brian dynamic. I liked how you put the whole “Kill Lois” thing to bed once and for all, and moved on. I even liked the random and wanton acts of cruelty toward Meg. At First. Because that’s her character. It’s been established, Meg is a punching bag. Chris is an idiot with moments of clarity. Peter is irredeemably stupid and obnoxious. Stewie is a flamboyant genius infant, Lois is the feisty suburban sexpot, and Brian is the voice of reason.
I get that.
But then you started doing your other shows, and they were..okay. But they just seemed like watered down versions of this show. And mark my words, That variety special you tried? THAT will be your Star Wars Holiday Special. That thing is several different kinds of awful and it will haunt you to your grave. It was Biblically bad. and by that I mean If I was Pharaoh and I had Jewish slaves, and then Moses showed me that variety special, I would let them go. (Passover Joke yo! Hello Jewish Correctness readers!)
But I digress.
As your attention went to other cartoon sitcoms, bad vanity projects and a You Tube Series (Seriously? You don’t have enough to do in a day?) the quality on your flagship lessened somewhat. You began to coast on shock. And to generate your shock, you have decided to have at least one joke about the raping, beating or humiliating a woman per episode. More often than not, you manage to hit all three. And not just Meg either, although Meg’s mistreatment has escalated dramatically.
The last full episode I saw looked to be clear sailing until Robert Mitchum slapped a woman so hard her ear bled.
My wife not only leaves the room in a huff every time I put it on, she hurls invectives at the television from all the way upstairs.
Now I’ll digress again for a moment to discuss my wife and her sense of humor if I may. (Hi Amber! Love you) She doesn’t like cruelty in her comedy at all. She gets satire, she just doesn’t like it. Despite my desperate soap boxing about how Blazing Saddles is actually an ardent ANTI racist film, she is put off by people behaving in a racist way.
That’s how I started to justify all of the violence toward women on Family Guy. The Blazing Saddles argument. “They are satirizing the douche bags that beat the women, they aren’t suggesting it’s cool to beat women” but more and more I am starting to see her side of things. It’s off putting in both its frequency and it’s intensity.
Even if it wasn’t violence against women, even if it was something else entirely, even something non controversial, the fact that you keep going back to the well like that is just lazy. It’s funny in an episode, where the repetition is the point (I still laugh whenever I hear “Bird is the word”) but stretched out over a whole couple of seasons, again and again someone is beaten, or raped…it’s lost its initial shock value and has drifted into the realm of creepy.
So…here is what I suggest.
Cancel The Clevland show, it’s derivative crap and you know it. It’s also the LEAST interesting character you could have made a spin off from. Forget the Internet, all your stuff will end up on there eventually anyway, don’t worry about it for now. Take some time and FOCUS on saving Family Guy from itself. Roll up your sleeves and bring the funny…WITHOUT the beatings and the rapings. Challenge yourself. See if you can go one season without a woman getting the pimp hand. This will force you to be WAY more creative in how you deal with Meg, at any rate. I’m not saying you have to be nice to her, that’s out of character, just find less obvious ways to make her life miserable.
AND NO MORE VARIETY SPECIALS!!! I Mean it!
Sincerely,
Tony Binns
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Comments (15)
RobbieRobTown said on 30-03-2010
RobbieRobTown
I second that, I have had to walk away from quite a few episodes of Family Guy. And occasionally South Park. That’s satire, you can’t please everyone.
SeriouslyAGeekGirl said on 30-03-2010
SeriouslyAGeekGirl
So…could you please actually send this to him?
KevinK said on 30-03-2010
KevinK
Here’s an idea, albeit one only slightly related to your post. Make Family Guy two 8-minute plots with random sketches peppered throughout. I’m tired of seeing Family Guy develop a plot for the first third of the show only to completely abandon it for another with very little connection. I’m not even talking about subplots, the show will literally just jump from plot A to plot B half way through. Why not just go the whole way, make two distinct half-episodes, and save us a minute or two of pointless connecting exposition. That and rampant soapboxing are probably the shows two biggest flaws.
1/4 20 said on 30-03-2010
1/4 20
family guy has gone the way of the simpsons. they can no longer provide humor and should be shitcanned. now if i am in the mood for some cartoon humor i will most always turn to southpark (for the damn good social commentary) or looney tunes (for the damn good violence).
Ringo said on 30-03-2010
Ringo
I would normally throw in some Beatle related story, but today, I won’t.
You’re right on the money. The violence toward women is not funny.
It was, in fact, the Robert Mitchum cut-away-straw that broke my back. The whole season came crumbling down.
Yes, Tony… see if you can’t get this to him.
Peace AND LOVE DAMN IT!!
Ringo,
p.s.
I do love American Dad. It really hit it’s stride after a pretty shaky take off. The cruelty is psychological and spread around nicely.
Tyler Hawkins said on 30-03-2010
Tyler Hawkins
I thought the last episode was where Stewie got knocked unconscious. Anyway, yes we need less violence towards women, and if I wanted to see that I could always watch CSI:Miami, starring stuck up, self righteous douchbags. I second or fourth, what Tony was saying. I think though that the Simpsons and Family Guy are still great!
Keith said on 30-03-2010
Keith
The Southpark ep had the opposite reaction in me. It was so critical of the core comedy of Family Guy (requiters) that I started thinking “but what are the jokes about Southpark? Anti-Semitic jokes, fat jokes, irony and cynicism”
I still watch Family Guy but haven’t watched a Southpark since.
and boy howdy does the Cleveland Show suck.
The M-Daddy said on 30-03-2010
The M-Daddy
I actually walked away from “The Cleveland Show” on Sunday. I’ve never walked away from a prime-time cartoon I started watching in my life (even ‘Family Dog’) That was a new low.
What am I? Fifth? I Fifth or whatever what you say, T.
Cormac said on 30-03-2010
Cormac
This is what happens when you give a guy a 100 million dollar contract to make shows for your station. Eventually the start coming up with crap to keep the network bigwigs happy.
Like the old saying says, you can lead a horse to water but can you make Seth step back from the brink?
Lisa said on 31-03-2010
Lisa
Bravo, Tony! Beautifully written. I hope your letter gets to the dude!
inmate said on 31-03-2010
inmate
A self righteous, semi oblivious man has family issues related to his speaking non-human friend who lives with him while his sexually repressed wife attempts to liberate herself and the children do things inappropriate for those twice their age.
Worked once. Twice was noticeably worse, but still not bad. I refuse to watch the Cleveland Show.
The Simpsons have gone downhill, but not (just) because they don’t have game anymore. We are used to it. South Park has just started down this road and is obviously running out of original material (e.g. Tiger Woods episode).
We liked Family Guy because it promised to never get old. The cut-away gags gave an excuse for entirely unrelated jokes to keep an episode fresh and expand the repertoire of the writers infinitely.
Now it is all about the rape and abuse jokes that are only effective when used sparingly.
We deserve new material from new writers and new drawing styles.
Or we could abandon television all together and go to text. Whatever.
1/4 20 said on 31-03-2010
1/4 20
I agree that we should abandon the tube. i must disagree that southpark is running out of original ideas. maybe early in its life the vulgar/shock tactic worked, but southpark is maturing as a show. the tiger woods episode is proof of that. no longer do we swear and imitate others (shows), now we see how screwy real life is and take full advantage of it. the dolphin/whale episode is another wonderful example.
Saywha? said on 02-04-2010
Saywha?
Weighing in as a woman who catches the shows (Simpsons, Family Guy, American Dad, and King of the Hill) in gathering infrequency; due to my young child, I too must concur with the men folk. Family Guy has changed from the “Wow can anyone be that stunned?! HA HA ha…” to “That is truly awful. What else is on?”
Specifically I would address the treatment of Meg. She is the show’s punching bag. I get it. I understand the joke. Mel Brooks can be quoted as stating that a gag is only funny if it is used 3 times during the routine.
You’d think her mother, at the very least, would try to love her considering how much the rest of the cast, with the lone hold out being Brian, demean her.
I turned Family Guy off the night I saw Meg face down her mother after the confession that Lois was making a play for Meg’s new boyfriend. I was sickened to watch Meg rip a tooth from her head, the hate-filled words thrown at her mother (who deserved some of it) and the lengths that Meg would go for “love”. Amazing, look at how her family failed her. That Meg felt that she had to go so far simply for someone to care for her and not treat her like dogshit.
I realize it is satire; makes you think, makes you squirm, makes you laugh. However I must point out that Meg’s soliloquy was an evidentiary act proving how damaged she has become and broken her grasp of self.
Dear readers of the Correctness, we should voice our concerns and you, Seth, creator on high should listen. We the watchers, we the consumers, we the folks on this forum and the reason you are making money, are not amused.
Continual abuse of women is not cool nor is it funny. The pedophile living up the street and whistle-talking at Chris is cute because we think Chris is safe. Trust me, if Chris’ tender flesh was violated on air no one would laugh when Old Man pedobear is chasing him.
Well just as I don’t want to see some limp dick trying to cop a feel on a underage cartoon character, I don’t want to see one more woman, Meg included, treated like a punching bag, rape joke and generally the doormat at the exit of the cow barn.
Tomass said on 31-03-2010
Tomass
Send him the fucking letter!
Caleb said on 03-04-2010
Caleb
Don’t know if Family Guy lost a key writer (see the Simpsons progressively getting worse after Conan O’Brian left the writing staff) or if they are just getting rich and bored, but I have not liked it for a few seasons. Moments of genius now and then, but mostly recycled jokes. South Park is genius all the time, much more original, funny, and better thought out. Perhaps it helps Trey and Matt to be working for Comedy Central and not have the right boot of Murdoch planted up their ass. (Like how I used the “right” boot for that line? Now that’s social commentary!)
