Seth MacFarlane...
For the most part, I've found the stuff you do reasonably funny. Yeah, violent and off color at times, but in years past it wasn't aimed at anyone in particular or non-realistic characters (i.e. giant chickens...)
I watched an episode of Family Guy tonight, though, and there was so much wrong with it...
It made extensive fun of an MtF character. This could have been an episode that was progressive. This could have handled the situation in a graceful and enlightened way that still could have been funny. It could have been a progression of general misunderstanding that moved in to acceptance.
At the very least, it could have used appropriate and respectful terminology.
but 97% of the episode portrayed the character as disgusting, if not untouchably revolting. It called the character "he" throughout the whole episode, it insisted that she was gay, it portrayed the character as a sexual deviant (and the concept of sexual interaction with her caused an extended vomit sequence...). The very things she touched were "contaminated" (she brings a dessert to a dinner, the mother tells the daughter to throw the dessert in to the 'outside garbage can').
The only redeeming quality was that 1 character, the trans woman's son, was understanding at the end of the episode, and that she was able to explain to him that she had been unhappy for years, but now she was being who she needed to be. But the other characters' disgust was never addressed, never confronted.
I don't want to sound overly sensitive, but jesus, the trans community is CONSTANTLY met with violence and disgust. Just read the statistics on hate crimes, visit "Remember our dead", to get an idea of what this kind of disgust and fear and hate causes. I'm already terrified of getting my ass beaten any time I go out. I DO NOT need a popular tv show aimed at young males (the group most likely to act violently towards me) to reinforce stereotypes about how inhuman trans people are.
Seth MacFarlane, I understand wanting to push the envelope, I understand trying to be edgy, but that episode just hurt.
I watched an episode of Family Guy tonight, though, and there was so much wrong with it...
It made extensive fun of an MtF character. This could have been an episode that was progressive. This could have handled the situation in a graceful and enlightened way that still could have been funny. It could have been a progression of general misunderstanding that moved in to acceptance.
At the very least, it could have used appropriate and respectful terminology.
but 97% of the episode portrayed the character as disgusting, if not untouchably revolting. It called the character "he" throughout the whole episode, it insisted that she was gay, it portrayed the character as a sexual deviant (and the concept of sexual interaction with her caused an extended vomit sequence...). The very things she touched were "contaminated" (she brings a dessert to a dinner, the mother tells the daughter to throw the dessert in to the 'outside garbage can').
The only redeeming quality was that 1 character, the trans woman's son, was understanding at the end of the episode, and that she was able to explain to him that she had been unhappy for years, but now she was being who she needed to be. But the other characters' disgust was never addressed, never confronted.
I don't want to sound overly sensitive, but jesus, the trans community is CONSTANTLY met with violence and disgust. Just read the statistics on hate crimes, visit "Remember our dead", to get an idea of what this kind of disgust and fear and hate causes. I'm already terrified of getting my ass beaten any time I go out. I DO NOT need a popular tv show aimed at young males (the group most likely to act violently towards me) to reinforce stereotypes about how inhuman trans people are.
Seth MacFarlane, I understand wanting to push the envelope, I understand trying to be edgy, but that episode just hurt.