Why is Family Guy often used as an indication of low intelligence?

[Bosola]

None of the jokes are related to the story,

And there's the rub. SP and The Simpsons are just as guilty of this. The only difference is that they use various generic structures to get away with it. See how both shows handle 'TV-within-a-TV-show' to watch it in action. Both use ancillary action to pack in jokes, too - billboards, shop names, that kind of thing.

It's not important, anyway, because I don't watch these shows to see skilfully crafted stories, where every moment is integrated into a single, thematically relevant causality. I watch them to laugh.

 

[TheDustyBanana]

Family Guy's humor is more or less "Hey, remember this thing from pop culture (usually from the 80s)? Wasn't that cool/hilarious/awesome?". Albeit instead of actually showing the actual reference in context they just have the characters from the show re-enact it. So it's kinda like a constant stream of high school theatre adaptions of mediocre plays. It's definitely not high-brow comedy in the slightest. Granted, for the most part, it's not unwatchable though. Well, depending on the episode.

 

[Zedzero]

Because they use the exact same joke formula in every show the only one that's decent is the banter between Stewie and Brian. They pretty much run a X-ibit like formula (the meme).

 

[Vohn_exel]

My favorite parts about Family Guy usually aren't the cutaways, but there are jokes within them I find funny. Also, there's stupid humor that makes no sense, yes, but I still love it. Like in a recent episode where Peter does...something and he jumps in the air and goes "Yay!" He ends up being stuck in the air and tells Lois to go find a scientist, at the end of the episode.

Now, that was a stupid joke, it had no point to the plot, but I found it funny. To me, thats the point of entertainment. If I'm being entertained, that says that the show is doing it's job. It also seems to have no bearing, as someone else said on my intelligence. People just seem to conclude that if you're stupid, you watch Family guy. Yes it's all fart jokes, but every so often they will do something else thats funny. I don't care for the political humor, but even that can be made funny. I guess I just don't see how liking something can deternmine your intelligence in other people's eyes. I mean if you have a friend that likes Monster Truck racing, does that automatically make him an idiot?

 

[thebobmaster_v1legacy]

It's good, mindless entertainment (except for season 7. That one sucked). Of course, if it's mindless, smart people can't possibly like it. It's the same reason we have the term "Baytards". Because clearly, if you watch something for superficial reasons, and are willing to give a pass to the bad stuff about it, you are an idiot.

I like Family Guy. But I still think the funniest show I saw (while it wasn't funny all the time) was Firefly.

 

[Veritas0323]

haha i happen to love the dead kennedys

 

[Seb640]

Nearly every aspect of our entertainments (Tv Shows, Movies, Games, etc..) no matter how interactive it is, is designed to make us shut off parts of our brains, "Relax".

Yes, some entertainment try to pass a message through the medium, but in the end, it's to make us forget about our reality, "sink in another world".

Family Guy, Flash Forward or Fox News, it's only a mean to a end. Switch off.

My point is ; Why judge someone by how he switches off ?

 

[riskroWe]

You people demand too much from syndicated tv shows. You're not going to find magnificent works of art on tv, these things are made to entertain and nothing more.

And people who reference well known quotes from family guy need to go die in a hole.
I myself make obscure references to tv shows and movies in conversation but it's in a tastefully subtle way, appropriate to the situation, so anyone who picks up on them feels like they solved a puzzle.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

jeez, there is some massive hate for family guy on here...

its just a show, a cartoon adult show at that, which in no way are they trying to flaunt intelligence, so i dont know why it bothers some people on here so much, try and name some "intelligent" shows that are actually funny?

most of the smartest people i know mention family guy often and they all enjoy the show for its jokes, which personally i turn it on now and again and get a good laugh out of it

its an easy popcorn show to turn on whenever and immediately jump in and laugh at it, which is what it goes for, so just leave it at that

 

[Bat Vader]

Family Guy's humor uncreative and cheap. None of the jokes are related to the story, it's always "This is worse than the time I threw a spoon into a pool of root beer" or something. People who like the show just have a stupid idea of what's funny.

Perhaps they have different opinions on what is funny. I like Family Guy, I find it funny. Just because you don't enjoy it doesn't mean that people people have a stupid idea of whats funny.

On Topic: People who watch the show and find it funny aren't stupid. If you quote any book, show, movie, and/or video game no matter how intelligent or how stupid it may be more than giving off your own thoughts. I may find that person to have a low IQ.

 

[Super Toast]

It's okay.

Now, "The Simpsons". That's a giant piece of shit. AND ALWAYS WAS.

I gave it more than its fair chance to make me laugh. It has failed.

FANBOY RAGE! The new ones are REALLY shit, though. I think we can all agree on that.

 

[Bat Vader]

It's okay.

Now, "The Simpsons". That's a giant piece of shit. AND ALWAYS WAS.

I gave it more than its fair chance to make me laugh. It has failed.

FANBOY RAGE! The new ones are REALLY shit, though. I think we can all agree on that.

I find them to still be funny. Not as funny as a decade ago but it isn't completely bad. The season that is on now seems to be funnier.

 

[DragonChi]

Ok, I consider myself to be a fairly intelligent person. And I very much enjoy crude humor from Family Guy and South Park. I love silly/stupid humor. My sense of humor is very diverse. Just because some humor is silly doesn't mean your unintelligent by any means for watching it. I also watch shows like Frasier which is REALLY smart, and I get most of their jokes because I'm a very cultured person, so likewise, I find that show hilarious. So I think its really unfair and rude to claim someone has lower intelligence solely based on what comedy they watch.

And for the record, Family Guy is genius. They have a lot of clever jokes that only cultured people would understand AND jokes for younger people. Also Seth MacFarlane is a very talented person. He does half the voices on that show. So try not to ram so much negativity down their throats. If you don't like it, don't watch it. Doesn't mean you have to bash it and its watchers.

 

[Bat Vader]

People who judge another persons IQ just based on what TV show they watch are the dumb ones.

They need to be reminded that other people have opinions different to theirs. I like Family Guy, I find it quite funny. I also like Shakespeare, Poe, Tolkien, and The Divine Comedy.

If people are going to judge others than it is best they get all the information before passing judgment.

 

[BonsaiK]

Quoting something from a TV show - ANY TV show - in conversation marks you out as someone who is unable to have original thoughts and think for themselves. Family Guy in particular cops a lot of flak because it is simply not that good a show - it's an inferior clone of The Simpsons in almost every single respect. The humour is duller and more obvious, the characters are poorer, it's not as original, it really is "The Simpsons for people who are too dim to understand the multi-layered humour of The Simpsons". So the general thinking of people is this: if you're going to be unoriginal and boring in your conversations, and crib lines from a TV show because you lack a personality, a sense of individuality or the ability to make witty remarks of your own, at least show people you have better TV-watching taste than Family Guy. That's the reason why people get criticised for it, as far as I can tell.

Three points:

1) Originality is not the hallmark of quality. Those who hold out for a completely original show will be forever disappointed. One of the first things you learn when trying to engage books, television or movies beyond the surface is that all characters, plots, situations and even jokes have been done before and better. For further reading, see Joseph Campbell, Yahtzee on this website, George Lucas and the "Simpsons Already Did it" episode of South Park.

2) You call the humor of "The Simpsons" multi-layered, then say "Family Guy" is for the dim. On one level, yes, Seth MacFarlane is making dick jokes. On another, he deconstructing the last 30 years of pop culture, making ongoing commentary on contemporary morality and questioning the limits of basic narrative elements like character (On what level is Stewie a baby? An adult? In what ways is Brian a dog and how is he like us?) and plot (how much can events in a story stray from normal context or even causality?). It might not be your cup of tea, but anyone with an education and a critical eye can find a lot on "Family Guy" to stimulate some thought.

3) My wife and I quote "Family Guy" to one another to shortcut a few rather complex ideas in a few words. Example: when I am being particularly immature and needy, she will say, "You want some apple juice?" to indicate that I am displaying an infantile need for attention and, nevertheless, she is going to indulge me. Do we lack original thoughts because we engage in this "Family Guy" shorthand? No, we are acknowledging the inherent truth in a scene between Peter and Meg and finding it relevant to our own lives. This is the essence of artistic expression and criticism.

In other words: "Family Guy" does not lack wit. You don't know what wit is.

1. I can accept something not being totally original. Most things aren't. However Family Guy is a little more than just not totally original. It's a complete clone of The Simpsons in almost every respect, from the way the program uses social commentary right down to the main characters' family structure.

2. Nonsense. This is like saying that Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck are "raising questions" because they are talking animals. Family Guy does attempt to deconstruct pop culture, because the Simpsons does it, so Family Guy, being a straight-down-the-line Simpsons rip-off, has to naturally follow suit. Family Guy however just does a very poor job of it compared to The Simpsons (in its prime).

3. No, it's the essence of not having genuine ideas of your own about how to communicate thoughts to each other, or perhaps just being too lazy to bother. Sure, quoting from a TV show cuts out a few needless words and is less effort, but why use someone else's personality when you can use your own?

 

[TankCopter]

I would say it's because Family Guy's particular brand of humour tends to be non-sequiturs and toilet humour or pop-culture references that don't make much sense unless you watch it when it was made. That kind of humour is all well and good, but Family Guy uses them a bit much and relies on the same setups all the time- It's always Peter having a flashback or some such.

Still, people seem to overreact to it a lot. I don't like Family Guy much because the humour annoys me, so I don't watch it. I watch something I like instead. Simple as that. If it means I have to fork out for some DVDs, so be it. There's no point hating everyone who likes Family Guy or branding them as idiots, because if I did I'd hate everyone I know.

 

[BlumiereBleck]

I also hate how family guy is always shoving seth mcfarlens views down our throats saying that anything else makes you stupid. Wake up seth you're the real dumbass.