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

[Jiggabyte]

Family Guy is stupid, but that's sort of why I like it, I guess. I can see why people hate it, but I don't, against my natural instincts as an elitist douchebag.

 

[Rensenhito]

Using 'funny' quotes as a substitute for a real sense of humor is pretty lame anyway, Family Guy or not. And Family Guy is a very stupid show...

I won't go as far as judging someone's intelligence on what TV shows he watches (mostly in fear of people finding out I watch Project Runway and using it against me ), but if you quote something like Family Guy a lot you're not exactly showcasing your intelligence.

Well then, you've certainly dismantled the entire English department of every high school and college in the world, because English essay writing is nothing if not an exercise in quotation.
Besides, the ability to recall exact quotations from ANYTHING is a sign of at least some degree of intelligence.

I mean, I like Family Guy and I made the Dean's List last semester. Go figure, right? I must be a secret moron. Like the opposite of Urkel.

 

[A Weary Exile]

The show has really taken a nosedive in quality in the last year or so, I really just can't watch it anymore. I still like to watch the good (Older) episodes on Adult Swim though.

 

[Booze Zombie]

Quoting a humorous thing is alright for people who know the source material, but endlessly repeating it gets very annoying, regardless of your knowledge of the source material.

Anyway, Family Guy it's self is steadily getting more and more pointless, it seems, I guess that could be why.
The jokes seem to be very lack luster in later episodes, almost hitting Ricky Gervais levels of akwardness in some scenes.

Could be that.

 

[Housebroken Lunatic]

Of course your risking your job as a comedian and most of it was aired on television as well. I'd say they have more balls than anyone else to start this trend.

No you don't. As a comedian you might risk your reputation by joking about certain topics, and that in itself MIGHT (not a guarantee) lead to that you get less gigs than usual.

Being a stand-up comedian is like freelance work and you are your own boss. You don't really have to answer to any corporate douchebag just because of the things you say. And the fact is that even if you joke about something out of line and the guy who hired you to preform for the evening doesn't like it, he still has to pay you for that nights work.

This is entirely different from having a full time job at a television network, because it's more of a joint effort than anything else, and if something gets the go ahead to get aired a lot more people are risking their jobs than a single stand-up comedian. Add to the fact that working with cartoons isn't exactly the biggest market in the world (you only have so many companies doing it after all, it's a pretty small number compared to the number of active stand-up comedians and places for said comedians to work) you might effectively burn your chances of ever working with cartoons again if you fuck up too much, something that isn't as relevant for a stand-up comedian.

Like I said, if one club doesn't want him/her there are often plenty of others who do...

 

[Xojins]

I think it's mostly because people assume that those who watch Family Guy are unaware that it's stupid. It's funny because it's absurdly stupid and random.

 

[Vohn_exel]

Look. The thing is, its EASY to say why Family Guy is a show for retards, the thing is the only people who want to know 'why' are STUPID PEOPLE. Do you know how HARD it is to describe something SIMPLE to a STUPID person?

I rest my case.



Also, Hollywood have also just shown what idiots they are in general. I mean just HOW MANY CLICHES can they keep on using again and again?! I CANT FATHOM how these directors CONTINUE to use these cliches and actually enjoy themselves and think they are being original.
We need to start a petition to fire ALL hollywood directors and replace them with the new generation, because the old generation SUCK.

Example. New Hollywood TV Series - Cougar Town
New Hollywood Movie - Bounty Hunter

'Nuff said.

You know it'd probably take you alot less time to just flat out call me stupid. Then you wouldn't have to use capitals to get your point across instead of attempting to italicize. To me, it sounds like you don't get enjoyment out of anything. Your life sounds like it's filled with nothing but disapointment. I hope it gets better for you and that you find an outlet that will alow you to spend your time doing something other then needlessly attacking someone on a message board for liking something you don't.

That being said, when I quote Family Guy, it's usually in reference to something thats happened that reflects something that happened on the show. It's obviously not something that occurs often, but it does happen. I quote everything else just as much, from Star Wars to Indiana Jones. Heck, I quote things that no one remembers. I was the king of obscure references on the message board I used to visit all the time. I still don't see how referencing something suddenly constitutes a low IQ. Although, I'm from Texas, and one thing I've learned is just opening my mouth can apparenly lower my intelect even if I were to be discussing nuclear physics.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

I think it's because of a form of elitism. Like how some metal-heads will bash Metallica fans or how sport fans will bash people who start following [insert sport here] when their home team starts performing well. I think the best example was actually on another thread here on escapist about the music one listens to being indicative of their overall IQ.

Anyway: It's always popular to hate something else that is popular. Look at Wal*Mart, Pokemon, Final Fantasy, Halo. These are all things millions [well...hundreds of thousands at least] know of for better or worse and, it's always fun to point out the shortcomings in something bigger than we are...Like Seth McFarlene's cartoon about a New England family

 

[Cid Silverwing]

It's because the writers of Family Guy are horribly lazy and, more importantly, insensitive about what they joke about. I swear one episode merited a lawsuit but I forget which one it was.

 

[Nazulu]

No you don't. As a comedian you might risk your reputation by joking about certain topics, and that in itself MIGHT (not a guarantee) lead to that you get less gigs than usual.

Being a stand-up comedian is like freelance work and you are your own boss. You don't really have to answer to any corporate douchebag just because of the things you say. And the fact is that even if you joke about something out of line and the guy who hired you to preform for the evening doesn't like it, he still has to pay you for that nights work.

This is entirely different from having a full time job at a television network, because it's more of a joint effort than anything else, and if something gets the go ahead to get aired a lot more people are risking their jobs than a single stand-up comedian. Add to the fact that working with cartoons isn't exactly the biggest market in the world (you only have so many companies doing it after all, it's a pretty small number compared to the number of active stand-up comedians and places for said comedians to work) you might effectively burn your chances of ever working with cartoons again if you fuck up too much, something that isn't as relevant for a stand-up comedian.

Like I said, if one club doesn't want him/her there are often plenty of others who do...

Yeah you right about your basic freelance comedians, but you know what? You seemed to be forgetting that this is George Carlin we are talking about who was the first to take it too far and was arrested for saying those words on stage. He just said it like "bang", in your face! He knew that performance would disturb the peace which is pretty big fucking balls.

Family Guy didn't really take any risks, everything they have done and talked about has been done before and worse, so they're not pushing anything. You wanna know a show that has really pushed the boundaries so often even I'm surprised they haven't been kicked off the air? South Park & The Chasers. And even then I still say they haven't got as big as balls as George Carlin.

Another thing, you make it sound like comedians have it easy, well it's not. It is really difficult to come up with your own material all the time and the anxiety of knowing if it doesn't become successful after a couple of try's then no one will want you.

 

[The Warden]

Because you touch yourself at night.


Oooh, you see what I did thar?

 

[Hurr Durr Derp]

Using 'funny' quotes as a substitute for a real sense of humor is pretty lame anyway, Family Guy or not. And Family Guy is a very stupid show...

I won't go as far as judging someone's intelligence on what TV shows he watches (mostly in fear of people finding out I watch Project Runway and using it against me ), but if you quote something like Family Guy a lot you're not exactly showcasing your intelligence.

Well then, you've certainly dismantled the entire English department of every high school and college in the world, because English essay writing is nothing if not an exercise in quotation.
Besides, the ability to recall exact quotations from ANYTHING is a sign of at least some degree of intelligence.

I mean, I like Family Guy and I made the Dean's List last semester. Go figure, right? I must be a secret moron. Like the opposite of Urkel.

First of all, I don't see the connection between having a well-developed wit and sense of humor and writing English essays. I said that quoting from the TV a lot is a sign that you lack a sense of humor, not that anyone who ever uses a quotation is a dumbass.

Second, I never said that anyone who watches Family Guy is stupid. Hell, if you'd have read my post, you'd notice the line "I won't go as far as judging someone's intelligence on what TV shows he watches". Watching a stupid show doesn't make you stupid.

As I said, I don't judge your intelligence by the shows you watch. However, I do judge your intelligence by the fact that you somehow read my post to mean pretty much the opposite of what I wrote. Dean's list or not, you at least seem to lack basic reading comprehension skills.

 

[bluemistake2]

i have an IQ of 136 and i love family guy by the logic in this thread the universe should explode

 

[Jazoni89]

Family guy is a okay show but their are a few things that whine me up about it is all the inside jokes and refrences that only americans would get and also add to the fact all the characters are stereotypical americans. At least in the Simpsons/Futurama they have a colourful casts of characters which appeal to both americans and non americans and don 't have all these random silly refrences to go with them.

 

[Rensenhito]

Using 'funny' quotes as a substitute for a real sense of humor is pretty lame anyway, Family Guy or not. And Family Guy is a very stupid show...

I won't go as far as judging someone's intelligence on what TV shows he watches (mostly in fear of people finding out I watch Project Runway and using it against me ), but if you quote something like Family Guy a lot you're not exactly showcasing your intelligence.

Well then, you've certainly dismantled the entire English department of every high school and college in the world, because English essay writing is nothing if not an exercise in quotation.
Besides, the ability to recall exact quotations from ANYTHING is a sign of at least some degree of intelligence.

I mean, I like Family Guy and I made the Dean's List last semester. Go figure, right? I must be a secret moron. Like the opposite of Urkel.

First of all, I don't see the connection between having a well-developed wit and sense of humor and writing English essays. I said that quoting from the TV a lot is a sign that you lack a sense of humor, not that anyone who ever uses a quotation is a dumbass.

Second, I never said that anyone who watches Family Guy is stupid. Hell, if you'd have read my post, you'd notice the line "I won't go as far as judging someone's intelligence on what TV shows he watches". Watching a stupid show doesn't make you stupid.

As I said, I don't judge your intelligence by the shows you watch. However, I do judge your intelligence by the fact that you somehow read my post to mean pretty much the opposite of what I wrote. Dean's list or not, you at least seem to lack basic reading comprehension skills.

Yeah, I'm sorry for that, man. I'm ADD and I didn't take my pills yesterday, so my ability to understand things I read was a little bit fucked when I posted that.

 

[lacktheknack]

I have three dumb friends. Guess what their favorite show is.

It seems to be a personal experience for most.

 

[lacktheknack]

They made fun of Christians in a couple of episodes, which is the equivilant of murder in the States.

Bahahahaha, no.

That's just silly. Nothing is sacred anymore.

 

[sailor_960]

I would like to throw my support behind the recurring "elitist" argument that keeps popping up. It infuriates me to no end when a person feels superior to me just because their tastes are a bit more refined. Just because someone likes something that is mindless doesn't mean they are. For example, I love the movie Anchorman. On the other had, I love the work of Mel Brook's. Mindless humor has its place, as does smart high-browed humor.