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I subjected myself to the new Family Guy spin-off, "The Cleveland Show". I shouldn't have been surprised that it was incredibly racist and had the humor of a teenage boy, but, well, I was surprised. Perhaps there was a part of me that was hoping that it would be as hilarious and scathing as the first few seasons of Family Guy, but alas, it was the same format that MacFarlane's shows tend to use: Idiot father and hot mother, plus three dependents (because Roger in "American Dad" is far from being a human child, but depends on the family's support) and a talking nonhuman entity (usually a pet, but in case of "The Cleveland Show", it seems to be a toaster), complete with the same family dynamics. Add in whacky and/or obscure pop culture references, everyday events escalated to the extreme, and stupidly offensive jokes - et voila! You have all three of Seth MacFarlane's mainstream shows.
What made "The Cleveland Show" the worst of the three was the African American stereotypes perpetuated by media and white society and presented as the reality within the show. I was hoping that MacFarlane would take the Boondocks route and try to subvert these stereotypes as they appeared, but he just rolled with the punches and ran with the stereotypes, parading them as interpretations of his African American characters. Face, meet palm; you're going to be very good friends.
I somehow managed to stick around until the credits, but I was absolutely done with the show when they made a rape joke. The gist of the joke was more or less, "It's harder than finding a rapist at a Star Trek convention." The scene then cuts to a woman, in tears, trying to explain to an officer the man who raped her. She describes the stereotype for Star Trek nerds: white, male, in his mid-to-late 30's, etc. As she talks to the officer, men pass by in the background, fitting her description. The officer turns to the men and asks, "Which one of you is not a virgin?" One man raises his hand, and they arrest him.
I know Seth MacFarlane likes to push the envelope with his humor, but this just went too far, especially for a premiere. It made light of rape, trivializing the woman's experience for a cheap jab at Trekkers. MacFarlane might not have thought that he was making fun of rape, but in essence, he was. Rape is not a joke, and never should be used as material for a joke. Using it as a joke in a show aimed at white men just encourages them to use rape for the basis of a joke, and perpetuates this image that rape isn't as serious as the victims make it out to be.
I thought it couldn't get worse, but then, they made fun of Halle Berry's Academy Award acceptance speech, where she won Best Actress, using the main character, Cleveland, in her place - dressed like her. Head, meet desk; play nicely.
Overall, "The Cleveland Show" was an insidious, negative bomb that oppresses its subject matter - African Americans - to unfair stereotypes without offering them a way to escape. Its jokes are stale reworkings of "Family Guy" materials, and it pushes the wrong envelopes when it tries to be innovative with its humor. I will not be subjecting myself to this show ever again. It's harmful to everybody, except its target audience - white, male (most likely heterosexual) teenagers and twenty-somethings.
What made "The Cleveland Show" the worst of the three was the African American stereotypes perpetuated by media and white society and presented as the reality within the show. I was hoping that MacFarlane would take the Boondocks route and try to subvert these stereotypes as they appeared, but he just rolled with the punches and ran with the stereotypes, parading them as interpretations of his African American characters. Face, meet palm; you're going to be very good friends.
I somehow managed to stick around until the credits, but I was absolutely done with the show when they made a rape joke. The gist of the joke was more or less, "It's harder than finding a rapist at a Star Trek convention." The scene then cuts to a woman, in tears, trying to explain to an officer the man who raped her. She describes the stereotype for Star Trek nerds: white, male, in his mid-to-late 30's, etc. As she talks to the officer, men pass by in the background, fitting her description. The officer turns to the men and asks, "Which one of you is not a virgin?" One man raises his hand, and they arrest him.
I know Seth MacFarlane likes to push the envelope with his humor, but this just went too far, especially for a premiere. It made light of rape, trivializing the woman's experience for a cheap jab at Trekkers. MacFarlane might not have thought that he was making fun of rape, but in essence, he was. Rape is not a joke, and never should be used as material for a joke. Using it as a joke in a show aimed at white men just encourages them to use rape for the basis of a joke, and perpetuates this image that rape isn't as serious as the victims make it out to be.
I thought it couldn't get worse, but then, they made fun of Halle Berry's Academy Award acceptance speech, where she won Best Actress, using the main character, Cleveland, in her place - dressed like her. Head, meet desk; play nicely.
Overall, "The Cleveland Show" was an insidious, negative bomb that oppresses its subject matter - African Americans - to unfair stereotypes without offering them a way to escape. Its jokes are stale reworkings of "Family Guy" materials, and it pushes the wrong envelopes when it tries to be innovative with its humor. I will not be subjecting myself to this show ever again. It's harmful to everybody, except its target audience - white, male (most likely heterosexual) teenagers and twenty-somethings.
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Date: 2009-10-06 04:00 am (UTC)From: