Family Guy vs. South Park

Hello again,

This is my first TV related piece. Naturally, I chose a much debated subject. Even more naturally, every part of my "original" and "well crafted" post has been iterated and reiterated across the sticky universe we call "The Web".

O.K. I think its best that I start at the beginning. I haven't always loved South Park. And come to think of it. I haven't always loved Family Guy.
Family Guy finally grew on me when I started watching it with other people. Being a pop-culture freak, I was mesmerized with the sheer amount of references (some of which, meant exclusively for hardcore fanatics such as myself) they can cram into each episode. And I was overwhelmed by the utter lunacy that unfolded on my screen each week. With South Park, it took me some time to develop something more than just a passing appreciation for it (and it took Parker and Stone, SP's creators, some time as well to tweak its format and agenda). It gradually found a warm spot in my heart, as the seasons progressed, each season more potent, intelligent and hilarious than the former.

Let's meet the contenders:

On my left weighing in at 88 eps. Give it up for Family Guy -

Family guy is formulaic and is characterized by as a psychedelic smorgasbord of highly self-aware associative humor, wrought with pop culture references and yummy shock value.
Let me tell you something - I'm not giving any credit to Fox for bringing us the genius that is FG. This.. this.. "network", has gladly censured and prematurely cancelled a lot of our favorite shows, figuratively neutering any of their creators who dared to be imaginative and creative. These atrocities were performed in the name of a faster buck that presented itself. Fox would have dumped (and it once did just that) FG gladly, in the past, if a series, which boasted lower production costs or a larger immediate potential for profit, had presented itself. Fox scared off Joss Whedon (the creator of the immaculate Firefly) away with their meddlesome network knows best" attitude, sporting the belief that Network executives are more fit to make "creative" decisions for a program than its creator. Futurama met the same tragic fate, because Fox's rigid and old fashion policy makers couldn't stand the fact that Matt Groening wasn't going to sell them all of the properties related to Futurama (A rookie mistake he made with The Simpsons). Aww, no new Jet this year.

FG is the product, of a crack in that philosophy,
brought on by a late realization that maybe, just maybe, creative freedom can lead to better creative content. This "new" Fox, boasted racy adult content - suggestive imagery, sexually charged situations, scenes mocking state leaders (and yet at the same time a very old fox, which doesn't give a shit about their viewers wishes, and stands for nothing more than the drooling anticipation for another buck).

As a prime time network serial, FG has to abide by some rules - no swearing, no explicitly sexual scenes, no extreme violence. After 6 seasons, FG has bent all of these and even broken them at times. FG has an uncanny ability to achieve a deliciously dirty and profane theme, without the actual use of profanity or nudity. We have Family Guy to thank for showcasing how stupidly hollow censorship guidelines are, targeting the superficial, such as forbidden words, and phrases, and very specific portrayals of sex and violence (such as genitalia), instead of the content, the essence - the meat. The truth is - censorship guidelines can never work - make them too broad, forbidding vague definitions of situations and imagery and you infringe upon the freedom of speech. Make the guidelines narrow, forbidding certain words and specific imagery, and you miss your point, someone is bound to find your loophole and comfortably slide their ten inch tool inside it.

Now, on my right, weighing in at 153 eps. Give it up for South Park -

South Park, as a cable serial, has it a little "easier" (only a little, because even on cable, profanity is discouraged, along with nudity and extreme violence, in prime time hours). It sits comfortably on cable in Comedy Central, and can be explicit where FG can only be suggestive. South Park bought its way into our hearts with increasingly well crafted plots, full of social commentary and political satire. SP continually pushes the envelope, tackling issues, such as the Mormon faith, anti-Semitism, Christianity, Scientology (oh well, can't blame 'me for that) and even kids getting animals off, and childhood cancer. Nothing is sacred.
Even though South Park loves deep issues, it rarely gets too heavy, and it always tries to remember that at the end of the day, its only an entertainment program.
SP stays ridiculously up to date, to a point where events that happened this week are showcased on SP that same week.
SP is doing its part too in redefining the boundaries of what you can say and do on TV.
But it does it in a slightly different manner than FG. SP is message oriented, and it tends to tackle controversy head on, with increasing chutzpah and an ever inflating set of Cojones.

1... 2....3..... FIGHT!

Let's face it - We live in very exciting times. Our beloved president has inadvertently caused a substantial dip in the popularity of conservative values in mainstream America. He so fervently and blindly endorses family values and Christian values, that he has made these vague concepts the main platforms of the government under his leadership. His obsession with safeguarding these values, and his inability to objectively and rationally explain their meaning and purpose, have turned many people away from his camp. The result is that many moderate conservatives (those that have a brain), have abandoned Bush, and have begun to question these philosophies ala Bush and his cronies. Those that remained his supporters, identified themselves as extremists, and separated themselves from mainstream society (And we are talking about a large percentage of people).

This process led to a proliferation of liberal ideas in pop culture. The concept of "Family Values", which ruled prime time TV with an iron fist, was stripped down to its core – TV that provides a positive message (or propoganda) and is "safe" for kids. They learned the truth – the family values crowd was never interested in what was on TV. They were only concerned with relieving themselves of the terrible burden of actually minding their own children and screening what they watch. They had nothing but contempt for TV, and viewed it only as a platform to further their propaganda and affirm their values.

Nowadays, Networks started realizing that we have had enough of being told what to watch. We were done sacrificing our right to quality entertainment in the name of conservative paranoia.

It finally dawned on them that the vast majority of their viewers are adults. Adults that have been unfairly discriminated against, all these years. Adults that aren't scared of violence, sex or other controversial subjects. Adults that were starving for some entertainment that was tailored for them. Starving for a new kind of adult entertainment that wasn't limited to late night cheap erotica and half-witted action series (fucking Chuck Norris). Let me pussy out for a second - I have no problem with family oriented TV. I don't believe in it, as far as the common definition goes, but I do respect the fact that other people do. I think family TV has a place in the overall programming schedule. But this has to be done with measure - there has to be a place for entertainment that is geared to adults as well.

Back to my previous point (before my pussification).
As our luck would have it, TV remained in our camp. And our camp was pissed off. And we wanted, more then ever, to express ourselves and distinguish ourselves. To show, once and for all, that America wasn't Bush's America.
South Park showed the way, and FG gladly followed. And both, despite numerous hardships, have stayed loyal to their vision and uncompromising. This risky practice has paid off big time. We finally received proof of what we thought all along - that TV wasn't as fragile as we thought, and that public controversies weren't the doomsday devices we feared they were. And most importantly – that leaving family TV behind will not bring about Armageddon.

Time to get my hands dirty - I have to admit that my personal subjective opinion favors SP.
Don't get me wrong, FG is freaking amazing. It unabashedly worships pop culture, encapsulating all of its different faces and attitudes. This is because, when it comes down to it, we pop fanatics, do not denounce our past, we love and respect it, and embrace it as a part of our culture. But we also aren't afraid to challenge ourselves with new ideas and expand our horizons. FG understands this, and has been even known, at times, to refer to independent films and books that only have a modest following.

FG is a poster child of TV's newest incarnation - not bothering itself with morality, it runs rampant fuelled by the assumption, that TV is chiefly meant as entertainment, not as a moral compass, and that their viewers deserve a half hour devoid of paternalistic and educational elements, and full of pure and straightforward (and even downright silly) fun.

You may remember, that I stated above that I preferred SP prior to this segment of shameless, underwear at the ankles, flattery. Yes, I do believe we have a right to enjoy a program without learning any lessons. But, what can I say; I'm still a sucker for political and social discussion. And SP has that in abundance. Nothing (well almost nothing) is taboo for SP, and those lunatics will tackle anything, and there is nothing delicate or cautious about their methods either. Some topics are pulverized - openly ridiculed, using cynicism bordering on cruelty, to emphasize how absurdly irrational they are (topics such as Scientology, and the Mormon faith). They allow themselves this Luxury, because at heart, SP stands for rationality and common sense, and these topics are usually based on outrageous beliefs which have no basis in reality. These same principles of rationality and critical thought require SP to explore a subject from every angle, stemming from the basic belief that absolutely nothing is black and white, everything is grey. SP explores an issue via its absurdities, usually emphasized by caricaturized portrayals of public opinion from both sides of the political spectrum. These absurdities, and absolutes, are tossed away, one by one, until we are left with the heart of the issue, stripped of knowledge hating, fear pushing, self-serving political agendas.

Although, SP shies away from absolute conclusions, they do make it quite clear where they stand on each particular issue. At the end of an episode, we are left alone in the deep end, without a life vest, and we are forced to draw our own conclusions, rather than having it done for us, as we have grown so overly accustomed to. South Park trusts its viewers and respects our intelligence. I like that.


There is a common urban legend which states that when we watch TV our brain is even less stimulated then when we are asleep. I doubt the veracity of this as a medical fact. But it's great as a metaphor. 10 years ago, watching TV was a coma inducing experience. TV was viewed as a kind of drug - a fleeting and superficial source of pleasure. This was achieved by avoiding any unpopular issues or anything really, that would cause offence to anyone. TV was ridiculed and given such horrible nick names as the "Idiot Box" [* Irony of ironies – it was even used as a platform for actually discouraging people from watching TV (How further detached from reality can you possibly get)]. But the TV wasn't the idiot. The Networks' head honchos were the idiots, and they thought we were idiots as well (in a way we were, because we did not cry out for something better)

FG and SP, ladies and gentlemen, represent a new kind of TV – one that makes you think. FG definitely gives my brain a workout, trying frantically to recognize every reference, wink and nod. And SP has left me many times pondering and reevaluating my stands on several issues.

Final Round -

I would like to start with a disappointing confession – I am not prepared to objectively acknowledge the superiority of one show over the other. FG and SP are very different from each other, and both are prime examples of quality TV. Both of these shows have made me, on many occasions, extremely content and have reinforced my beliefs, that entertaining and intelligent TV can and will prevail over its oppressors.

I said above, that my personal, highly subjective, a not-so-humble opinion, goes with SP. I'm a sucker for challenging TV, that keeps you on your toes, and mercilessly goes after anyone, and that includes me (and even them).

In this category SP stands out. Watching FG is like a pleasant jog (down memory lane), riddled with traffic, potholes and other minor obstacles. This jog does exert the mental muscles, but it is still casual and often forgettable (be honest - who among you remembers a FG episode in its entirety). Watching SP, on the other hand, is like running a mental marathon, extending far after the episode itself has ended. Trey Parker and Matt Stone (SP's creators) are engaged in an eternal struggle to keep SP fresh and relevant, and to even dare to improve with the years. For this, they have earned my immense respect.

In this respect, in my subjective opinion, FG falls slightly short. Its formulaic approach is ultimately constricting, and its associative and erratic format limits its impact even when it does stumble upon interesting issues. After a while episodes tend to become indistinguishable, and only a memorable bunch of the small skits, which comprise each episode, remain. FG's staying power is limited to how long they can exploit this formula, before it's stale as a day old muffin. Like SP, FG also uses current issues and pop culture phenomena as its clay, resulting in a presumably endless well of ideas. When in reality, their well engrained formula, and already familiar style of humor, can only stand for so long, even with ever changing topics.

I said before that this new era of TV is characterized by its ability to accept change, and renew itself from time to time. In this respect, FG is a ticking time bomb. I would hate to see it "Simpsonized" by Fox - dragged on and on, because it is a stable money maker, until it's nothing but a pale reminder of its past glory. It deserves better. On a positive note - American Dad is improving (The bulimia episode was a fucking masterpiece), and is starting to distinguish itself from Family Guy, and is developing its own unique style. American Dad, in my opinion, is a step in the right direction. Let Seth MacFarlane (The creator of FG and American Dad) focus on it, or draw up another series with a set of fresh characters and ideas.

We must all work together to help TV continue its bold journey through the unknown territories of the collective public consciousness.

Double K.O. – A happy ending.