Posted on 05/23/2015 12:44:51 PM PDT by Graybeard58
LOS ANGELES (BP) -- The "Family Guy" animated comedy series increasingly jokes about sexual violence against children and teens, with nearly 80 percent of all such scenes in the past three years perpetrated against that population group, a Parent Television Council (PTC) study found.
Jokes or humorous depictions of rape, statutory rape, molestation or pedophilia against children were included in 91 percent of the series' scenes depicting sexual violence in the 2014–2015 season, up from 75 percent in 2012-2013, according to the PTC study.
"Why would we ever want to be in the position to laugh at humanity's wors[t] offenses against children?" PTC President Tim Winter asked in a May 19 press release. "And at whose expense are we being asked to laugh? Our research report should give every parent cause for concern. At a time when nearly one in three women in America is sexually abused, why would a television network air a primetime program that routinely asks us to laugh at sexual violence?"
On any given Sunday evening, half a million children watch the series, Winter said. Fox Broadcasting, which airs the series, rated all shows in the study period as appropriate viewing for a 14-year-old.
"All of this content aired in the early hours of primetime, when the network knows that millions of children are watching television. We are deeply troubled by the potential impact to children who may become desensitized to, or who will trivialize, real-life consequences of such horrendous conduct," Winter said. "Family Guy has been given a pass for too long, and it's time for that to change."
The PTC will contact corporate sponsors of every episode that included jokes about raping children, Winter said.
"We hope our report is a clarion call for parents who are unaware of the troubling content on Family Guy," he said. "We call on the Fox Broadcast Network to cease using the publicly-owned airwaves to trivialize sexual violence -- especially sexual violence against children."
Viewing such media is harmful to children, giving them the message that sexual violence is not offensive, said Mary Anne Layden, a psychotherapist and director of education at the University of Pennsylvania Center for Cognitive Therapy.
"Media makers may call what they make 'entertainment' but everything a child sees is actually 'education' -- for better or for worse. If they [children] hear jokes about sexual violence, they 'learn' that sexual violence is not much of a problem, not much of a crime, and doesn't really hurt anyone," Layden said in the press release. "Research indicates that children who watch media with sexualized content are more likely to engage in sex of all sorts and to engage in it earlier and suffer the consequences, whether it be pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases or engaging in non-consenting sex. Media makers must take responsibility for the outcomes their products produce in children."
Of the 21 episodes from the 2014-2015 season included in the study period, there were 23 scenes containing some form of sexual violence, 21 of which were jokes and humorous depictions regarding sexually violating children, the PTC found.
Writer and producer Coleman Luck, a PTC Advisory Board member, said "over the past decades, a kind of darkness has settled over much of the storytelling in American television and it is having a deep effect on the audience."
In the study, the PTC analyzed the content of every first-run Family Guy episode that aired between Feb. 16, 2012 and Feb. 15, 2015, examining the type, quantity and graphic nature of content. All of the scenes aired between 8:30 and 9 p.m. Eastern Time.
Seth McFarland hates Christians and thinks we’re all insane. His shows suck anyway.
Don’t watch TV. Is this really true?
Very much so, I’m afraid.
Mmmmm, I don’t remember any of those scenes. I think PTC is confused.
No rioting or beheadings... how quaint
kids are just small people and should have equal access to all forms of sexuality, dontcha know
what? are you an intolerant bigot closed minded to the progress this country is achieving due to your phobias?
/sarc-obviously
(if I were G-d for a moment, there’d be many piles of salt)
Sheesh. Pond scum is too kind a term.
Saw a part of one episode where dead babies came out of a dumpster where their mothers dumped them and started singing and dancing. Turned the channel. Everything they do just about is in horrible taste.
Unfortunately, yes. Ever since the show returned from cancelation the characters have devolved. Peter routinely abuses his daughter Meg to absurd lengths for laughs.
After the return the show got a lot more politicized as well. The last straw for me was showing a Nazi soldier wearing a McCain-Palin button.
FG has always been edgy but the nuisance value to funny ratio tipped wildly into the personally offensive side a long time ago.
I haven’t subjected myself to it in years (didn’t even know it was still on).
If Christians start beheading a couple of liberals, will liberals call for a deeper understanding and appreciation of Christianity and declare a day the National Christian Day? It looks like they fold when facing violence, so it is quite plausible.
YOU TOO??! I saw that episode and quit watching too! A long time ago now. Wow. Small world.
Ah, the “Prom Night Dumpster Baby” cutaway scene.
The sad thing is that it was just a random scene that only served for laughs. Rather sick.
Family Guy can rope you in with cute little jokes and quips, only to assault your sense with gratuitous violence and cruelty. On that level, they are similar to many Adult Swim, cartoons. Just plain mean and vulgar.
I don’t know what it was. I was aghast at what I was looking at and wondered who could think THATS funny.
I wonder if we could try that?
Frankly I’m surprised any media is complaining. I thought Seth McFarland got some kind of pass from all the left.
He’s occasionally singing on Siriusly Sinatra. Maybe we could write and complain they shouldn’t support this creep. They do listen to their emails.
I tuned in once about a year ago and the father was killing the wife in the kitchen as if that was funny. Turned it off. Sheesh, no ‘talk of war on women’ there.
Yeah, at that point the show became blatantly McFarlane mocking conservatives with Brian serving as his sock puppet.
I will admit, the family guy star wars are pretty funny. They’re not very politicized, except Rush Limbaugh is the rancor. They’re not horribly offensive. Must be older shows. Oh, and the Bush/Cheney bumper sticker on the back of an imperial star destroyer. Other than those 2 things, they’re pretty clean.
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