Family Guy is one of the nation’s most polarizing issues (after whether or not frisee is delicious — and you all know where I come down on that issue.) And while I rarely watch an entire episode from beginning to end, I do enjoy small clips of it on Youtube here and there.
But when Hulu featured a recent episode with this image…
…with the title Family Goy, I couldn’t resist checking it out. After all, as a Jewish person, I love when cartoons incorporate Judaism. Sadly, the only time this has really ever happened in my lifetime was with the classic animated film An American Tail and Tommy Pickles on Rugrats. Of course, the two main characters were a mouse and a small, bald baby, but we take what we can get, America.
But Peter Griffin as a Jew? With a thicket of Israeli chest hair? Surely, this would be worth my 22 minutes.
This isn’t the first time Family Guy has broached the topic of Judaism. During the show’s 3rd season back in 2000, creator Seth MacFarlane greenlit an episode called “When You Wish Upon a Weinstein”, which centered around Jews being good with money. The episode wasn’t necessarily that offensive (for Family Guy standards especially), and featured this charming little song by the name of “I Need a Jew”:
Funny and true! But believe it or not, way way way back at the turn of the Millennial century, executives at Fox feared the episode was too offensive and anti-Semitic, and canned it from airing. It eventually saw the light of day years later on Cartoon Network’s “Adult Swim”, and since then, on Fox.
Now you would think: Another Family Guy episode focusing on Judaism would have to outdo the first one created (and banned) 9 years ago, right? Well, outdo is one way to put it. But not with “cleverness” or “good writing” or “humor”. Rather, with lazy Jewish stereotypes and old jokes that stopped being funny once Spaceballs came out. Making fun of Jews is A-OK by us — we love a good LOLocaust — but at least make it clever (see: LOLocaust), and not offensive for the sake of lame “shock value”.
We won’t tell you about the pointless Schindler’s List reference (ps: Just making a reference to something? Not a joke.) or Peter’s laaaaame Hebrew name joke that literally was the first joke ever written (in Hebrew). How Fox let “Family Goy” air is beyond us, not only for the offensiveness, but for the lameness. Unless you’re an anti-Semite, in which case this is like your MASH finale.
Ahead, a note to Seth MacFarlane, and the entire episode , which you can see and Judge Jewdy for yourselves.
Most importantly, shame on you Seth MacFarlane, you lazy, alcoholic son of a bitch.
ps Let’s not even talk about the breast cancer jokes. Let’s just not.
