Seth MacFarlane’s animated sitcom “Household Man” has lengthy traded in shock humor and crass jokes. Like a fratboy-ready model of “The Simpsons,” “Household Man” got here into being when many comedians and TV reveals had been testing the boundaries of what was deemed acceptable on tv. A lot of mentioned comedians had been pushing again towards the still-remembered manufactured wholesomeness of Reagan’s Nineteen Eighties. MacFarlane was born in 1972, so he grew up witnessing the blandness of the “basic American sitcom.” There was additionally a common cultural bristling on the Nineteen Nineties pattern towards “politically appropriate language,” even from those that agreed with the sentiment towards sensitivity.
MacFarlane’s “Household Man” opened with a riff on the title sequence for “All within the Household,” after which exploded right into a glitzy song-and-dance routine about (sarcastically, after all) restoring “good old style values.” The title was ironic, although. Peter Griffin (MacFarlane) was not a “household man” in any respect, however a crass, media-blinded, alcoholic jerk with tendencies towards sexism and bigotry. The old style values, MacFarlane was declaring, had been truly horrific and dated.
A lot of the shock humor on “Household Man” is meant to be a send-up of sexist, bigoted attitudes so usually seen in “good old style” TV reveals, revealing how rotten a variety of America’s core Conservative values actually are. With lots of the present’s jokes, although, the road in blurred. Generally, MacFarlane is making a remark. Generally, he is simply being crass for the sake of it. There shall be at the very least one joke per episode that may offend most individuals.
“Household Man” has ridden that line for 426 episodes over the course of 23 seasons. The present has been canceled and resurrected, and it reveals no indicators of ending anytime quickly. In a 2022 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, MacFarlane, and producers Alec Sulkin and Wealthy Appel, theorize how they have been capable of get away with it for thus lengthy. MacFarlane posits that few individuals are genuinely offended by his present.
Seth MacFarlane feels that nobody is definitely, genuinely offended by Household Man
MacFarlane discovered no proof (at the very least anecdotally) that anybody was genuinely offended by any of his edgy jokes on “Household Man.” He mentioned that he had encountered just a few considerate essays and thinkpieces about how somebody may be offended by “Household Man,” or how the sequence is a few form of cultural bellwether for diminished respect towards our fellow people, however he by no means spoke with somebody who was overtly miffed (apart from the occasional movie star he mocked).
He famous that there was some outrage from the customers of Twitter (reworked into the social media nightmare that’s now X), however MacFarlane was sensible sufficient to acknowledge that Twitter customers weren’t any type of critical cross-section of his viewing viewers. Social media, he knew, is not actuality. MacFarlane mentioned:
“The supposed outrage, I do not discover a variety of it in the actual world. I learn so much about it on Twitter, which is, as a lot as we lend credence to it, statistically very fringe. Most individuals aren’t on Twitter. However when it comes to comedy, I do not assume I’ve ever talked to a single individual in the actual world — exterior social media and outdoors assume items — who is basically upset in regards to the state of edgy comedy. If something, I hear in regards to the reverse. Individuals need to chuckle.”
It is also value noting that “Household Man,” being animated, has much more leeway to say and do crass issues. When a live-action actor says one thing pointedly antisemitic on a comedy present, it is onerous to take as a result of an actual individual is on tape saying it. With “Household Man,” the darkish jokes are repeated by big-eyed caricatures, speaking canines, and different fantastical characters. The absurd visuals take a variety of the sting off.
Household Man will get away with so much as a result of the characters are animated
Producer Alec Sulkin notes that “Household Man” additionally has to provide a variety of credit score to fellow producer Wealthy Appel, who has a eager eye for what can and can’t be completed legally. It is truthful play to satirize a public determine, however “Household Man” generally pushed near the road of authorized libel. Appel himself then chimed in, noting that animated reveals are capable of push the envelope with shock humor by dint of their medium. In any case, “The Simpsons” and “South Park,” the large brothers of “Household Man,” additionally get away with “offensive” materials, so “Household Man” was simply following go well with. Appel mentioned:
“I feel in case you have a look at ‘South Park’ and ‘The Simpsons’ and our present, it is not a coincidence that they are all animated. And I feel individuals’s quote-unquote ‘outrage’ and willingness to take offense at something is in a unique world after they’re animated characters. To me, it is proof that individuals do not take such offense.”
MacFarlane identified that one cannot angrily Tweet at characters like Peter, Lois, and Stewie Griffin, as a result of they’re animated characters. One cannot even faux they reside in the actual world, and audiences have to simply accept them within the summary.
It is easy to “get away with” being offensive when all of the proof factors to individuals not being offended. There’ll at all times be a marketplace for edgy, offensive humor, and “Household Man” has been prepared to offer for over 20 years. One can actually stage reliable criticisms at “Household Man” — the makers of “South Park” have overtly satirized the present’s favoring of popular culture references over story — however the present’s inappropriate humor is, I feel we will all agree, not one in all its grand weaknesses.