[This is the headline over a report on the STV News website. It reads in part:]
An American cartoon show has been met with outrage after showing a sketch about the victims of the Lockerbie bombing.
The Family Guy episode, which has already been aired in the USA, includes a nursery rhyme describing babies and body parts falling from the sky.
The mother of one of the Lockerbie victims has described the sequence as “horrible and painful”. (...)
The Family Guy series is watched by millions of people around the world, and has the same cult status as The Simpsons and South Park.
Christine Grahame MSP said: “I’ve spoken to rescuers who were there at the time, and for them it’s still so horrible that they can’t talk about it.
“So I think that it’s disgraceful. It should never have been played.”
The sketch has also drawn criticism from those who live in the Dumfries and Galloway town. Lockerbie resident Maxwell Kerr said: “I think it’s disgusting.”
Amidst calls for the episode to be banned, BBC3, which airs The Family Guy in the UK, said that it is currently reviewing whether or not it would show the episode.
As a fan of the show, I'll defense it. It's a weird show, that revels in pushing buttons, getting banned, etc. If it was just for shock value, as I first felt, I'd be appalled at where they OFTEN go (murder, dismemberment, rape, child molestation, racism, etc.) But I've decided the show simply has non-funny parts, and takes us past these spectacles (too often to be sure) in a certain way that's ok with me. There's a deep sensitivity in it, but it's subtle and easy to miss in the gut reaction. It's crude but not mean. You're simply reminded, uncomfortably, that there are terrible things in the world as well as incredibly hilarious possibilities.
ReplyDeleteIt's debatable whether the formula is healthy in practice... perhaps it depends on the viewer. I shake my head at moments, but in general I think it's good for me, at least.
In the general sense (to those not directly traumatized by the event) this episode is no different. Stewie loves the song, it makes him happy, and it's got babies and their parents dying horrifically, followed by him declaring "Yay, it's fun to be a child!" I take it as being a child is not always just delightful - not by a long shot. It's annoying to be reminded of things like this while you're trying to laugh, and I think that's when people get upset.
There's surely more at work - for instance, a commentary on how morbid nursery rhymes often are. Ring around the Rosies is about what again? Bridges falling down, rodents getting hacked up?