Saturday, May 28, 2011

* Family Guy: I want to eat your cancer



"I want to eat your cancer,"  Heart Shaped Box,
Nirvana


There are many reasons to reject the cartoon Family Guy, not the least of which is its scatological nature.  This was seen in a re-run I viewed yesterday in which the tiny football-headed English-accented-tot, Stewy Griffin, gets locked in a bank vault with the family dog, Brian, who, incidentally,  speaks English, stands erect,  and drives a car. Stewy requires Brian to "eat my pooh" when he soils his diaper.


Had I surfed to another channel at this point because of my weak stomach, I would have missed a brilliant and touching discussion about the meaning of life when Brian reveals that he has a gun in his safe deposit box because, unlike other dogs who are born with a purpose built into their DNA, he has been unable to find a purpose in life, and wants the security of knowing he can end it . (Perhaps this is an argument against literacy, at least in dogs.)


The outcome, which I won't spoil, is neither sentimental nor trite---but it is touching.


I'm afraid I must confess that despite its scatology,  Family Guy meets my criterion for Art.


Sorry TV censors.

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