Cartoon Wars: South Park Vs. Family Guy
Nostalgia or Pop-culture? Cut-aways or dark comedy? While the evil, malignant infant is plotting to assassinate his mother in Family Guy, The big-boned foul mouthed Eric Cartman of South Park is feeding one of his enemies his own parents in a bowl of chili, (Yes, this actually did happen in an episode.) So, which show is better? Which show is more funny? While Family Guy has its shining moments (i.e. – the ‘Where’s My Money’ scene,) South Park outshines Family Guy in every aspect of comedy genius.
While it is inevitable that Family Guy is a very popular show, it still remains tasteless, unfunny, and unoriginal.
You can compare and contrast each main character of Family Guy and you still come up with the same conclusion – They are the exact same prototypical family as The Simpsons’ main characters. The smart, sex-appealing mother in Marge Simpson and Lois Griffin, the fat, stupid drunkard in Homer Simpson and Peter Griffin, and the smart, gawky, dweeb of a daughter in Lisa SImpson and Meg Griffin. Not only that, but Brian Griffin, the dog of Family Guy, looks almost identical to Snoopy of the Peanuts. You can’t also help but wonder if Stewie Griffin, one of the most popular characters of F.G., is a direct rip-off of The Brain from Warner Brother’s 90′s cartoon, Pinky and the Brain.
As for the jokes and gags of the show, it is clear that the writers recycle every single joke that they have already used. Every joke is either a sexual innuendo, a flashback to something irrelevant to the plot, or a joke that goes on for a long period of time, which is supposed to make it funny. I once watched a F.G. episode in which Lois comes home to find baby Stewie on the roof. As she goes into the house to chastise Peter for letting such an event happen, Peter, trying to distract Lois, introduces a clip of Conway Twitty, saying, “Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Conway Twitty.” I smirked at first at the randomness, but the clip was just too much. The Conway Twitty gag went on for about 4 minutes of him just singing. The tastelessness of the joke left me wondering; are the writers of Family Guy seriously this lazy, or do they just not care?
So what makes the vulgar, offensive 9 year olds from the small town of South Park such a great show? I’ll tell you. Each episode has a meaning. That’s right. Aside from the vomiting, farting, dying, and bloody explosions, Each episode of South Park usually has a metaphorical interpretation installed. Whether its religion, abortion, global warming or politics, South Park provides something Family Guy never does and never will.
One of the most brilliant South Park episodes of all time came in season 13 episode 3 entitled “Margaritaville.” The episode parallels the story of Jesus’ death to the current state of the economy. As the economy begins to become worse, Randy Marsh (Stan’s dad) starts to preach untrue sayings about the economy, saying that spending less and being afraid of the economy is going to help the situation. When Kyle begins to get irked by his teachings, Kyle stars to preach that the economy is not evil or mean, and that everyone should just keep spending. Many people start to condemn those who spend excessively. While one man is publicly being stoned for buying little, unimportant items, Kyle preaches “let one who hasn’t bought a stupid thing throw the first stone.” Kyle proceeds to preach about the economy while Eric Cartman (Judas) turns him in to Randy Marsh (Pontious Pilate) for speaking blasphemy about the economy. During the end of the episode, Kyle and twelve of his followers are eating at a Pizza Restaurant. During the supper, Kyle explains that he has a “funny feeling that someone will betray him.” Eric Cartman then stands up and says that no one would betray him, saying that “whoever betrays him is an asshole.” This episode shows the true greatness of satirical comedy, displaying wittiness and jocularity at the highest degree.
While Family Guy brings a predictable plethera of jokes to the table, South Park gives viewers a sense of amusement and intelligence that Peter Griffin would never understand.
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