5.The Crippletron
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWWNnESqNHw The disabled don't get a particularly easy ride in Family Guy. Peter's neighbour, Joe, is wheelchair bound and is the source for many jokes at his expense. A particularly memorable one came when he was left out of the Family Guy Star Wars episode because the Millennium Falcon didn't have a ramp. A lot of the jokes concerning Joe's disability actually work quite well. The viewer is never in any doubt that the usual protagonist, Peter, is being a moron and that we're laughing at him and not along with him. However, the episode where Joe and his disabled friends form 'The Crippletron' to gain access to Peter's diner does cross the mark somewhat. The key difference? It's harder to laugh along at intolerance when the character with the disability himself is referring to himself as a cripple, with no subtext. A lot of the jokes aimed at Joe's disability are actually quote mild when compared to the datore other quarters receive, but in instances such as this one the show's writers do risk making Joe the target of laughter as opposed to part of it.
Barry Marshall
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I am a freelance writer, currently residing in Newcastle Upon Tyne, England. I was raised by wolves in the woodlands of Northumberland, but am still posher than Colin Firth having dinner with The Queen. I write all of my pieces by swallowing a cocktail of scrabble tiles and vodka, then regurgitating them over my jotter. Hope this explains the typos.
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