Episode: Sibling Rivalry Making a joke about this sort of issue is a double edged sword for a show like Family Guy, which appeals to a younger demographic, many of whom have struggled with self-harm, self-esteem, and other issues. And while it's easy to say "stop being so politically correct" this is probably one time where the show went too far. Meg gets a lot of grief as it is, and it's usually pretty funny. Peter blowing raspberries after saying her name, even him farting on her, can be humorous in a juvenile way, but the self-harm joke was just mean-spirited even for a show known to be edgy. There were so many ways the show could have gone rather than this. This isn't just about it being inappropriate, either. It's just poorly done. Take Meg's line from 'Sibling Rivalry" - "For your information, Mom, I don't eat to solve my problems. I cut myself." That's just not a funny line, because all it's doing is swapping one terrible thing (eating disorders) for another (self-harm). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFWUADrtd5w Now, had they replaced the eating disorder with something random, zany, or actually comical, then the writers might have succeeded. It doesn't even matter so much as to what the replacement is, so long as it's something far out there, and out of character for Meg. Cutting herself isn't funny because it's exactly what a teenage girl in her situation might do. It's trading apples for apples. They should have been trading apples for bowling balls. The fact that this came back as late as The Simpsons Guy (when Meg cuts Lisa's name into her arm) shows that the production team for Family Guy is just out of touch at this point.
Primarily covering the sport of MMA from Ontario, Canada, Jay Anderson has been writing for various publications covering sports, technology, and pop culture since 2001. Jay holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Guelph, and a Certificate in Leadership Skills from Humber College.
