“Family Guy” made jokes at the Gators’ expense, and not everyone is laughing.
In Sunday’s episode, “Space Cadet,” UF is mistaken for a “Down syndrome camp.”
In its 11th season, the notoriously raunchy television show “Family Guy” has been criticized for pushing boundaries.
Robert Porter, a 20-year-old political science junior, said he wasn’t a fan of the show.
“I’m not one to make fun of the mentally handicapped, but I guess some people get a kick out of it,” he said.
Although the nine-second clip has started to go viral, Porter said he wasn’t upset.
“Everyone knows this is the best school in the state,” he said. “I think maybe they got us confused with Florida State.”
TV and American Society professor Jessica Mahone saw the clip posted on Facebook.
She has seen almost every episode, and although profanity and offensiveness are gimmicks of the show, Mahone said, “Family Guy” has become more aggressive with how they perceive different types of people.
This is not the first time Down syndrome has been used as a punchline.
“That’s a group of people who already experience in their day-to-day lives more difficulty,” she said.
As the older sister of a sibling who is intellectually disabled, Mahone said she thought the clip was offensive.
“It would be nice if producers, show creators and writers were more mindful of what they are saying and recognize they are talking about people,” she said.
Kristen Oliff, a 18-year-old marine science freshman, said she was shocked when she saw the clip.
“I feel like we were unrightfully targeted,” she said. “I don’t know what we did.”
The joke played on the stereotypes of mental illness and being a Floridian, Mahone said.
She said she thinks the general association of Floridians being dumb stems from the 2000 election vote-count fiasco and the similar situation last November.
Students should not worry about the episode tainting the university’s reputation, Mahone said.
“I definitely don’t think ‘Family Guy’ was accurate in its labeling of UF students,” she said. “UF is quite difficult to get into. I couldn’t have gotten in here when I was applying to undergrad, so I don’t think being fodder for a ‘Family Guy’ joke really should be cause for concern as far as our reputation.”
Contact Alexa Volland at avolland@alligator.org.
