Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Satire

I have yet to come across a TV junkie who doesn’t think that The Simpsons is one of the best shows of all-time. It screams brilliance every minute. I can even foresee a day when ‘simpsons’ is incorporated into english dictionaries, as a word that best describes genius satire. Or the day when ‘satire’ is defined in dictionaries as ‘The Simpsons’. Err…you get the point, right! Even though the verdict for the most popular character on the show is out and out in favour of Bart Simpson, I can’t help but love the fact that Homer Simpson just is. His stupidity quotient can only be matched, and surpassed, by the one and only: George Bush Jr. (Why can’t we stop missing him?)

Three other animated shows I’ve enjoyed over time have been, Beavis and Butthead (for sheer dumbness or dubya-ness), The Family Guy and King of the Hill. But none ever got close to the kick and the thrill of The Simpsons. Till…

…till The American Dad. Its been running in the U.S. on Fox TV since 2005, but has made its way to Pakistan through satellite only now, or perhaps I’ve been slow to discover. Have you? What do you think? Viewer response has been good, but generally, the other four are rated higher. I fail to understand!

It tracks the life of CIA Agent, Stan Smith, his right-wing philosophies of America under-threat, his admiration for George Bush Jr., the Patriot Act and Karl Rove. Hilarious! Of course, it is satire, so all doves out there should enjoy the thrashing that the Republican Party and its obsessions against anybody remotely outside their white American bubble, gets on the show. [Disclaimer: I hope y’all aren’t sensitive to exaggerations and stereotyping, sport!]

Some memorable quotes:

[Stan brings home a baby to replace Hayley when she moves out]

Roger the Alien: Is that a Chinese baby?

Stan Smith: Sure is! Japanese, to be specific.

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Francine Smith: We're so glad you could make it. Where's your wife this evening?

Bullock: Handcuffed to a radiator in Fallujah. She wanted to come, but I do not negotiate with terrorists. Hey, do I smell meat loaf?

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Hayley Smith: You know, Steve's dog would still be alive if you right-wing lunactics would agree to gun control.

Stan Smith: You know what I have to say to that?

[pauses]

Stan Smith: Ah, I thought I was gonna fart.

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Stanley Smith: Why can't you take a page from that bitch Hillary Clinton and let it go?

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Copyright (c) 2008 Saadia Malik

12 comments:

Unknown said...

american dad has been created by mr seth mcfarlene (if i spelt it correctly), the creator of family guy... i think it is slightly more clever than family guy... but not up to the simpsons mark...

then again i hav it all on dvd (thnks to a kind colleague... lol)

Unknown said...

but u hav to say... nobody can be as intelligent as homer is... or matt groening !!!

you hav to b reeeally intelligent to think things the way he does !

Saadia said...

Matt Groening is a genius. So is Stan! ;-) I couldn't handle my excitement either. Got Season 1 on DVD a few days back!

Unknown said...

South Park beats all of 'em IMO. Simpsons is cool too, so is American Dad. To understand and fully enjoy King of the Hill, you really ought to know about American culture as it contains subtle hints and jokes about the American life, especially Texas et al.

Saadia said...

King of the Hill is a dig at a Methodist town in Texas. And its good. But not as much...

South Park is a bit too offensive. But offensive is funny, right!

Unknown said...

i hacv to say i m a lover of south park.. and tho they go out of their way to b offensiv but there is a message of universal tolerance in their which people rarely see !!!

Unknown said...

yeah, maybe a tad offensive for some people. But I think it's real life. Agreed with Abdul Sami about how cleverly they get their point across through satire

Id it is said...

American Dad...I'll have to take a rain check on this one...

Saadia said...

Umm...in that case, don't, ID! We hardly have the same taste in movies. TV shows aren't a very different story! :-)

Onkar said...

Interesting write-up.

.....SPORTS IN VALLEY.... said...

hi
nice one ..................

Anonymous said...

I'll have to check this out.
Sounds hilariously funny.