Abstract
In this chapter, McKeown and Dr Paul Darke analyse the disability-related comedy inherent in the Emmy Award-winning animation series Family Guy. They argue that to be a disabled person is often a comic experience (of darkly so). In this chapter they focus on the Extra Large Medium episode (Season 8, Episode 12) in which one of the main characters Chris, decides to ask out classmate Ellen, who has Down's Syndrome taking her on a date he ultimately regrets, to understand and critique the disability-related writing of the team behind the comedy. In doing so they question cultural acceptability, boundaries to be crossed and why inclusive comedy can the best of all comedy. Family Guy is often controversial and takes no prisoners. As disabled academics, McKeown and Darke seek to answer whether Family Guy is 'laughing at disabled people us or with us?'.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Different Bodies: Essays on Disability in Film and Television |
| Editors | Marja Evelyn Mogk |
| Publisher | McFarland and Company, Inc |
| ISBN (Print) | 9781476606217 |
| Publication status | Published - 2013 |