Top 10 Times Family Guy Parodied Pop Culture

WatchMojo

Lucky there's a family guy! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the funniest times “Family Guy” has satirized elements of pop culture.

Transcript

00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the funniest times Family

00:11Guy has satirized elements of pop culture.

00:22Number 10.

00:24Internet and Influencer Culture In the modern era, the internet has been a

00:28driving force for pop culture, making it the perfect target for satire.

00:34Influencers in particular have inundated the web, keeping audiences hooked in any way they

00:39can.

00:52Some are known for pushing negative behavior to do so, which is where Family Guy comes

00:57in.

00:58Family Guy captured this attention-seeking phenomenon by having Meg eat her way into

01:03clout in Girl Internetted.

01:14As she continues to grow, she escalates her content to a dangerous level, influencing

01:19her viewers to do the same in the process.

01:23The episode serves as commentary both on the lengths people will go for their 15 minutes

01:27of fame and how viewers only perpetuate the negative cycle by continuing to engage it.

01:39Number 9.

01:41Anti-vaxxers and Conspiracy Culture Despite all the evidence pointing to how helpful

01:45vaccines are, there has always been a contingent of people against them.

01:50From the Spanish flu up to modern times, anti-vaxxers have been prevalent for over a century.

01:57The writers are aware of this and made the bold decision to call out their rhetoric in

02:02hot shots.

02:09In the episode, Peter and Lois refuse to get Stewie vaccinated, resulting in Quahog suffering

02:15from a measles outbreak.

02:17They parodied the limited and often faulty research that accompanies this view, while

02:22also highlighting how utilizing fear can drive even the most logical people to the

02:26wrong conclusion.

02:35It proved its point just a few years later when COVID-19 broke out, revitalizing the

02:40flawed mindset.

02:50Number 8.

02:51The Emmy Awards It's no secret that Family Guy is a contentious

02:56program.

02:57Despite running for over two decades and amassing millions of fans, it still doesn't receive

03:01as much acclaim as its counterparts.

03:04While certain members of the cast have won Emmys, the program itself has yet to receive

03:09one.

03:20The Emmy-winning episode was its way of leaning into their lack of awards, as the Griffins

03:25desperately recreated several TV shows in an attempt to be considered.

03:34From Breaking Bad to Modern Family, they poked fun at several beloved classics.

03:40They capped it all off with a moment of pure self-awareness by having Peter learn exactly

03:45why they've never been nominated.

03:47It was the perfect crossroad between parroting modern television and the awards honoring

03:52it.

03:58Number 7.

04:03Sports Culture Much like the internet, sports in general have

04:06become enmeshed with advertising.

04:09An athlete can be on the field one day and selling a product the next.

04:14And while it's more prevalent now, the show first satirized it well over a decade ago.

04:26In Patriot Games, Peter gets the opportunity to play for his favorite team, the New England

04:31Patriots.

04:33After finding success, he quickly becomes swept up in the culture, from appearing in

04:37dealership commercials to cockily dancing on the field.

04:45While exaggerated, his actions line up almost perfectly with those of some modern athletes.

04:52It ended up being a near-perfect parody of the industry, and how quickly love for the

04:56game can morph into passion for money instead.

05:02Number 6.

05:04Stephen King Novels and Film Adaptations They usually stick to movies and television,

05:10but every once in a while, Family Guy proves they can handle literary references as well.

05:15Although they've made anthologies about American classics and Grimm's fairy tales,

05:20one of their most detailed attempts to date is their homage to Stephen King.

05:29He's one of the most prolific authors today.

05:33But that doesn't exempt him from being lampooned.

05:35Choosing three classics by the iconic author, they take you through each one, complete with

05:41tongue-in-cheek criticism toward the source material.

05:50Despite the jokes, it's clear they hold his work in high regard, with each section

05:55serving as a satirical homage.

05:57The combination of clever commentary and silly jokes made for the perfect episode.

06:02One that even King himself found funny.

06:17Number 5.

06:19Murder Mysteries This may be one of their most acclaimed spoofs

06:22yet, and it's clear to see why.

06:25The show loves paying homage to classic film tropes.

06:28Murder Mysteries are no exception.

06:31They opened up season 9 with And Then There Were Fewer, which is largely based on Agatha

06:37Christie's famed novel of a similar name.

06:40After James Woods invites the Griffins and the rest of the gang to dinner, he meets his

06:44mysterious fate, along with other characters we've come to know.

06:58The references are plentiful.

07:00Besides the plot being based on Clue, the opening sequence is an homage to The Shining.

07:14With this, they wove original ideas and parody together, resulting in one of the highest

07:18rated episodes in the program's history.

07:32Number 4.

07:33Y2K It seems hard to believe now, but at one point,

07:38Y2K was considered a genuine threat.

07:41People all over were nervous about the world's technology failing once the clock struck midnight

07:45on January 1st, 2000.

07:48Who better to lean into that than Family Guy?

08:01After Peter learns about the supposed apocalypse, he immediately preps, leading him and his

08:06family to survive.

08:08They wove in other tropes of post-apocalyptic life, such as Twinkies being one of the only

08:12surviving foods.

08:24The installment captured the panicked feelings circulating at the time, while also noting

08:29how silly it was.

08:30They even had the universe reset with the reveal that the whole plot was simply another

08:35TV character's dream, capping it off with one final flawless reference.

08:56Number 3.

08:58Media Censorship Despite being produced in a country where

09:01free speech is protected, they are no stranger to being censored.

09:06Between getting whole episodes pulled and having several complaints filed about them

09:09to the FCC, Family Guy is well aware of this phenomenon.

09:19In PTV, government censorship went beyond the screen and into real life.

09:24They used several other television shows as examples of how entertainment would look in

09:29a sanitized world, effectively taking shots at the organization's purpose.

09:41They also noted how concerned parents could do more on their end to stop their children

09:45from consuming inappropriate media, rather than attacking the art itself.

09:51The freakin' FCC song is the cherry on top, effectively making their points and creating

09:57a bop that's still relevant today.

10:06Number 2.

10:07Disney The famed corporation is certainly no stranger

10:11to being joked about.

10:12However, one in particular stands above the rest.

10:16The juxtaposition of their wholesome aesthetic with their supposed history.

10:21Throughout Road to the Multiverse, Stewie and Brian travel to a series of alternate

10:25realities, including the Disney Universe.

10:28There, they're animated in a whimsical style and are treated to songs about pie.

10:43The other residents of Quahog appear as Disney references themselves, such as Herbert portraying

10:48the Evil Queen from Snow White.

10:57Just when you're lulled by the seemingly saccharine scene, Lord appears, and it's

11:02like a switch flips.

11:04He ends up being attacked, alluding to Walt Disney's alleged anti-Semitic past.

11:12It both subverted expectations and brought those accusations back to light.

11:17Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

11:22Reaction GIFs They've referenced and recreated several

11:25popular GIFs over the years.

11:35Christian Bale's Outburst They parodied Bale's most infamous moment

11:39with Peter as the accidental instigator.

11:55Film Noir From the snappy dialogue to the tone, they

11:59nailed every trope of the genre.

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12:26Star Wars With it being the only franchise to have multiple

12:29episodes dedicated to it, Peter just may be onto something when he says it's the greatest

12:34story ever told.

12:36Tackling the first three installments of the Star Wars trilogy is no easy task, but each

12:41time they knocked it out of the park.

12:50Each retelling is filled to the brim with callbacks to the original while poking fun

12:54at some of the film's negative aspects.

13:13It also contains wider pop culture references, resulting in a wide variety of jokes you can

13:17understand even if you haven't seen a single film.

13:20With every character included, even some from other Seth MacFarlane projects, they're

13:26some of the show's most ambitious parodies to date.

13:46Which modern pop culture moment do you think Family Guy will satirize next?

13:51Let us know in the comments below!

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