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.
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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!