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CANADIAN BROADCAST STANDARDS COUNCIL National conventional television Panel Global re Family Guy (“Stewie B. Goode”) (CBSC Decision 10/11-2201) Decided February 2, 2012 A. Noël (Chair), A. Cardozo (Vice-Chair, Public), J. Macdonald (Vice-Chair, Industry), D.-Y. Leu (ad hoc), F. Niemi, L. Todd (ad hoc)

 

THE FACTS

Family Guy is an American animated sitcom targeted at an adult audience.  It satirizes American family life and frequently makes fun of pop culture, political correctness and other social issues.  The show centres on the Griffin family, which consists of buffoonish father Peter, mother Lois, awkward teenaged son and daughter Chris and Meg, and baby Stewie.  Although Stewie is depicted as a baby, he speaks with a British accent, has a more advanced vocabulary than the other family members and is frequently involved in activities that would require a higher developmental level than his apparent age would suggest he has.  There are recurring allusions to Stewie being gay and, in various episodes, there are suggestions of his romantic relationships with both males and females, sometimes within his own age group and sometimes with older people.  Other continuing themes of the program are that Stewie will go to elaborate lengths to get what he wants, including violence, and is continually intent on killing Lois.  There is also the family dog Brian who talks, walks upright and is often the voice of reason when it comes to the Griffin family’s ridiculous antics.

A comedic device that is frequently used in the program is the insertion of flashbacks or cutaway sketches which illustrate or add humour to something a character has just said.  In order to fully appreciate the jokes, these cutaways expect that the audience has some outside background information about the issue being satirized.

Global broadcast the episode entitled “Stewie B. Goode” on July 23, 2011 at 5:00 pm.  The main plot of the episode involved Stewie taking swimming lessons.  Annoyed that another little boy was better than he was, Stewie put dynamite on the lifeguard chair in an attempt to kill the boy.  Instead, the chair ended up collapsing onto Stewie and he imagined that he ended up in hell.  Hell was represented as a hotel room.  Steve Allen walked in and removed his shirt.  Startled, Stewie woke up in Lois’s arms and, having seen what was in store for him in hell, vowed to be a good boy from then onward.  The scene then cut back to Allen in the hotel room putting his shirt back and saying “I was only going to ask him to fix my collar”.

A sub-plot involved Peter doing an “everyman rant” on the local evening newscast.  He was asked to do the rant segment after bumping into the newsanchor at the local video store where they were both trying to rent pornographic videos.  Peter did multiple rants during the episode, including one about Jewish people refusing to eat pork, another about actress Lindsay Lohan wearing skimpy outfits.

The episode included a scene of Stewie, covered in shaving cream, attempting to shave his body hair because Chris had earlier mentioned that “Olympic swimmers shave all the hair off their head and their private areas to make them move faster.”  Stewie went so far as to ask Brian to “shave my coin purse”.  It also included scenes of Peter groping the breasts of a woman, Stewie drinking and driving, an allusion to a little boy being hit by a car and turning into Casper the Friendly Ghost, a man eating his dinner in a bathroom stall while another man used the toilet.  There were also jokes about Barbra Streisand’s “Jewish” nose and a scene of Stewie toasting “the black man” for “taking it all in stride”.

In addition, there was a spoof of a Bugs Bunny cartoon in which Elmer Fudd shot Bugs at close range with a rifle.  Bugs screamed and gripped his chest as blood poured out of him.  He died in a prolonged and dramatic manner, after which Fudd twisted Bugs’ neck and dragged Bugs’ lifeless body by the ears through a pool of blood.

The episode also included instances of the words “bitch”, “son-of-a-bitch” and “bastard”.  The episode concluded with a scene of Stewie saying he could not remember where he had been the previous night and finding a handkerchief with the initials “R. M.” monogrammed onto it.  The scene then cut to a cartoon representation of actor Roger Moore trying to convince himself not to telephone Stewie right away because he will appear desperate.

The episode was preceded by a viewer advisory in audio and video format which stated, “The program contains language and content some viewers may find offensive.  Viewer discretion is advised.”  That advisory was broadcast coming out of every commercial break.  Global rated the episode 14+.

On July 23, the CBSC received a complaint about this episode (the full text of this and all other correspondence can be found in the Appendix).  The complainant objected to the “extremely adult language” used in the program.  He mentioned the words “porno”, “bitch”, “bastard” and “shaving privates”, but also commented that there was much content in the episode that was unsuitable for children.  He wrote that the program should only be aired after 9:00 pm.

Global responded to the complainant on August 16.  The broadcaster acknowledged that this program “tends to push the envelope at times in an attempt at humour”, but pointed out that it had provided viewer advisories and a 14+ classification.  The complainant was dissatisfied with that response.  He wrote back to Global on August 16 and filed his CBSC Ruling Request on August 18.  He sent additional letters elaborating on his concerns on August 19, August 24, November 17 and, on December 18, sent a copy of a newspaper article about Family Guy.

 

The Decision

The National Conventional Television Panel examined the complaint under the following provisions of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ (CAB) Code of Ethics, Violence Code and Equitable Portrayal Code:

CAB Code of Ethics, Clause 1 – General Programming

Recognizing the varied tastes of the public it shall be the responsibility of broadcasters to so program the various stations, networks and services that, as far as possible, all groups of listeners and viewers shall have from these, some part of the programming devoted to their special likes and desires.

CAB Code of Ethics, Clause 2 – Human Rights

Recognizing that every person has the right to full and equal recognition and to enjoy certain fundamental rights and freedoms, broadcasters shall ensure that their programming contains no abusive or unduly discriminatory material or comment which is based on matters of race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status or physical or mental disability.

CAB Code of Ethics, Clause 10 – Television Broadcasting (Scheduling)

• Programming which contains sexually explicit material or coarse or offensive language intended for adult audiences shall not be telecast before the late viewing period, defined as 9 pm to 6 am.  Broadcasters shall refer to the CAB Violence Code for provisions relating to the scheduling of programming containing depictions of violence.

CAB Code of Ethics, Clause 11 – Viewer Advisories

To assist consumers in making their viewing choices, when programming includes mature subject matter or scenes with nudity, sexually explicit material, coarse or offensive language, or other material susceptible of offending viewers, broadcasters shall provide a viewer advisory.

[...]

Suggested language for suitable viewer advisories is outlined in Appendix A [to the Code of Ethics].  The suggestions are meant as possible illustrations; broadcasters are encouraged to adopt wording which is likeliest to provide viewers with the most relevant and useful information regarding the programming to which it applies.

CAB Violence Code, Article 3 – Scheduling

3.1        Programming

3.1.1     Programming which contains scenes of violence intended for adult audiences shall not be telecast before the late evening viewing period, defined as 9 pm to 6 am.

CAB Violence Code, Article 4 – Classification

[As provided in P.N. CRTC 1997-80, “classifications should be applied, at a minimum, to children’s programming (programs intended for children under 12 years of age), drama, ‘reality-shows’ (reality-based dramatic programs), feature films, promotions for any of these programs and advertisements for theatrical releases”.]

14+ - Over 14 Years

Programming with this classification contains themes or content elements which might not be suitable for viewers under the age of 14.  Parents are strongly cautioned to exercise discretion in permitting viewing by pre-teens and early teens without parent/guardian supervision, as programming with this classification could deal with mature themes and societal issues in a realistic fashion.

Violence Guidelines

• while violence could be one of the dominant elements of the storyline, it must be integral to the development of plot or character
• might contain intense scenes of violence

Other Content Guidelines

Language:         could possibly include strong or frequent use of profanity

Sex/Nudity:       might include scenes of nudity and/or sexual activity within the context of narrative or theme

CAB Violence Code, Article 5 – Viewer Advisories

5.3        Suggested language for suitable viewer advisories is outlined in Appendix A [to the Violence Code].

CAB Equitable Portrayal Code, Clause 2 – Human Rights

Recognizing that every person has the right to the full enjoyment of certain fundamental rights and freedoms, broadcasters shall ensure that their programming contains no abusive or unduly discriminatory material or comment which is based on matters of race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status or physical or mental disability.

CAB Equitable Portrayal Code, Clause 3- Negative Portrayal

In an effort to ensure appropriate depictions of all individuals and groups, broadcasters shall refrain from airing unduly negative portrayals of persons with respect to race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status or physical or mental disability.  Negative portrayal can take many different forms, including (but not limited to) stereotyping, stigmatization and victimization, derision of myths, traditions or practices, degrading material, and exploitation.

CAB Equitable Portrayal Code, Clause 4 – Stereotyping

Recognizing that stereotyping is a form of generalization that is frequently simplistic, belittling, hurtful or prejudicial, while being unreflective of the complexity of the group being stereotyped, broadcasters shall ensure that their programming contains no unduly negative stereotypical material or comment which is based on matters of race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status or physical or mental disability.

CAB Equitable Portrayal Code, Clause 6 – Derision of Myths, Traditions or Practices

Broadcasters shall avoid the airing of content that has the effect of unduly deriding the myths, traditions or practices of groups on the basis of their race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status or physical or mental disability.

CAB Equitable Portrayal Code, Clause 7 – Degrading Material

Broadcasters shall avoid the airing of degrading material, whether reflected in words, sounds, images or by other means, which is based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status or physical or mental disability.

CAB Equitable Portrayal Code, Clause 8(b) – Exploitation

Broadcasters shall refrain from the sexualization of children in programming.

CAB Equitable Portrayal Code, Clause 9 – Language & Terminology

Broadcasters shall be sensitive to, and avoid, the usage of derogatory or inappropriate language or terminology in references to individuals or groups based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status or physical or mental disability.

1. Equality of the sexes must be recognized and reinforced through the proper use of language and terminology.  Broadcasters shall employ language of a non-sexist nature in their programming, by avoiding, whenever possible, expressions which relate to only one gender.
2. It is understood that language and terminology evolve over time.  Some language and terminology may be inappropriate when used with respect to identifiable groups on the basis of their race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status or physical or mental disability.  Broadcasters shall remain vigilant with respect to the evolving appropriateness or inappropriateness of particular words and phrases, keeping in mind prevailing community standards.

CAB Equitable Portrayal Code, Clause 10 – Contextual Considerations

Broadcasts may fairly include material that would otherwise appear to breach one of the foregoing provisions in the following contextual circumstances:

1. Legitimate artistic usage: Individuals who are themselves bigoted or intolerant may be part of a fictional or non-fictional program, provided that the program is not itself abusive or unduly discriminatory;
2. Comedic, humorous or satirical usage: Although the comedic, humorous or satirical intention or nature of programming is not an absolute defence with respect to the proscriptions of this Code, it is understood that some comedic, humorous or satirical content, although discriminatory or stereotypical, may be light and relatively inoffensive, rather than abusive or unduly discriminatory.

The Panel Adjudicators read all of the correspondence and viewed the challenged episode.  The Panel concludes that Global violated Article 5.0 of the CAB Violence Code for failing to mention violence in the viewer advisory, but did not violate any of the other aforementioned Code provisions.

 

Representations of Identifiable Groups

This episode of Family Guy contained a few scenes that made references to identifiable groups.  These included a joke about Barbra Streisand’s nose, Gandhi doing stand-up comedy, a “priest and a rabbi” joke, and Stewie’s drunken toast “to the black man”.

In applying the Human Rights Clauses (Clause 2) of the CAB Code of Ethics and Equitable Portrayal Code, as well as the more specific clauses of the Equitable Portrayal Code relating to Stereotyping (Clause 4), Derision of Myths, Traditions & Practices (Clause 6), Degrading Material (Clause 7) and Language & Terminology (Clause 9), the CBSC has stated that content must reach the level of “abusive” or “unduly discriminatory” material in order to constitute a breach. ¹   Jokes that merely poke fun or lightly mock identifiable groups are acceptable under the Codes. ²   The National Conventional Television Panel finds that all of the references to identifiable groups in this episode of Family Guy fall into that latter category.  There were some imitations of foreign accents and humorous depictions of various groups’ traditions and practices, but nothing that painted those groups in an extremely negative light.  There is no violation of any of the aforementioned Code provisions.

The Panel also notes the existence of the Contextual Considerations (Clause 10) of the Equitable Portrayal Code which allows for the presence of racist or intolerant characters in dramatic programs as long as the program as a whole is not abusive or unduly discriminatory.  That Clause also allows for certain representations for satirical or comedic purposes.  The Panel acknowledges that Family Guy is intended to satirize American family life and much of the humour in the program is based on the ignorance and intolerant views of some characters.  The Panel considers that Clause 10 is relevant to its assessment of Family Guy’s depiction of identifiable groups.

 

Representation of “Stewie” and His Involvement in Sexual Activity

As mentioned above, Stewie is physically depicted as an infant, but his intellecutal and mental development appear to be much more mature.  He is also frequently depicted as an evil genius.  Much of the humour surrounding Stewie is based on this dichotomy of his personality.  He is frequently shown engaging in adult activities, such as, in this episode, shaving his body hair and drinking alcohol.  This episode also included allusions to Stewie and sexual activity (and the Panel is aware that this is a recurring theme of the entire series), in the scenes involving Steve Allen and Roger Moore described above.

With respect to those scenes, the Panel concludes that the broadcaster has not violated Clause 8(b) which prohibits the sexualization of children.  Not only did the scenes consist merely of allusions and innuendo, but it is questionable whether the Stewie character can really even be considered a child.  He is an unusual character with both adult and child-like characteristics, so the Panel cannot conclude that children were sexualized in this broadcast.

 

Sexual Content

In addition to the scenes involving Stewie, there were other allusions to sexuality and mild references to sex.  For example, there was a reference to an actress in the movie Indiana Jones “humping [the] director”, Peter’s attempt to rent pornographic videos, Peter’s rant about Lindsay Lohan wearing provocative clothing, Lois’s allusions to sex with women, and a scene of women in lingerie chasing Stewie.

The CBSC has determined in numerous previous decisions that sexual innuendo and mild references to sex are acceptable for broadcast at any time of day. ³   It is only detailed descriptions or explicit depictions of actual sexual activity that are required to be aired only between 9:00 pm and 6:00 am ⁴ and the Panel considers that there was nothing that reached that level of explicitness in this “Stewie B. Goode” episode of Family Guy.  There is, therefore, no violation of Clause 10 of the CAB Code of Ethics on that account.  The Panel also concludes that the sexual material in this episode was sufficiently vague that Global was not required to mention it in the viewer advisory.  There is, therefore, no violation of Clause 11 of the CAB Code of Ethics on that account.

 

Coarse Language

The episode contained the words “bitch”, “son-of-a-bitch” and “bastard”.  Under Clause 10 of the CAB Code of Ethics, broadcasters shall only air coarse language “intended exclusively for adults” between 9:00 pm and 6:00 am.  The CBSC has determined in previous decisions that the aforementioned words are not severe enough to be considered “intended exclusively for adults” and so broadcasters are permitted to air them at any time of day. ⁵   There is, therefore, no violation of Clause 10 on that account.  The Panel also observes that Global mentioned the language in its viewer advisories.

 

Violence

Article 3 of the CAB Violence Code requires broadcasters to air violent scenes “intended exclusively for adult audiences” only between 9:00 pm and 6:00 am.  As with sexual content, scenes of mild violence are acceptable at any time of day,⁶ while more graphic, gory, explicit scenes of violence fall into the “intended exclusively for adults” category. ⁷

There were three scenes in this Family Guy episode that depicted violence.  The first showed Stewie playing ball with a little boy named Casper.  It was implied that the boy got hit by a car when running for the ball, but the viewer did not see the accident actually occur.  The boy was a ghost when he next appeared on screen and the joke was that Stewie contributed to the creation of Casper the Friendly Ghost.  The second showed Stewie putting sticks of dynamite on the lifeguard chair in an attempt to harm his swimming competitor, but Stewie ended up being crushed by the falling chair himself.  The National Conventional Television Panel finds that these two scenes contained relatively mild violence and did not require a post-9:00 pm time slot.

The Panel had more difficulty with the third scene, which showed Bugs Bunny being shot and killed by Elmer Fudd in an exaggerated and gory manner.  Bugs died a prolonged death and ended up in a pool of blood, following which Fudd twisted his neck and dragged him by the ears.  The Panel finds that the scene was defintely somewhat gruesome and uncomfortable to watch.  It recognizes, however, that the scene was intended to satirize the violence found in that type of cartoon program.  The gag was somewhat tongue-in-cheek since Family Guy itself is an animated program that sometimes contains violence.  While the Panel is somewhat troubled by the inclusion of this scene in a 5:00 pm broadcast, it concludes that, given the underlying message of the scene, it was not so graphic as to necessitate a post-9:00 pm time slot.  There is, therefore, no breach of Article 3 of the CAB Violence Code.  The Panel does conclude that the violence should have been mentioned in the viewer advisories (see “Viewer Advisories” below).

 

Matters of Taste

The National Conventional Television Panel has concluded that none of the substance of this Family Guy episode was in breach of the Codes.  It recognizes, however, that many viewers would find elements of this program to be in poor taste.  In addition to the categories of content discussed above, the Panel notes that some viewers might find the scenes of the man eating dinner in a bathroom stall and Stewie throwing up on Brian to be disgusting and tasteless.  Such matters of taste do not amount to Code violations.  The CAB Code of Ethics Clause 1 points out that broadcasters should provide programming that appeals to a variety of audience tastes and preferences.  In cases where there are no Code breaches, viewers who find the program objectionable must regulate their own viewing via the on/off switch. ⁸

 

Classification

Given its findings with respect to the sexual content, coarse language and violence of the “Stewie B. Goode” episode of Family Guy, the Panel agrees with Global decision to rate the episode 14+.  The Panel understands the complainant’s concern about younger children watching this program, particularly since they may not have the knowledge or capacity to fully understand some of the satirical and social commentary elements of the program.  The fact that some parents may not wish their children to view this program does not mean that it is “intended exclusively for adult audiences” and can only be shown after 9:00 pm.  There is a category of programming that may not be suitable for young children, but is still acceptable viewing for older children, teenagers and adults.  As long as broadcasters provide the required viewer advisories and ratings, audience members must use that information to make informed viewing choices for themselves and the younger members of their households.  Global provided appropriate rating information in this case, so there is no violation of Article 4 of the CAB Violence Code.

 

Viewer Advisories

Global provided advisories in the formats and with the frequency required, namely, in audio and video formats at the beginning and coming out of every commercial break.  The wording of the advisories, however, referrred only to “language and content some viewers may find offensive”.  In previous decisions, the CBSC has determined that advisories must provide specific information about the potentially offensive content. ⁹   There is nothing wrong with including the phrase “content some viewers may find offensive”, since that phrase encompasses a variety of potentially offensive content which is not covered by the Code.  When a program does contain material specifically covered in the Codes, however, broadcasters must provide that information in their advisories.  In this case, Global was wise to mention the language.  As mentioned above, the Panel considers that the sexual material in this episode was sufficiently mild as to not require mention in the advisories.  The Panel does conclude, however, that the violent scenes (particularly the Bugs Bunny scene) were unsuitable for children.  Global should have, therefore, mentioned violence in its advisories and the failure to do so constitutes a breach of Article 5 of the CAB Violence Code.

 

Broadcaster Responsiveness

In all CBSC decisions, the Panels assess the broadcaster’s response to the complainant.  The broadcaster certainly need not agree with the complainant’s position, but it must respond in a courteous, thoughtful and thorough manner.  In this case, Global responded to the complainant with an explanation of its decision to air Family Guy in a 5:00 pm time slot.  Global met its obligations of responsiveness and nothing further is required in this regard in this instance.

 

Announcement of the Decision

Global is required to:  1) announce the decision, in the following terms, once during prime time within three days following the release of this decision and once more within seven days following the release of this decision during the time period in which Family Guy was broadcast; 2) within the fourteen days following the broadcasts of the announcements, to provide written confirmation of the airing of the statement to the complainant who filed the Ruling Request; and 3) at that time, to provide the CBSC with a copy of that written confirmation and with air check copies of the broadcasts of the two announcements which must be made by Global.

The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council has found that Global violated the Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ Violence Code in its broadcast of Family Guy on July 23, 2011.  The episode contained scenes of violence and Global failed to mention violence in its viewer advisories.  Global violated Article 5 of the Violence Code.

 

This decision is a public document upon its release by the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council.