African American Diffidence in Family Guy
In the Family Guy episode, “He’s Bla-ack!”, the cast of characters welcome back former character Cleveland Brown. After leaving the show four seasons prior, Cleveland returns, presumably due to the cancellation of his own animated television comedy.
Upon his return, Cleveland is subject to obscene remarks and stereotyping, however, he does not retaliate or respond. Through the African American character Cleveland, Family Guy conveys the message that blacks in the United States are diffident. In other words, they will not stand up for themselves and will willingly endure harassment.
In the opening scene, Cleveland and his so called friends sit at a bar table. They welcome him back to the town of Quahog, Rhode Island. After the exchange of greetings, Quagmire says, “..this is the first time people even realized you had a show”. Cleveland did not so much as acknowledge this criticism. This exemplifies his inability to stand up for himself and assert his dominance. Later, the guys help unload the moving truck to move the Brown family back into their old home. Quadmire says to Cleveland: “It must be weird for you guys to move — and not because of a hurricane”. Once again, Cleveland ignored this insult. Quagmire said this to address the unlikelihood of an African-American having the financial security and ability to move without external forces causing displacement. Instead of causing Cleveland to advocate for his financial stability, he remains silent, reaffirming to Quagmire the stereotypes he believed to be true. As the episode progresses, Peter and Cleveland are forbidden to spend time with each other per their wives’ orders. To combat this, Peter pulls over Cleveland, posing as a police officer, to allow them time to hang out inconspicuously. Peter maintains the normalcy of the situation by doing what he finds ordinary; he beats Cleveland with a baton, then whispers for Cleveland to reach for his gun. When Cleveland does so, Peter continues to brutally assault him. Cleveland does not once oppose the atrocities committed against him. He merely accepts the beating as a customary aspect of black culture. Finally, Peter crashes a car with himself and Cleveland in it in hopes of rekindling the friendship between the two wives. Cleveland was severely injured and hospitalized by the deliberate car crash, while Peter stands unharmed in the hospital room mentioning that he forgot only his side of the car had airbags. Cleveland continually befriends Peter, Quagmire, and Joe, even after they disrespect him and convey their stereotypical beliefs. Cleveland never stands up for himself, whether it be from a lack of confidence or an unassertive nature. The diffidence in the Brown family is apparent by they way they fail time and time again to prove their aggressors wrong.
The negative portrayal of the Brown family in Family Guy will have a negative societal affect that is two fold — Caucasians will feel that their stereotypical views and beliefs regarding black people are true and African Americans will become more diffident towards opposing views toward their race. White people will find that since Cleveland was accepting of these insults, every black person will be so accepting of their ignorant views. This is not true and will affect the racial acceptance of white people in a negative way. Also, Family Guy’s portrayal of black people will encourage a nature allowing one race to promote its superiority over another. In reality, all are equal, however, this show promotes dominance of one race and the subordination of another. Family Guy stereotypes black people as diffident which will alter the racial perception in the United States.
