Representations of Abortion in Adult Animated Television Comedy
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 2-2019 Brrap Brrap Pew Pew: Representations of Abortion in Adult Animated Television Comedy Erika A. Byrnison The Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/3003 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] BRRAP BRRAP PEW PEW: REPRESENTATIONS OF ABORTION IN ADULT ANIMATED TELEVISION COMEDY by ERIKA A. BYRNISON A master’s thesis submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Liberal Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, The City University of New York 2019 i © 2019 ERIKA A. BYRNISON All Rights Reserved ii Braap Brrap Pew Pew: Representations of Abortion in Adult Animated Comedy by Erika A. Byrnison This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in Liberal Studies in satisfaction of the thesis requirement for the degree of Master of Arts. Date Dr. Jean Halley Thesis Advisor Date Dr. Elizabeth Macaulay-Lewis Acting Executive Officer THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK iii ABSTRACT Braap Brrap Pew Pew: Representations of Abortion in Adult Animated Comedy by Erika A. Byrnison Advisor: Dr. Jean Halley This thesis charges that representation of abortion in American adult animated comedy is under- examined and significant because representation on television in other genres has traditionally been absent or misleading. I also posit that greater truthful representation of abortion in popular culture may be effective in reducing prevalent abortion stigma in the U.S. amongst the young by normalizing the procedure in more accurately representing American attitudes towards abortion and how commonly the procedure is performed. I review why our culture should be concerned about reducing abortion stigma in the U.S., the severity of which ranges from perpetuating silence around the procedure to violent acts. Though 76% of Americans say that they have not changed their stance on abortion in the past five years, in that same time period one-third of young Americans have changed their views, “and nearly three times as many have become more supportive of abortion rather than more opposed to abortion (25% v 9%).” (Davis, PhD, Cox, PhD and Griffin, PhD). Abortion has long been considered a taboo topic on television and considered virtually absent until recently. However, there have been a number of references in adult animated comedies, which is particularly interesting given they are targeted to adults ages 18-34. I analyze iv why and discuss the conditions that led to the sudden explosion in development of adult animated comedy and how the genre quickly became so popular. I present research that has demonstrated the effectiveness of pop culture in communicating social norms and forcing viewers to reconcile their own prejudices. Elizabeth Levy Paluck’s research into prejudice reduction and social norms may apply to representations of abortion. My research involved a comprehensive review of five programs— Archer (seasons 1-8), BoJack Horseman (seasons 1-3), Family Guy (seasons 1-15), Rick and Morty (seasons 1-2) and South Park (seasons 1-20). These were chosen to represent a variety of styles, networks and length of runs. I watched each episode and noted each mention or allusion to abortion. If there were more than one mention or allusion within one segment, I counted that as a single mention or allusion. I discovered a total of 93 segments across the five programs that mentioned or alluded to abortion. Jokes were then analyzed for their accuracy, if they played to any negative stereotypes and if they were effective in normalizing the procedure. v Table of Contents Introduction ......................................................................................................................................1 History of television censorship and the abortion taboo ................................................................11 The mechanics of network censorship .......................................................................................12 Reagan’s FCC and the birth of FOX ..............................................................................................19 The Simpsons and their descendants ..........................................................................................20 Unique characteristics of adult animated comedy .....................................................................24 Culture and stigma .........................................................................................................................27 Defining abortion stigma and its power to cause harm ..............................................................28 Theories on visibility and stigma ...............................................................................................32 The taboo and the ratings paradox .............................................................................................34 Media representation of stigmatized groups and its effects ...........................................................36 Abortion on television ....................................................................................................................42 Under the radar abortion humor .....................................................................................................48 Research methods ......................................................................................................................51 Archer ........................................................................................................................................52 BoJack Horseman ......................................................................................................................58 Family Guy .................................................................................................................................66 Rick and Morty ...........................................................................................................................89 South Park ..................................................................................................................................94 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................114 Notes ............................................................................................................................................116 Works cited ..................................................................................................................................117 vi List of Tables and Illustrations Figure 1: “BoJack Hates the Troops” ............................................................................................48 Figure 2: “Skorpio” ........................................................................................................................55 Figure 3: “Brrap Brrap Pew Pew” .................................................................................................64 Figure 4: “Peter’s Daughter” .........................................................................................................68 Figure 5: “Stewie Goes for a Drive” ..............................................................................................72 Figure 6: “Peter’s Progress” ...........................................................................................................75 Figure 7: “The Big Bang Theory” .................................................................................................84 Figure 8: “Rixty Minutes” .............................................................................................................90 Figure 9: “Kenny Dies” .................................................................................................................98 Figure 10: “Kenny Dies” .............................................................................................................102 Figure 11: “Woodland Critter Christmas” ...................................................................................112 vii INTRODUCTION There are many ways to mendaciously engage in an argument. One is by silencing your opponent. The anti-choice movement in the United States has chosen to advance their cause largely with this tactic. The very name that they began employing in the early 1970s, “pro-life,” is a propaganda term designed to disregard women’s bodily autonomy. Common tactics include manipulating internet search results with misinformation about abortion, getting the phone numbers of providers disconnected and web sites hacked and shut down, attempting to intimidate patients outside clinics and blocking access to healthcare, advocating for laws that limit access to abortion under the guise of “safety,” funding crisis pregnancy centers that lie about their credentials and patients’ reproductive health choices, and passing domestic and global gag rules that stipulate that providers literally can’t share information about healthcare without losing funding. The anti-choice movement takes aim at all levels of our society: individuals, communities, businesses and government. As a result, abortion stigma is pervasive