Despite being known for wild antics and ridiculous behavior, Family Guy has occasionally imparted legitimate wisdom to its audience. Whether it was the importance of family, the proper way to pronounce certain words, or that embracing who we are and being ourselves is how to live a happy life, Family Guy still has a lot of heart, despite its wacky nature, and can even teach us a thing or two about what is important in life and even how we should live our lives.
First airing in 1999, Family Guy went through many ups and downs, including multiple cancelations. The show centers on the family antics of Peter and Lois Griffin (Seth MacFarlane and Alex Borstein) their three children, Chris, Meg, and Stewie (Seth Green, Mila Kunis, and Seth MacFarlane respectively), and their talking dog Brian (again, Seth MacFarlane). The often awkward and always ridiculous dynamic within the whole family is definitely something to laugh at, but there are some truly important lessons they've taught over the last two decades.
Stewie Taught Us to Never Let Others Bring Us Down
When the Griffin's neighbors, the Swanson's, had their baby, Stewie found himself infatuated with her. He was so enamored that he let his musical side come out, and he wrote a song about how much he loved her. Despite being a fairly decent song, Brian gives him a hard time for how cheesy it is. In the process of writing the song, and despite Brian giving him a hard time, Stewie makes it quite clear that he doesn't care that Brian thinks he is lame, and he sings that Brian can't bring him down.
A wonderful lesson in not listening to the surrounding negativity in life. So often it is easy to let the world get us down. So often it is easy to get down on ourselves because of critical words. The best way to overcome this, however, is to simply embrace who we truly are, our real identities, and be true to that. Never let the words of someone else be what tears you down. In those moments, just step back and realize how awesome you are, and if the world doesn't see it, then sing them Stewie's song - "Don't bring me down!"
You Don't Always Have to Pronounce the "H" in Words So Emphatically
Ok, so maybe this is not as important a life lesson as some of the others. Sometimes we meet people who simply do not know how to pronounce words, and it can be really annoying. This is a lesson that not all words need to have that "h" pronounced so emphatically. In this instance (which actually happened multiple times throughout the series), Stewie pronounces the phrase "Cool Whip" with way too much emphasis on the "h", and it just comes out sounding awkward.
Perhaps this is multiple lessons rolled into the one. It is a lesson in making sure to pronounce things properly, but then also a lesson in learning to be patient and kind with those who don't speak exactly the same as we do. We are all different, as we should be. The fact that we are all different, then, should be enough to know that it is ok when people talk, act, or sound different than we do.
Peter Teaches Us That Being Yourself is Most Important
In almost every single episode, Peter finds some way to make a total goof of himself, and each time, he embraces it because he is comfortable in his skin. Peter repeatedly and consistently teaches us that being yourself is important for our mental health. We are exactly who we're supposed to be, and we shouldn't let others' thoughts of us take that away.
Peter always loved to do things his own way, and that is one of the things that makes Peter such a wise man. Sure, he doesn't have any contemporary wisdom, or common sense... or any real life skills... at all... but he is true to himself and doesn't let others tell him how to live his life. Peter truly does live his life, dancing as if no one was watching.
There Is Never a Bad Time to Compliment Someone
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Peter Griffin would occasionally step up and pay someone a compliment. Maybe he was trying to tell Meg she was a good daughter, or perhaps he was simply trying to tell a donkey wearing sunglasses that he had "it", Peter's compliments taught us something important: there is never a bad time to try and encourage someone or say something nice to them.
In the world today, that is what we need. We need to be able to appreciate that a simple word of encouragement can make all the difference in the world to some people, and we need to be able to provide that, even when it doesn't necessarily make much sense - did I mention Peter told a donkey that he was cool? We need to be willing to give that word of encouragement so the world can become a nicer place.
We Do Wild Things For the Ones We Love
After Brian died Stewie found out he could time-travel and save Brian. The new family dog, Vinny (Tony Sirico), decided to give up everything, because he loved the Griffin family. This goes to show that when you love someone, you are willing to do the craziest things, like giving up your own existence so that they might find happiness and love once again.
When this world is always so focused on "me, me, me", it is nice to see that even shows like Family Guy show that love is a powerful thing, and that when we truly love someone, we are willing to go to great lengths to make them happy, regardless of what it means for us. This act of sacrificial love for Vinny meant that he would never have met the Griffin family that he loved dearly (because going back in time to save Brian meant the Griffin family would never have gotten Vinny). That is sacrificial love.
Chris Showed Us That Taking Advice Isn’t Always Best
When Chris gets a girl who finally shows interest in his awkwardness and wants to date him, he gets excited and nervous and isn't entirely sure how to deal with it. He decides to listen to his dad, who might be well-intentioned, but ill-informed, as he tells Chris that girls just like guys to treat them like crap (cause evidently that's a thing?). Chris gives this a shot only to realize that it is absolutely not true, and the girl dumps him.
It would have been so much better if Peter had given good advice, but this is a good lesson in learning that not all advice is created equal, and not all advice deserves a second listen. In this case, Peter was totally wrong, and gave bad advice. Unfortunately for Chris, he did not have a gauge to figure out good vs. bad advice, and so it was a trial by fire situation, and he got burned, but he learned. We should not always listen to all the advice the world throws at us, because advice can be good, but it can be bad as well, and we should learn the difference.
Stewie Learns We Should Never Meet Our Heroes
In one of the "road to..." episodes with Brian and Stewie traveling somewhere exotic, we see the duo traveling to Europe so that Stewie could finally meet his favorite character from his favorite show, The Jolly Farm Revue. Once there, however, his dreams are shattered when he realizes that the sweet and kind Mother Maggie (Lauren Graham) is actually a chain-smoking angry woman, and she screams at Stewie. His heart was dashed to pieces.
This is a painful lesson to learn at such a young age, but an important one, nonetheless. With few exceptions, meeting our heroes is not usually a good idea. While it all depends on who our heroes are, most of the time we end up getting let down when we meet them because we've placed them on a pedestal only to learn that they are just normal people like us, just with a lot more money and likely a lot more attitude as well. So, thank you, Stewie, for showing us that it is usually not a good idea to meet our heroes.
Quagmire Learns That What We Want and What is Right is Not Always the Same
After living his entire life as the perpetual ladies man, Glen Quagmire (Seth MacFarlane) finds out that he has fathered a child. At first, Glen tries to do the right thing, and he attempts to take care of her, but quickly finds out that being a parent is not compatible with the lifestyle he desires to keep on living, and so he gives her up for adoption. Soon afterward he finds that he misses her, so he goes, and he sees that she is genuinely happy, and despite desiring to be with his daughter, he knew that he was not what was best for her.
This is a huge lesson, and a very difficult one. What we want and what is right are not always the same. Glen does his best, and he tries to make it work, but when he realizes that what is best for his daughter is another family, he is able to accept that when he sees how happy she is with them. It was a hard lesson for him to learn, and one that took a while (almost 28-minutes, at least), but he realized what was best for her, and left her to grow up happy and healthy.
Brian and Stewie Teach Us that True Friendship is Priceless
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Throughout the entire series we see the friendship between Brian and Stewie is incredibly special. They fight a lot, but they do so because of the love they have for each other. When they get trapped in a bank vault over the weekend, they get to talk of deep and meaningful things. Brian explains that he's often thought of suicide and struggled with depression, and Stewie breaks down and tells him how much he loves him and that he wouldn't be able to go on without him. Brian gives Stewie's life purpose, and he hoped that could be enough for Brian.
Friendships like that are hard to come by. It is not often you can find someone you can be so open and honest and vulnerable with. And this is a lesson in knowing that we all deserve a friend like that, someone who feels like they thrive because we are in their life, someone who gives us purpose, and we give it right back. A true, honest, and beautiful friendship like that, that is what we should strive to find and never settle for anything less.
When The Griffins Taught Us How Important Family Really Is
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In our lives the most consistent thing we have is family. Sometimes we take that for granted, and sometimes we dismiss family all together. But through the Griffin family, we learned that even those we don't treat well (which, by the way, we should never treat family poorly, or anyone for that matter) still make up the wholeness that is our lives. Towards the beginning of the series, Meg gets so frustrated with how the family treats her that she decides to just leave, after which the family replaces her.
It did not take long, however, for them to realize how much they truly loved her and took her for granted. Friends come and go. Seasons change, and we drift in and out of friendships, but one thing that never goes away is family. They are forever. We must always appreciate the loved ones we have and never take them for granted, because eventually they've move away, or pass on, and we will realize how much they truly meant to us. Family is the most important, because family is forever.