American Dad and Family guy are arguably two of the funniest cartoon sitcoms of this day and age. Each show consists of the typical American family with very questionable fathers (main characters) as the head of the household. There’s no doubt that Peter Griffin of Family Guy and Stan Smith of American Dad are pretty similar. They’re both essentially family men living in the suburbs of America. They even exist in the same universe. Despite their obvious similarities, their subtle differences become more and more evident when you diligently analyze their characteristics and behaviors throughout the seasons. This essay aims to analyze the comparisons between the two shows while evaluating the contrasts between them.
Peter Griffin, an overweight, inappropriate, Irish middle class American man, who works as a safety inspector for a toy company is the protagonist for a popular show known as Family Guy. He spends his day either getting into plain stupid activities, like fighting a human sized chicken, or getting drunk at the clam (the bar) with his closest friends. His counterpart, Stan Smith is the protagonist of the sitcom, American Dad. Unlike Peter, Stan has a serious occupation working for the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) and usually spends his day neglecting his family for his job or lecturing everyone he meets on his very typical nationalist, American ideals and beliefs. While both of these men are similar in a number of ways, they have very striking differences that ultimately make up their personality traits and the lifestyles each of them chooses to live.
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Both Stan and Peter have seemingly loving wives who stay at home and take care of the family. Despite Lois and Francine expressing their concerns and feelings to their husbands in multiple episodes, they are often left to feel as if they’re exaggerating or as if they’re not very important. Lois, wife of Peter, was born to two very affluent parents who own a very large firm in their hometown, Quahog. Superficially, she appears to be a modest, rational character who is often the voice of reason for her husband, but Lois has a dark and promiscuous side that’s highlighted very subtly in a few episodes. It’s safe to say that Lois isn’t all she appears to be. Francine on the other hand is the wife of Stan and very similarly to Lois, she appears to be a very simple, submissive housewife, but she ultimately seeks more fulfillment out of her marriage and is highly capable of doing other tasks that don’t involve taking care of the home and children. At surface level, aside from physical traits, Lois and Francine are practically interchangeable. They’re both the typical housewives with children, married to a working man. Their characters really conform to the American housewife stereotype considering that, in the eyes of their husbands, they only serve one purpose and that is to be their loving wives.
However, when you compare their lives outside of the household, they are two very different people. Francine, unlike Lois, has been successful in most of her endeavors. Despite being consistently portrayed as idiotic, she’s owned a muffin kiosk at the mall and worked as a realtor for a while. If she was to pursue her interests, she would more than likely be successful. Lois’ life outside of the household is rather suspicious and uncanny. She is an avid smoker and has dabbled in marijuana and cocaine. Additionally, she happens to be a kleptomaniac, stealing hundreds of things over the years. She has had multiple affairs, one even being with Bill Clinton. When she is not with her family, similarly to her husband, she is most likely involved in a questionable activity.
Even though it occurs differently in each show, Stan and Peter’s neglect and disregard for their wives has led them to be completely oblivious as to what their wives are capable of and/or doing outside of the household. Stan is so caught up in trying to be the perfect C.I.A agent that he doesn’t even realize Francine has the potential to be a valuable financial asset if he would let her. Peter on the other hand, has been ignoring Lois for years because simply because he’s an ignorant drunk. These two women essentially lead double lives but their husbands are two selfish to realize.
Both Stan and Peter stand at the forefront of their families as the primary breadwinners. Regardless of their status in the workplace and outside of their households in general, they still manage to be the dominant figure in their families. This is stereotypical of the average American family where the male is the head of the home even if they are less successful and/or less capable than their wives. Peter’s foolish endeavors often have a negative outcome. His sheer obliviousness to the consequences of his actions is what allows him to keep doing absurd tasks. He doesn’t seem to care or even realize that his family members are, more often than not, the ones who have to deal with the repercussions.
For instance, he has an ongoing rivalry with a very large chicken. He continues to physically fight with this chicken, often until they are both bloodied, despite knowing that it ruins him and his family’s reputations, he still does it. Similarly, Stan Smith has a, “It’s my way or the highway” mentality. He perpetually puts his family in very irrational and dangerous situations, even if everyone is telling him he’s in the wrong. Unlike Francine’s and Lois’ comparisons to one another, Peter and Stan are very similar to one another. Because of the fact that they’re allowed to show who they really are without much meaningful judgement from their families, they appear to be very similar people. Whereas, their wives are forced to put their personal lives on hold so they are two different people despite appearing to be the same.
Both Stan and Peter act extremely inappropriately towards their children and similar to the way they treat their wives, there is little to no regard for the children and their feelings throughout both sitcoms. They both alienate their teenage daughters, Meg and Hayley, despite the fact that the girls tend to be the most sane in each episodes. And seemingly, both of their teenage sons are utter disappointments in the eyes of their fathers. Neglecting to spend quality family time with their children, and making their own desires priorities is what allows Stan and Peter to carelessly behave so foolishly and selfishly.
In conclusion, given the fact that Stan and Peter are the quintessential American male dominant figures within their families, they are allowed to be open about who they are and their skeptical ventures, for the most part. Given this shared privilege as head of each household, they are indeed very similar. On the contrary, Francine and Lois seem to be very alike given the fact that they are practically forced to hide who they really are and be the submissive, obedient housewife. When in fact, they couldn’t be more different when evaluating their lives outside of what they’re merely “supposed” to be.
