Family Guy,” is a wildly popular animated comedy show that has been running for approximately 10 years on Fox (and, of course can be downloaded on Hulu, YouTube and iTunes). If you’ve never seen it, you should, because your kids most likely have. Brace yourself. What makes “Family Guy” a much-watched show? Well, let’s start with a chronological comparison with two other animated comedy shows about families. “The Simpsons,” in its 21st year on Fox, was controversial when it first came out. It’s hard to believe this was the case. “The Simpsons” focused on a slacker son (Bart) and his dumb Dad (Homer) who never seemed to disagree with or punish Bart’s bad behavior. On “The Simpsons,” the hotbutton issues were often dealt with in a seemingly non-committal way: presenting both sides and then withholding judgment at the end or advocating an unreasoned laissez-faire attitude. One of the principles of media literacy is that all media is constructed from a point of view. When media creators present an issue and try not to take a stand on the subject or believe they don’t have a point of view, they are, in fact, expressing a point of view. People mostly perhaps watched “The Simpsons” because it was funny. It made them laugh. Enter ‘South Park’ Come 1997, enter “South Park.” This animated comedy is about four little elementary school friends (boys). “South Park” features rough animation that looked like crudely cut-out paper dolls sashaying across the screen. The tone is darker and more sarcastic than “The Simpsons.” The hot-button issues are more explicit, the language extremely vulgar and the social commentary much sharper. Creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone set out to expose the lack of logic in America. Issues such as abortion, euthanasia and sexchange operations are examined in head-on detail and defined in an unswerving, unblinking way. There seems to be a desire to hold America to some kind of honesty. Where is religion in “South Park”? Lots. The purple dinosaur goes to church, Jesus guest-stars frequently, and no religion is safe or sacred from a thorough skewer- ing. Parker and Stone believe all religion to be bunk, so no one faith is given preferential treatment. The Catholic Church also had its own moment, with a very crude episode involving the pope and the Blessed Virgin Mary. Parker and Stone even took on Islam recently (but were censored for their own protection by Comedy Central). Why is “South Park” so loved? It’s wickedly witty. There is a kind of brilliance at work. ‘Family Guy’ crass In 1999, “Family Guy” hit the world of entertainment. “Family Guy” took crass comedy to a whole new level. At what point are things just no longer funny? The tone in this show is even darker than “South Park,” with the addition of hollowness, nihilism, mean-spiritedness and profound misogyny. There is a deep-seated hatred of women in “Family Guy.” Peter, the dumb father of the Griffin family, is no Homer Simpson. He hates his teenage daughter Meg — a regular, rather square type — and does terrible things to her that harm her physically and psychologically. The mother of the family, the voluptuous Lois, is the sex object in the home. Her baby, Stewie, and the dog (both of whom talk like adults) both openly lust after her in over-the-top-I-can’t-believethey- are-showing-and-saying-thesethings- on-TV ways. Jesus also frequently guest-stars, and Terri Schindler Schiavo was recently made fun of. I’ve been told that parents are sitting watching “Family Guy” with their kids. And laughing. That’s just sad. Great questions to ask ourselves with regard to our media use are simply these: “What does it mean to be human? How can my family and I use media in a way that enriches and never diminishes our humanity or that of others?” These are broad questions that encompass our entire media lives — our tastes, our habits, our time — and the influence of various media on every aspect of our lives. If we answer these questions honestly and prayerfully, we might find that we are discovering and desiring better ways to use our hours of daily screen usage, even if it requires some tough decisions and resolutions to be made and kept. Never underestimate the bewitching potential and power of humor. He who gets you to laugh last, laughs best, all the way to the zeitgeist bank. What do you and your children get?