u/thesoupgiant

(I'm talking about MY experience, so if this doesn't resonate I respect that)

Growing up, I would roll my eyes at songs that mentioned God if they didn't have the "right" theology. I would be afraid to engage with stories like The Divine Comedy because they were mortal men speculating about the afterlife. I remember reading Huckleberry Finn in middle school and being exasperated at the Widow not understanding how salvation works. (She claimed Tom Sawyer was probably hellbound due to his behavior, when any "TRUE" Christian knew Salvation comes from a relationship with Jesus)

Now that I've chilled out on that rigidity, I'm reading old Christian poems and looking at artwork from a wide array of theological ideas and they're absolutely beautiful, wonderfully weird, and artistically rich. I'm reading Paradise Lost now and it's badass.

This extends to the Bible itself. I used to low-key dread having to hear the story of Job, since hearing about a guy I believed was real and literal losing his children because God and Satan made a wager was kind of a downer. But now that I read it as poetry moreso than a historical document, the discussion between Job and his friends, cumulating in God himself describing the vastness of Creation; comes across to me as both epic and beautifully human.

I feel like the actual answer is subjective; but what's the consensus on this?

The origin of this sub was YouTube comments where people talked about/to Peetah like he was a real guy and seemed in actual distress over a fictional world. But some posts here read more like saying "it's not that deep" to somebody analyzing a TV show or movie as it pertains to culture or storycrafting.

While I do feel like it's a bit silly to do get actually heated at something like Family Guy, just having opinions on an influential piece of pop culture seems normal. People have written whole books analyzing The Simpsons and South Park. (I think they're better shows, but there's no denying FG is a cultural touchstone for better or worse)

Somebody commenting on a youtube video, "PETER!!!! Stop being mean to your daughter! Why hasnt anybody called CPS?!?!?" is Super Serious Family Guy. But somebody making a video about the punching-bag trope in sitcoms and using Meg as an example, or having an opinion that her treatment reflects latent misogyny in society (I don't even fully AGREE with that take, but I don't think it's "taking it too seriously") is a valid sociological talking point.

This goes doubly for childrens' entertainment. It most often gets the "it's not that deep" treatment, but imo entertainment made for developing minds should be taken the MOST seriously. Sesame Street, from its inception, was made in collaboration with visionary creatives, experienced TV execs, and child psychologists to give underprivileged kids a leg up before entering school. Somebody commenting, "I lost all respect for Elmo" after he won't share his toys is Super Serious Family Guy. But somebody being concerned with, say, an element of the show teaching a bad message is NOT Super Serious Family Guy. Somebody being concerned that Barney presents too saccharine and unchallenging of a world compared to Mr. Rogers or Sesame Street is valid, as is somebody who argues that the safe environment of Barney is beneficial to learning basic concepts.

Family Guy itself is a modern Vaudeville variety show, so I do find caring about the plot to be goofy. But it's rife with cultural commentary, and I think engaging with that is fine.

Lastly, I don't even HATE the Super Serious Family Guy comments. They don't make me mad. I just think they're really funny. But I have a lot of affection for the people who make them. Because (as you can tell from this post) I have some of that in me, too.

EDIT: I meant ECT in tne title; my mistake.

I believed in Hell when I was a kid & teen, but I also grew up in the American Bible Belt, so I didn't really know many people who were openly non-Christian. Most of the "unbelievers" were teenage peers whose parents were Christian, going through a rebellious phase, so I was able to keep from worrying about them by praying God would keep them alive til adulthood when they'd "get it". The idea of somebody who went through their whole life "unsaved" was an abstract idea I was able to keep away with cognitive dissonance. I would even sometimes pray that God would go back in time and "save" some of my favorite deceased heroes on their death beds, and would fervently Google "was X a Christian" at every celebrity death.

It confused me as a kid when my parents would be so calloused when I wanted to make sure somebody was saved. I'd ask my dad, "Is [insert singer] a Christian?" And he'd go, "He probably SAYS he is." Or, "Has Grandpa asked forgiveness for leaving Grandma?" "No." Then why aren't we driving to his house RIGHT NOW to try and get him to?! Y'all believe in Hell for people who don't repent of their sins or who "just play Church". How are you so calm??

These days I have an ernest conviction that Scripture seems to point toward Annihilationism (as much as I personally would like it to be Universalism). I also don't think Salvation is achieved by reciting a "Sinner's Prayer", but that's a different discussion.

And I guess I still have the same genuine confusion I did as a small child. I know "if you really believe in Hell you should be out there trying to keep people from it" is a common sermon topic; but I'll go a step further and ask how you're able to believe in it without constantly sobbing? I was able to keep it at bay as a kid in a silo, but after you get out into the world and meet 3-demensional people who you LOVE, and realize there are millions like them, and you still believe in that... how are you not on the floor wailing?

I'm talking about specifically to each one alone, not as a group (so thinks like the BPS scam don't count). I'm also considering both intent and impact.

Here are my candidates:

Kevin - either the new bike scam, since his road burns looked more "real" and painful than the show's usual slapstick; or Eddy exploiting his phobia of needles to terrorize him

Sarah - stealing her dollar to buy jawbreakers

Jimmy - a flashback episode reveals they're the reason he messed up his teeth, which is a permanent injury, so I'll go with that

Kankers - a lot of people say the Eds were rude to them in "Nagged to Ed", but I really don't agree. It's not their fault some crazy stalker broads tried to force them into a role play of their mom's horrible relationships. I'd say their worst intentional action to the Kankers was trying to snap a creepshot for their calendar

Nazz - along with the other boys, though it wasn't intentional; I think I'll put overwhelming her with attempts at simping here. That shot was pretty uncomfortable

Johnny - destroying his house

Plank - killing his parents

Rolf - Eddy didn't know HOW bad tossing the sea cucumber was, but he still was pretty rude about it. "Wish you were Ed" was very manipulative, but at least partly motivated by good intentions. I'd go with abusing his hospitality as the worst, though.

What do yall think?

EDIT TO ADD: I'll include the worst things two other Eds have done to the third, if that makes sense:

Ed - most of the cruel stuff done to him is by Eddy, with Edd actively objecting; so I actually don't know about this one

Edd - by far the cruelest prank Ed and Eddy pulled on him was making him think he had a terminal illness.

Eddy - the other two abandoning him when he's utterly humiliated in the Nazz babysitting episode, then partying at his house

When people include 🤷‍♂️, 🤷‍♀️, or the dreaded ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ in their internet arguments, it drives me up the wall. Whether they're arguing with me or I'm just lurking and see it. I know it's ragebait, and I'm like a fish to the hook because I can't stand that smug faux-twee shit.