“The Goode Family,” a new cartoon, makes enviros cringe 19

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1. 

   PermieWriter Posted 10:48 am
   30 Apr 2009

   Please, no. Gods no.

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2. 

   Bart Anderson Posted 10:55 am
   30 Apr 2009

   Ah, some wholesome entertainment by the creators of Beavis and Butthead!The voice of the consumer/screw-it-all culture.  Animated sociopathy - cute!

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3. 

   Teuthis Posted 11:03 am
   30 Apr 2009

   I wanna join that family!Could I get them to adopt me?  *thinks* Darn it, they're not real.  Those film producers are cruel teases.Nice to see decent people on TV, but thumbs-down to the rude narrator.

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4. 

   Biodiversivist Posted 3:27 pm
   30 Apr 2009

   They did a good job with the Texas small town stereotype on King of the Hill. Looks like they are going after the urban politically correct stereotype this time. Hopefully they will do a good job with it as well. Caught an episode last night where Bobby was almost picked to be the next Dali LLama. It was actually pretty heart warming.
   
   The animated show that really makes me cringe is Family Guy--shallow, vicious, devoid of any meaningful content.

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5. 

   hapa Posted 5:36 pm
   30 Apr 2009

   probably should consider it a blessing, a kind of public beta test for the future

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6. 

   Tom Twigg Posted 9:57 pm
   30 Apr 2009

   Aren't we reading here because we have a sense of humor to accompany our conscience (or gloom and doom)? What's the saying ... if you can't laugh at yourself who are you going to laugh at? I admit it, I laughed.

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7. 

   AlyssaKillface Posted 12:16 am
   01 May 2009

   This isn't the living green image that America needs to see.  This family reminds me of the douches that think they are better than everyone else because they are "green". Who eat tons of soy, which creates the giant mega industrial farms that they hate.  It also seems unnecessarily racist.  They are making a mockery out of living sustainable.  True environmentalists don't judge others by their lifestyles and choices.  True environmentalists lead the way by helping others to realize the consequences of their actions.

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8. 

   JamiesJ Posted 9:51 am
   01 May 2009

   I couldn't agree more. Absolute necessity to be able to laugh at ourselves. This makes environmental awareness something to be consider more normal if its being mimicked!!

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9. 

   Teuthis Posted 5:32 pm
   01 May 2009

   Having given it more thought:Were the cartoonists trying to "make enviros cringe," do you think?  Make them (me) offended, defensive, embarassed, angry or all of the above?  Or is it just supposed to be a harmless laugh? I feel all of those emotions, along with wistful envy (as in my previous post).  But what makes me cringe is fear of what Allysakillface noted--the attitude it will encourage toward environmentalists.  I love the Goodes already, and it's painful to know that the narrator, and people all over the world, will be hating and ridiculing them for their heartfelt-if-occasionally-tactless deeds.  If the ultimate message is that they (we) are idiots who every normal person should hate and ridicule, we will have our work cut out for us undoing the damage.What poisoned, pretty fruit the TV tree will bear this May...

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10. 

    Biodiversivist Posted 6:42 pm
    01 May 2009

    If it is a remake of King of the Hill with a different sterotype, then it will be like King of the Hill, which is a good show. I don't hate people from small towns in Texas. I don't think people in small towns in Texas feel hated. I am very curious though. Nobody ever fits any sterotype exactly so we might have enough wriggle room to laugh. Ned Flanders was one of the most beloved characters on the Simpsons, next to Lenny of course.

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11. 

    AlyssaKillface Posted 10:28 pm
    01 May 2009

    Not all green is good.  I see it as distraction.

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12. 

    davidsimple Posted 11:48 am
    02 May 2009

    I can't wait to watch this new cartoon and test if this is indeed very funny or just a flop.

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13. 

    rainreason Posted 11:38 am
    04 May 2009

    If the show offered anything in the way of subtlety, it might be funny. But then it wouldn't be propaganda.

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14. 

    green news Posted 4:16 pm
    04 May 2009

    >'This family reminds me of the douches that think they are better than everyone else because they are "green".'I think that's the point.  Nobody likes those types.  Poking fun at self-righteous gasbags is a good way to show how not to act, and if we're lucky, such types will see themselves and dial back the enviro-snobbery.  IMHO it it's good to let out some of the hot air that has clearly turned off a lot of people already -- those "douches" are a real drag on helping everyday folks see the wisdom in making smarter choices every day. 

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15. 

    Piney Posted 9:14 am
    05 May 2009

    come to think of it, my first impression of King of the Hill was it was an unfare mockery of simple folks, albiet conservatives, albiet Texans. Then it hit me that it was really showing how similar these folks are to me, not conservative, not Texan. :)So I have hope and optimism that this show will poke fun yet also showing 'good intentions' and 'doing the right thing' are not so wacky afterall.I think a lot of folks perceive environmentalists as elitists, on their 'high horse', so this will, in their eyes, bring them down a few pegs by making fun of them. Then ppl will grow to accept and even adore these characters, and learn in the process.

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16. 

    alans Posted 12:34 pm
    05 May 2009

    OK, I cringed when I saw the trailer, but maybe I deserve it. Nah - I'm too pure, too good, too high-minded and too self-sacrificing to allow someone else to laugh at me, especially if they're the kind of person who uses plastic bags at the supermarket, wait, I mean PAPER bags. Or was that plastic ???
    Honestly folks, lots of greens, myself included, love buying things and doing stuff that announce to the rest of the world, "I'm good." (And I have the Grist buying guide to help me out.) Each time I flick off the compact fluorescent light (powered by the photovoltaics on my roof), hop on my bike, and pedal over to the local organic food store with my reusable bag, I am, without a doubt, doing my all for the planet, but don't I also take just a wee little bit of satisfaction in my public displays of goodness? (Hey, stop smirking over there. It's only a "wee little bit". I'm pretty sure of it.)

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17. 

    rainreason Posted 10:19 am
    06 May 2009

    You people are really, really GOOD... much gooder than Goode. But I think it's overgenerous and perhaps naive of the earth-conscious (both prideful and other) to think the makers of this cartoon have any altruistic intentions, say of gently prodding or raising awareness or otherwise inducing positive, earth-friendly change by way of reverse or otherwise confused psychology. This show is yet another American embarrassment. I guess that leaves the problem of reversing the damage. One word comes to mind: moderation. However you apply it, it seems to do some good."Since when is it wrong to do good?" - Jesus Christ

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18. 

    turanga leela Posted 11:23 am
    06 May 2009

    Mike Judge is a writer, not a propagandist. Writers take the broad view and look at humans of all kinds, warts and all. That way, we can learn to laugh at and empathize with and love ourselves and others, warts and all. I hardly see what's wrong with that. Turning people into hated pariahs generally doesn't lead to social cohesion and cultural transformation, and yet that's often what people do who are crusading for change, both on the left and on the right. Let's not forget that before we're eco-warriors or culture warriors or justice crusaders or whatever else, we're all human, and in the words of Red Green, we're all in this together. I'm not siding with the badgers and trees against my fellow humans (well, not anymore, at least). I'm not taking sides at all, because there are no sides to take. That's why I like writers like Mike Judge. People aren't good or evil, and everyone can be right or wrong sometimes.

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19. 

    Jes Posted 7:36 am
    07 May 2009

    This program will only reinforce the damaging stereotype that environmentally-concious citizens are over-burdened with guilt and compassion while severely lacking any common sense.  Environmentalists (and other progressives) are normal people!  The Goode Family seems to set out to only illustrate how different "they" are from a "normal American."  I hope it gets canned

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