AN AMERICAN INSTITUTION OF AN AMERICAN DAD
BY KRISTIN
American Dad is a show about a conservative American family with a dad who is obsessed about war and terrorism instead of the family that revolves around him. American conservative families are often considered to consist of a war-military-morals obsessed male and his subordinate family. Unchanging human nature constrains certain social institutions and by examining each character in this cartoon, we will examine which member of the American conservative family he/she represents and how this unchanging human nature pokes fun at this social institution.
Stan Smith, the father, holds the dominate male role. He works for the CIA and is always on the lookout for terrorist activity. His war-like anti-terrorist ideas embody his conservative views, along with his frequent references to conservative figures and ideas. He holds the appearance of an American ideal with his strong voice and body, but the only intelligence he holds is military and terrorist intelligence. Conservatives are often associated with family values, but are not thought of to have warm family values, instead having family value based ideals. The father is not able to relate or show affection to any member of his family. He holds chauvinistic values which are often placed upon his wife (the trophy wife) and daughter and is unable to relate to his nerdy son. Stan Smith is unable to react to the feelings or situations of his family, instead the only reactions he shows are in preparation for a terrorist attack. In several episodes, Stan shoots the toaster in reaction to the toast popping up, yet if one of his family members are having a problem he is unaware of any change and does not provide any positive reactions to their feelings
The mother, Francine, represents the conservative wife idea, beautiful trophy wife, with the blonde hair, perfectly applied makeup, and has-been party girl mentality. Her intelligence is not necessary as long as she appears correctly to her husbands standards. In one specific episode, the father was unable to be attracted to his wife because her roots were showing, and she was scolded and exiled in their home because of her disheveled appearance. Similar to her husband, the mother is unable to relate to her children even though she makes several attempts to show that she is a good conservative mother, by talking to them when the father cannot help them because he is having an obsession with erotic fantasies about nuclear war. Because of her lack in intelligence, her attempts are unsuccessful and reflect how many American mothers attempt to appear as if they are successful mothers but instead are only attempting to reach out for their own appearance.
The children are the American conservative ideal by being a girl and a boy, but neither fit the perfect children standards as expected by the father. Steve, the son, is very intelligent is always trying to please his father because his father is unable to relate to him since his son is not interested in the same issues as he is. In one particular episode the son is cleaning all the windows in the house singing about how his father will like him since he is doing it, and instead catches his father in his bedroom during one of his erotic fantasies of nuclear war. The daughter, Hayley, holds the role of the general college-bound young adult, by addressing all of the problems within the household and providing a more liberal reaction to the circumstances. She represents the most aware member of the family, but the most isolated, which represents the conservative view on people who do not fit the conservative mold. Her name is the most unique, perhaps foreshadowing her unique role in the family. Stan often puts her through terrorist preventative security when she enters the house. Since she does not fit the families conservative mold, she is an "enemy" to her father, he can not trust a non-conservative. When she speaks of her interests or makes comments, or in one episode moves out of the house, she is shoved off my all members of the family.
American Dad explores the conservative human
nature and how it constrains the American conservative institution. The end of each episode
represents how the human nature is unchanging since each episode, regardless of
the lessons learned, each character resorts back to
their original state in the beginning of the show. The father will
continue to be the war-terrorist obsessed-chauvinistic male, the mother will
continue to be the trophy wife who is unable to relate to her children, and both
the children will represent the inability for a conservative family to mold
their children no matter what attempts they make. Adult cartoons often
take the role of safely satirically representing touchy topics in American
society, and American Dad successfully represents the human nature of
conservative