Formal Three

Pablo Barajas

English 101

Formal 3

           

                                                             Diapers of Domination           

Stewie Griffith from Family Guy is a walking terror. If he’s not bent on his plan to take over the world, he is plotting the murder sweet mother, Lois. Don’t let his diapers or dimples woo you, he is one of the brightest babies you will ever encounter. He has his ray guns, his knives, and his brain—he’s ready for anything that may get in his way.

Stewie’s hatreds are quite clear, and most of them are focused on his family.  He is straightforward with his actions and he holds no regrets. He has some form of respect for his family, but not much. After all, he wants to murder his mother. He calls his father “the fat man.” He doesn’t even acknowledge his sister Meg’s existence. And so, we are left … with the family dog – Stewie’s best buddy. His hatred towards his family is shown in almost every episode. He always has a scheme under his sleeve to hurt his family. He hates his family’s values. He hates that his mother is always constantly trying to be a mother figure. He just wants her eliminated. He hates when his father is constantly an idiot. It always seems that every time Stewie goes somewhere with his father, Stewie will constantly get hurt. For example, in one episode, Peter took Stewie out to the gold course on a hot summer day and he had put Stewie in an over the shoulder harness type sling without sun block. Stewie ended up getting extremely burnt, and later developed a cancerous mole. Even though Stewie was upset for a while, he embraced his new tan lifestyle.  He is also easily forgetful. When Stewie was making new friends and hosting all these posh parties, he eventually forgot about his father’s stupidity and just went of basking in his newfound popularity from the suntan. Stewie also has the highest level of sarcasm of any character on the show. He always puts down anything anyone will say. He always has a witty comment to say that will usually entail an insult to a pop culture or historical figure. Stewie is all about putting people down. He attacks at the most inappropriate times.

Stewie’s true mission is world domination. He thinks he can do it, but in the end he always ends up failing. In one episode, Stewie believed that he was getting soft, so he created a machine that would enhance his anger and hostility. It ended up backfiring when the machine created an evil clone of Stewie, leaving real Stewie the same. In the end he ends up having a showdown with his evil clone. At the very end we see them both striped down to diapers fighting for their lives. Then it is up to Brian to choose the real Stewie. Fortunately Brian knows exactly what to say to trick the fake Stewie, in turn revealing the real Stewie.

 Stewie knows that he can outsmart anyone that comes in the way of him and his goal. He really does not care whom he has to step on to reach his goal. I do believe that he will remember whom he cares about when he is on top. I believe he’ll always provide for Brian, because they truly are soul mates. In Joan Didion’s essay, On Going Home, Didion explains how people back in her hometown of Sacramento, were self contained and only concerned about their own self-image. She would see Stewie Griffin as being like one of her hometown residents that are always in their own little bubble, only caring about their own self-growth. Also, Didion is very connected to memories and historical connections. I can definitely connect that to Stewie as well. He constantly has flashbacks to being back in the womb and remembering plotting his plans for world domination in there. Although he is not even one, he has numerous flashbacks off all that has happened in his life.

Even though he pushes Lois down the stairs, he still does truly love her. His love for specific family members is different every episode. For example, in one episode he believes he has finally killed Lois after shooting her numerous times with a machine gun, but in reality this is all a dream sequence. In another episode, Lois saves his teddy bear and love his life, Rupert from a vicious dog. After Lois’s chivalrous and brave attempt of saving Rupert. Stewie is forever grateful to her, and will not leave her side. He becomes obsessed with Lois in this episode. I believe he is bipolar with all his mood swings and split personalities, as a viewer, you see him going through. He truly wouldn’t gain anything out of Lois’s death. She is the only nurturing person in his life. You rarely see Meg or Chris helping Stewie. Sure Brian would help him but for how long? The only person who can truly handle and take care of him is his mother.

On the flip side of his terror, he is truly a good-hearted spirit. Ninety percent of the time, Stewie’s actions can be justified, in the other ten percent I believe he is acting on impulse and usually anger accompanies those actions. I believe that anger is what actually motivates him most. He is quite the angry child. He doesn’t really fit in with his family and he does not have many friends. I believe the closest person in his life is the family dog, Brian. They constantly have adventures together and are close, despite their differences. There have been countless times that they have both loved and truly despised each other. My favorite moment that really describes the relationship between the both of them is when Stewie creates a machine that can travel through different dimensions. Stewie and Brian both end up traveling through all these hilarious dimensions but the best one would have to be the Dog/Human reversal dimension. We see the tables turned as Brian is being forced to put Stewie on a leash and pick up his poop.

One of Stewie’s greatest traits would be his communication skills. He is far beyond his years when it comes to his knowledge. He knows how to play people. He can be the sweetest little child in the world just to get what he wants. In the show, there are moments where as a viewer you aren’t sure if the adults in the episode can hear Stewie’s true words. The one person in the show that can always understand Stewie, is Brian. Stewie’s humor really creates a dynamic personality for himself. His comic timing in the show is perfect. The reason he is so funny is the reason why so many are in love with him.

In her essay, Marrying Absurd, Joan Didion talks about how people who get married in Vegas are all about “instant gratification.” She would probably consider Stewie’s reckless attempts to take over the world, are absurd. She would connect him to the couples in Vegas are all about a no waiting period. Stewie can’t seem to wait as well. He needs what he wants and he needs it quickly.

In her essay Slouching Towards Bethlehem, Didion brings up the fact that many young people during the 60’s in San Francisco, had no sense of home, and believed that they had no roots and no past. Stewie is somewhat similar to those junkies in San Francisco, because he could really care less if he had to totally drop his family and friends on the spot for world domination.