American Dad premiered on Fox in 2005, following Super Bowl XXXIX. Nearing its 20th anniversary, a look back at the show is overdue. The political adult animated show was an outlet for creator Seth McFarlane. Now far removed from the politics of the early 2000s, it’s quite interesting to look back at the Bush-era TV show.

Seth McFarlane created the show’s premise based on his frustration with the 2000 election and displeasure with the Bush administration. “We figured we should channel this into something [American Dad] creative and hopefully profitable,” said McFarlane after being asked what spurred his idea for the show. 

This idea is especially clear in episode seven, “Deacon Stan, Jesus Man” written by Nahnatchka Khan, where Stan runs to be the deacon of his church to beat his rival. To help his campaign, Stan enlists the help of Karl Rove, George W. Bush’s senior adviser. The episode characterizes Rove as a literal demon. 

No other member of the Bush administration is targeted more than Dick Cheney. If you are a fan of Vice (2018), you will get a kick out of the early 2000s political jargon. The show does a great job describing these political figures. Even with a modern lens, you have a sense of who these people were. In episode two, Stan devises a plan to stop his wife Francine from making more money than him by kidnapping Alan Greenspan’s dog to blackmail him into raising interest rates. Francine was working as a real estate agent, but the housing market bubble popped later in the year, causing the market to crash, which only adds to the joke. 

One thing that might be tough for modern viewers is how the show tackles homophobia and racism, more specifically, Islamophobia. The show is set from Stan Smith’s perspective, which is that of a white, Anglo-Saxon Protestant Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operative. Often, the joke of mistreatment of Middle Eastern people is not written the best, making it mean-spirited rather than the progressive message it intended to send. This was relatively progressive for 2005, especially in episode 6, “Homeland: Insecurity,” where Stan essentially traps his Iranian neighbors in a Guantanamo-style prison, in which he then traps the rest of his neighbors and tortures them. He gets tortured by Francine in a homage to the Abu Ghraib torture pictures that were released roughly a year before this episode premiered. Although the jokes aren’t delivered the best, Seth McFarlane was getting his point across on prime time television.

Where these jokes fail is that often, it is Stan or Steve Smith who are being morally corrupt, but usually, they’ll be characterized as the caring dad and geeky son in the same episode. It is nice to have layered characters, but it makes it feel weird when you are supposed to adore and also be disgusted by these characters. Often, the characterization works, like in the pilot episode in which Stan meddles in the school government election so that he will win. Stan then wins and takes absolute power and creates zany school rules. This works because what Stan and Steve do is relatively innocent, but in episodes where Stan is upset, the CIA doesn’t take long to go torture people. It is weird to feel like we have to care about him, but often, the episodes are written well enough that the nuance is there to make it land. But occasionally, an episode or joke will just fall through.

The character of Hayley Smith helps create this nuance. She is often overly preachy. However, at the end of most episodes, Hayley is the correct one, making this nice dynamic of her being the offset to her family’s craziness. Without her presence, the show would not make sense.  When she is made fun of for pointing out the absurdity of her family’s actions, the joke is not about her, it is about how bad her family is.

The show is ahead of its time. At the same time, it is so set in 2005, that it feels like the perfect media encompassing what was happening in America in that time period. Then again, its ability to tackle tough subjects before any other piece of entertainment is astonishing, something that shows today struggle to do. It is a nice time capsule, and we should also learn from its ability to discuss these important issues we struggle with today.

The University of Maine’s Jewish Voices for Peace club (JVP), established last semester, is a welcoming community ready for discussion.

JVP is an organization that campaigns for peace in the United States, Palestine and worldwide. The organization hopes to be a space to discuss differences and separations between the topics of Zionism and Judaism.

A strong motivator for JVP Vice President Syd is to encourage students, who in their eyes are largely apolitical, to talk about world news, something they view isn’t largely discussed on campus. JVP is a space for students on campus to tune into what’s happening in the world around them. Syd always wanted to be a part of a JVP organization but didn’t know that UMaine had one. Last semester, when they saw JVP running a bake sale, they quickly joined, seeking out like-minded people who are willing to discuss the issues going on worldwide. Before joining the club they didn’t know anyone in the group, but quickly made connections and found a space on campus that met their needs. Syd’s favorite aspects of the club are the sit-ins and dialogues that the group hosts with a variety of speakers. 

Syd makes it clear that members all share the responsibility of the group and that the goal for them is to help connect the campus, allowing people to discuss politics. Primarily, they discuss the genocide in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. They view this as a topic that needs to be discussed on campus, and are hopeful that the dinner and dialogues, and teach-ins will help to start that discussion.

The organization held their first meeting of the year on Sept. 11. At the meeting, introductions were done, as most people hadn’t met each other yet. Everyone spoke about why they chose to attend. Then, they discussed their plans for the semester and explained why JVP is needed on campus and the group’s goals, which align mostly with Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS), which also helped the group convey what individuals can do to help their cause. Reading material was passed around, detailing what antisemitism is and how anti-zionism is not antisemitic. The group intends to clear up important distinctions and start that discussion on campus.

Brooke Arend, the co-founder of the UMaine chapter, started the group to expand Jewish spaces on campus as she believed that our school needed a space to discuss the on-going crisis in Gaza and the Occupied West Bank. Just like Syd, Arend emphasized this campus is a space that is shy to discuss world events. She wants to raise awareness for Palestine and says that this space is a great spot for people of all backgrounds to come together and have a discussion. According to Arend, the space is open to all, not just Jewish students on campus. She is looking forward to providing teach-ins to help educate our campus and grow that community. 

The club plans to meet every week, but meeting times  may be subject to change. Currently, they are on Wednesdays at 3 p.m. The group posts updates about meeting times and events on instagram (@umainejvp). 

On April 5, I watched the Joe Gatto show at the Collins Center for the Arts (CCA). This show was free for university students and cost $38 for non-students. This event was a massive success in the area as the show sold out at the Collins Center. Despite leaving the Impractical Jokers, Joe Gatto still has it. The crowd seemed to be mostly students, and the campus was buzzing all week in anticipation of the show. I arrived 20 minutes early, and the CCA was already packed. 

The opener of the show was Mark ‘Jiggy’ Jigarjan. Despite being billed as being from New York, he hammed up the fact that he was actually from Boston. He threw in a classic UNH joke to appease the crowd and get everyone going. Unfortunately, after that, it felt as if he didn’t know how to tell a coherent joke that would make the whole room laugh. He cracked a joke saying Joe Biden is old and sleepy, which seemed oddly way too political for an opener to make. 

After an awkward laugh from the audience, he joked about how his friends from New York told him “to watch out for the big booty Latinas at UMaine.” He said, “I didn’t know they were talking about the men.” This joke resulted in a confused laugh from the crowd. He then wrapped his set and introduced Joe Gatto shortly after. I personally had a big problem with that last joke, as it felt like he didn’t know what jokes to make about the audience or the area. His jokes were “fill-in-the-blank” and controversial for an opener. 

When Joe Gatto got out onto the stage, the crowd erupted in applause. Gatto started his set about the same way talking about the university and making a UNH joke as well. His joke seemed a lot more thought out than his opener’s remark. Gatto then described his reaction to finding out about our mascot being called bananas, and the crowd loved the bit. Next, he told a story about a trip he went on to Alaska and how he tricked his sisters into thinking he got attacked by a bear. 

Joe Gatto’s show flowed amazingly. He was great at making jokes that recalled parts from earlier in the show. It felt cohesive and put together. He even told stories from his days on Impractical Jokers. Gatto’s set was sensational and well-received by the crowd.

Joe Gatto is probably one of the best comedians our student government could have gotten; his style of comedy is timeless. He made relatable jokes and connected well with the audience. Afterward, he took pictures with audience members. Overall, it was a phenomenal performance by Joe Gatto: 10/10.