Bit Parts

Deciding the Family Guy TV show's inclusion of the song “I Need a Jew” was a fair-use parody of the tune “When You Wish Upon a Star,” the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York noted: “It was the [U.S.] Supreme Court's intention for the parody doctrine to protect new works that have reason to fear they will be unable to obtain a license from copyright holders who wish to shield their works from criticism.” Bourne v. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp., 07 Civ. 8580(DAB). The district court explained of the Family Guy episode: “After hearing his friends talk about how men with Jewish-sounding names have helped them to achieve financial success, [the show's character] Peter decides that he 'needs a Jew' to help him with his finances.” The court found, among other things: “Defendants' use of 'When You Wish Upon a Star' calls to mind a warm and fuzzy view of the world that is ultimately nonsense; wishing upon a star does not, in fact, make one's dreams come true. By pairing Peter's 'positive,' though racist, stereotypes of Jewish people with that fairy tale world-view, 'I Need a Jew' comments both on the original work's fantasy of Stardust and magic, as well as Peter's fantasy of the 'superiority' of Jews. The song can be 'reasonably perceived' to be commenting that any categorical view of a race of people is childish and simplistic, just like wishing upon a star.”