Abdur-Rauf 1 Aliyyah Abdur-rauf Professor Hankerson English 1020 7 February 2012 SpongeBob SquarePants: The Phenomenon That Swept the Nation It is rated the number one children’s show in all of television. According to The Internet Movie Database (IMDb.com) It won over six Golden Reel Awards, and Kids choice Awards in the Philippines, the United States, and Indonesia, and has been nominated by the Emmy Awards for outstanding animated program more than once. This Nickelodeon television series has been translated into twenty-five different languages around the world and has brought about much buzz and controversy in the world of media. SpongeBob SquarePants has grown into a Multi-Billion dollar phenomenon with all sorts of merchandise, amusement park attractions, and a film. So what is it about SpongeBob that makes him such a likeable or unlikable character? Was the intended audience for this show aimed at adults, homosexuals, or is it a children’s show? Does SpongeBob SquarePants have a positive or negative effect on children who watch it? These are all valid questions that are frequently asked amongst parents who face the decision of allowing their children to watch this show or not. Abdur-Rauf SpongeBob SquarePants was first debuted in 1999 with little funding and a dream of 2 a marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg. Since then it has become a number one hit and on some lists it has been rated number 15 of greatest animations of all time. The show is centered on a dish sponge who lives in a pineapple in the sea and works at “Krusty Krab” a local restaurant located in “Bikini Bottom”. SpongeBob is a cheerful kind of sponge who has an innocent childlike behavior and an interesting set of friends. Tom Kenny a comedian, actor, and voice actor does the voice of SpongeBob and while speaking to ABC News he says that "The only reason my family and I aren't living under a bridge is that I can go 'Dahahha!'" "How do you explain that? It's a very bizarre day job!" But apparently it has gained him and the show their popularity. When asked by reporter Neal Karlinsky of Nightline what was it that made SpongeBob such a likeable character, Bill Fagerbakke (the voice of SpongeBob’s close friend Patrick) said "I think it's SpongeBob's whimsical optimism,” Fagerbakke said “that he cannot be defeated. I think that has a lot to do with its appeal." The show has gained its popularity by being honest and funny and displaying in SpongeBob the kind of person that everyone wishes to have as a friend, or a child, or a co-worker. SpongeBob is a faithful, imaginative, honest, and pure individual who is just finding himself and enjoying life. Nonetheless although there is very little research done on it, SpongeBob has been found to be highly unlikable amongst many parents. Parents of young children post blogs and make statements on social networks saying that the show allows for children to portray unhealthy, ill-mannered, and “stupid” behavior. Reasons behind their claims involve Patrick (SpongeBob’s friend) and the fact that he is very dimwitted, the fact that occasionally SpongeBob episodes contain words like “jerk” and “stupid” and other words Abdur-Rauf that parents don’t want their kids repeating, and how the physical humor in the show 3 involves nudity or presenting SpongeBob in nothing but underwear. Even though many parents do not like the show because of the unintelligence of its character’s SpongeBob SquarePants has a very wide range of fans and there is a characteristic about it that has the ability to appeal to people of all genders, race, ethnicity, and age groups. It is not a surprise that a show with fans of this magnitude brings about controversy and questions. According to BBC News the show has managed to gain a very wide range of fans including an extensive amount of homosexuals who use him as an icon and maintain a certain likeness towards not only the show, but also the SpongeBob merchandise. Because of this, SpongeBob’s sexuality has become a topic of conversation everywhere and has managed to become a very controversial subject (BBC News World Edition). While the creators of the show continue to thrust aside claims that their jolly creation is homosexual people like Dr. Dobson (founder and chairman emeritus of Focus on the Family) are under the impression that SpongeBob is a homosexual. This whole controversy stemmed at a video Nile Rodgers created promoting Pro-homosexuality and include SpongeBob alongside many other famous children cartoon characters, but “Mr. Rodgers said he founded the We Are Family Foundation after the Sept. 11 attacks to create a music video to teach children about multiculturalism. The video has appeared on television networks, and nothing in it or its accompanying materials refers to sexual identity. (KIRKPATRICK) ” Stephen Hillenburg argues that although his best friend is pink and they hold hands SpongeBob is not gay. Stephen Hillenburg told Wall Street Journal “He may be kind of special, but he is not designed to be a gay character.” Hillenburg argues that the gay community is attracted to SpongeBob because of his tolerant attitude “Everybody is Abdur-Rauf different and the show embraces that the charictor is an oddball. He is kind of weird, but 4 he is kind of special” said Hillenburg according to BBC World News. Hillenburg says that he always thought of the characters in SpongeBob as asexual and SpongeBob’s innocent optimism is what attracts him to homosexual viewers. Although SpongeBob is screened at kid friendly times and Nickelodeon spokesman Daved Bittler said that the show is aimed at kids 6 to 11, ABC Says “The show's creators say they're not necessarily writing kids’ stuff. “A full 25 percent of the show's audience is adults who don't even have kids.” SpongeBob SquarePants is Nickelodeons most popular show with adult viewers according to BBC News World Edition. Although this show was not meant for Adult Swim or an older audience it sometime contains mature subliminal content. The writers say that they write things often that they think is funny and makes them laugh and that is why the show has such an extensive adult audience. Although there are many adults who watch this television show, there are also children all over the world who have also found a liking to SpongeBob SquarePants and indulge in his show every day. A question was raised about whether or not SpongeBob SquarePants has an effect on children and if so is it positive or negative; as a result the Pediatrics Journal published a study done at University of Virginia that concluded that allowing pre-school children to watch SpongeBob resulted in short-term disruptions in mental function and attention span (Lillard, and Peterson 644-649). The results showed that the children who had watched SpongeBob in the experiment had very low short term attention spans especially compared to the effects of those who watched the Canadian television series Cailou which is aired on PBS in the mornings (Lillard, and Peterson 644- Abdur-Rauf 649). Nickelodeon spokesman David Bittler disputed the findings and said that SpongeBob 5 is aimed at children from 6 to 11 and not children in pre-school who are four years old My concluding opinion is that the cartoon “SpongeBob Square Pants” is not a show that is appropriate for children. The premise behind the cartoon is grounded on adult humor. The creators and writers of this cartoon have developed its humor primarily in regard to what they think is funny and secondary to what children consider being funny. Although the character SpongeBob’s sexual orientation is considered to be asexual, through his personality and actions displayed on the show, he can easily be mistaken for a homosexual. Thus, I find it inappropriate for children in today’s society who are already prematurely subjected to the idea of sexuality, to be additionally exposed to the unclear or confusing content of the SpongeBob cartoon. Moreover findings prove that the show may result in learning disabilities in young children and even though Nickelodeon claims the show is not meant for children between the ages of six and eleven and that is why the result of the study was faltered, who knows what the outcome would be if the study was done on children of those ages? Would the results be better? Or could the results of the experiment turn out worst? Abdur-Rauf 6 My Criteria: Here are my question-based criterions 1. My first body is an overview of the topic 2. Is SpongeBob SquarePants a likeable or unlikable Television show? Is it widely known? 3. Is either of the characters in the show based off of a homosexual person or idea? 4. Is SpongeBob SquarePants a children’s television show? 5. Was the show intended for an older audience or Adult swim? 6. Does watching the show have an effect on the youth? 7. My opinion and claim based on my research. Abdur-Rauf 7 Works Cited BBC News World Edition . "Camp Cartoon star "Is Not Gay". 9th October 2002. 7th march 2012 <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2313221.stm>. KARLINSKY, NEAL, and HANA KARAR. "Meet the Minds Behind 'SpongeBob SquarePants'" ABC News. ABC News Network, 26 Mar. 2010. Web. 07 Mar. 2012. <http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/inside-story-spongebob- squarepants/story?id=10210647>. KIRKPATRICK , DAVID . "Conservatives Pick Soft Target: A Cartoon Sponge." The NewYork Times. N.p., 2005. Web. 7 Mar 2012.