Thursday, February 19, 2015

WHO LIVES IN A PINEAPPLE UNDER THE SEA…..


Alright, I’m going to make the assumption that EVERYONE has seen at least one episode (maybe not a full episode) of Spongebob Squarepants. Am I right? Well if you don’t know this cartoon series is about a Sponge, named Spongebob Squarpants who lives in a pineapple under the sea * cues music* and dedicates his life to his job at the Krusty Krab. He lives in the city of Bikini Bottom. Citizens of this city get around on boatmobiles. In almost every episode it establishes the clear competition of the two restaurants (or lack of competition) the Krusty Krab and the Chum Bucket owned by the evil Plankton. Most reoccurring characters are: Spongebob Squarepants, Patrick star, Squidward Tentacles, and Mr. Krabs. Secondary characters include: Pearl, Sandy, Mrs. Puff, Plankton, and Larry.

In all episodes of Spongebob there is an unequal ratio of females to males. The characters that are in all episodes are Spongebob, Patrick, Squidward, and Mr. Krabs, all males. But Spongebob serves as the median between male and female traits, he is presented as a male on the show, but often portrays female traits/actions. For example he often bats his eyelashes, blushes, clasps his hands together and jumps around and also changes the pitch of his voice, sounding feminine. In doing this it shows children the stereotypical ideas of what’s masculine and what is considered feminine.


This show also states how competition is an important factor in the society we live in today. It shows that all restaurants are always in competition, constantly trying to one-up each other. For example, Plankton, owner of the Chum Bucket, is in such a competition with Mr. Krabs, owner of the Krusty Krab, that he constantly tried to steal the Krabby Patty secret formula from the Krusty Krab. He wants to steal this to make his business a more successful enterprise. But in all of Planktons attempts to steal this formula he fails, which also shows an important factor that evil never wins.            

3 comments:

  1. This is good! I like how you included a brief description of Spongebob and list the primary and secondary characters for those of us who haven't seen it in 5 or 6 years. Also, I like how you analyze two different parts of the show: the gender differences and the competition. You could probably go a little bit deeper in your analysis, but I know there is a word limit.

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  2. I like this! I like how you created a summary for those who might have never seen the show! I like how you stated the gender differences and the competition aspect of the show! It wouldve been so much more interesting if you incorporated the seven types of people on the show! Like greed sloth, and etc. But overall this was really good!

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  3. I never really realized there was so much gender stereotyping on Spongebob! I think this is a really solid analysis. You dove deep into the waters (no pun intended) and really showcased the fact that Spongebob can be a pretty riské show. I think you did a great job analyzing the fact that spongebob gives a lot of kids the wrong message about working and friends and competition and the difference between men and women. Good job!

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