Criticism and Controversy
In 2005, a promotional video which showed SpongeBob along with other characters from children's shows singing together to promote diversity and tolerance, was attacked by an evangelical group in the United States because they saw the character SpongeBob being used as an "advocate for homosexuality". James Dobson of Focus on the Family accused the makers of the video of "promoting homosexuality due to a pro-tolerance group sponsoring the video".
The incident led to questions to whether or not SpongeBob is homosexual. In 2002, show creator Stephen Hillenburg denied this, despite the fact that SpongeBob's popularity with gay men grew. He clarified that he considers the character to be "almost asexual". After Dobson made the comments, Hillenburg repeated this assertion that sexual preference was never considered during the creation of the show. Tom Kenny and other production members were shocked and surprised that such an issue had arisen.
Dobson later asserted that his comments were taken out of context and that his original complaints were not with SpongeBob, the video, or any of the characters in the video but with the organization that sponsored the video, We Are Family Foundation. Dobson indicated that the We Are Family Foundation posted pro-homosexual material on their website, but later removed it. After the controversy, John H. Thomas, the United Church of Christ's general minister and president, said they would welcome SpongeBob into their ministry. He said "Jesus didn't turn people away. Neither do we".
Jeffrey P. Dennis, author of the journal article "The Same Thing We Do Every Night: Signifying Same-Sex Desire in Television Cartoons," argued that SpongeBob and Sandy are not romantically in love, while adding that he believed that SpongeBob and Patrick "are paired with arguably erotic intensity." Dennis noted the two are "not consistently coded as romantic partners," since they live in separate residences, and have distinct groups of friends, but claimed that in the series, "the possibility of same-sex desire is never excluded." Martin Goodman of Animation World Magazine described Dennis' comments regarding SpongeBob and Patrick as "interesting."
In April 2009, in a tie-in partnership with Burger King and Nickelodeon, Burger King released an advertisement featuring SpongeBob and Sir Mix-a-Lot singing "Baby Got Back". Angry parents and the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood protested the ad for being a sexist and inappropriately sexual, especially considering that SpongeBob's fan base includes pre-schoolers. Susan Linn, the director of the Campaign for Commercial-Free Childhood said "It's bad enough when companies use a beloved media character like SpongeBob to promote junk food to children, but it's utterly reprehensible when that character simultaneously promotes objectified, sexualized images of women." In an official statement released by Burger King, they claimed that "this campaign is aimed at parents."
| “ | The children who watched the cartoon were operating at half the capacity compared to other children. | ” |
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—Angeline S. Lillard, University of Virginia |
In a 2011 study conducted at the University of Virginia that was published in the journal Pediatrics, the study suggested that allowing preschool audiences to watch the series caused short term disruptions in mental function and attention span due to frequent shot changes. The study had three groups of four year-olds each engaged in activities; one group watched SpongeBob, another watched Caillou, and the third group drew pictures. After nine minutes, the children were tested on mental functions; the group watching SpongeBob scored significantly lower than the other two groups, whose results were roughly equal to each other. The study described the kids who watch the show as "significantly impaired" in tests of executive function. A Nickelodeon executive responded in an interview that the show was not intended for an audience of that age and that the study used "questionable methodology and could not possibly provide the basis for any valid findings that parents could trust."
In August 2012, the Ukrainian National Expert Commission for Protecting Public Morality attempted to ban SpongeBob SquarePants for "promoting homosexuality". The Teletubbies, Family Guy, Pokémon, and The Simpsons are among the other shows accused of promoting the "destruction of the family".
In 2013, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a nonprofit watchdog and consumer advocacy group, launched a campaign against Nickelodeon for allowing characters from its popular television shows, such as Dora the Explorer and SpongeBob SquarePants, to appear on snack food packaging targeted toward children. The CSPI purchased a full-page ad in The Hollywood Reporter in the form of a wanted poster featuring mug shots of SpongeBob SquarePants. The ad criticized Nickelodeon for "impersonating a responsible media company while aggressively marketing obesity to kids."
Famous quotes containing the words criticism and, criticism and/or controversy:
“A friend of mine spoke of books that are dedicated like this: “To my wife, by whose helpful criticism ...” and so on. He said the dedication should really read: “To my wife. If it had not been for her continual criticism and persistent nagging doubt as to my ability, this book would have appeared in Harper’s instead of The Hardware Age.””
—Brenda Ueland (1891–1985)
“It is from the womb of art that criticism was born.”
—Charles Baudelaire (1821–1867)
“Ours was a highly activist administration, with a lot of controversy involved ... but I’m not sure that it would be inconsistent with my own political nature to do it differently if I had it to do all over again.”
—Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter, Jr.)