Spongebob Subliminal Messages

For years now, the kid’s movies that our kids have grown up watching, such as Lion King, Toy Story, and the Little Mermaid have had “adult” subliminal messages in them. In the Lion King, when Simba is rolling around in the dirt and he sends a cloud of dust swirling into the sky. For a moment, the cloud of dust seems to form the word sex. Why are these subliminal messages in our kid’s movies? Could these subliminal messages be effecting our kids? Are today’s kid’s also have explicit subliminal messages? Are today’s kids shows any better? “Subliminal messages are stimuli that lie below our threshold of conscious awareness. Because they fall below the absolute threshold level (ATL), we can’t perceive a subliminal message, even if we’re looking
for it.” (Kolenda) We cannot point out the subliminal messages, but our subconscious picks up on them. “A stimulus can influence us subconsciously without being subliminal. If we can see or hear it — even if we don’t consciously notice it — it’s not subliminal.” (Kolenda) Kid’s aren’t consciously aware of the subliminal messages put in the movies, but the subconscious picks up on them. How does animators get away with adding “adult” subliminal messages in our kid’s movies? “The standard of what is harmful to minors may differ from the standard applied to adults. Harmful materials for minors include any communication consisting of nudity, sex or excretion that (i) appeals to the prurient interest of minors, (ii) is patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community with respect to what is suitable material for minors, (iii) and lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors.” (Justice)
The “adult” subliminal messages clearly go against the standards set by the United States Department of Justice. The only punishment that has been inflicted upon these animators and company’s is call backs of films, having to digitally fix the film, and the firing of animators. But these major company’s are still in business and are still putting out films with obscene subliminal messages. “Federal law makes it illegal to distribute, transport, sell, ship, mail, produce with intent to distribute or sell, or engage in a business of selling or transferring obscene matter. Convicted offenders face fines and imprisonment.” (Justice)
“The Parents Television Council, which regularly issues reports lamenting elements of television content from profanity to violence to the sexualization of teenage girls, has a new report out in which it argues that there's an unreasonable amount of adult-oriented content in animated programming — specifically, in what it calls "the cartoons that kids today are watching the most." (Holmes)In today’s shows such as Family Guy, the Simpson, and American Dad are shows rated for seven teen year olds, but kids of all ages watch these shows. These shows come on channels frequented by kids, such as TBS, Cartoon Network, and Netflix. These shows have all kinds of explicit, violent material. “The animation on Adult Swim is, by PTC standards, pretty raunchy at times. It includes episodes of some of the adult-oriented animation Fox has brought along in recent years, including Family Guy, which takes great delight in being just nasty at times. (And honestly, if your 15-year-old stops watching Family Guy, that's cool with me, although my reasons are more about quality-of-show than quantity-of-profanity.)” (Holmes) “Parents beware: Not all cartoons are created equal. When Cartoon Network “Adult Swim” programming block begins, the content changes from being kid-friendly to adult-oriented in an instant – and not with the click of a remote, but with the tick of the clock. Starting March 31, kids will be exposed to “Adult Swim’s” explicit content beginning 8:00 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central.” (PTC) If parent aren’t careful wholesome kids shows could turn into explicit material at the stroke of seven. This is another way that companies are exposing our kids to explicit material. In today’s TV shows, what is thought of as wholesome and innocent? The Disney company with its movies such as “Cinderella”, “Beauty and the Beast”, and “Toy Story”, is a company we think of as good and has the right intentions for our kids. “In recent years, multimedia advances have enabled Disney to roll out much more complex and technically refined products. Numerous researchers and commentators have been reporting on Disney’s extensive entertainment emporium, with applied psychology found in content ranging from subliminal messaging to sexual and occult imagery, and other adult themes – all subtly placed within all of its children’s animated films.” (21st Century Wire) In the movie “Toy Story”, there is a toy with fishnet legs and a hook for a head, she is quite literally a “hooker.” What ever happened to once upon a time, love at first sight, and happily ever after? Why is it required that kid’s shows have adult humor when adult have so many other choices?
“However, I have found that “Oddparents” and “SpongeBob” differ greatly in the way that they integrate the adult humor in their writing. “SpongeBob” is usually able to blend the adult content seamlessly with the dialogue, or use humor that will be enjoyable on several levels. For example, in one episode where SpongeBob is trying to be more of a man, his best friend Patrick says that he will help him. Upon some skepticism from SpongeBob, Patrick asks, “Have I ever steered you wrong?” What follows are three different photos of Patrick doing just that, involving SpongeBob being shot out of a cannon, Patrick trying to force a pumpkin down SpongeBob’s throat with a funnel, and the two of them posing in tight black speedos. It’s funny to kids because it contradicts Patrick’s point, and involves an aspect of physical comedy. It’s funny to the adults because… well, I think we all know why it’s funny to the adults. (Can you imagine what the back of that speedo picture must look like?) This dual layer of comedy ensures that the story will continue to move forward, while getting brownie points with both the adults and the kids.” (Buchman) Adult humor in kids shows adds an add benefit for adult to watch. While the kids might not understand the joke, the adult might. This allows for the audience range to branch out into older
ages.