- A professor at the University of Washington recently published an article in an academic journal about the children’s cartoon “SpongeBob SquarePants,” claiming it perpetuates a legacy of violence against the indigenous people of the Pacific.
- The professor argues that the cartoon is involved in the “occupation” of native lands, and that the show participates in “cultural appropriation” by way of its island motif.
A university professor deemed the beloved cartoon “SpongeBob Squarepants” “violent,” “racist,” and “insidious” in a scholarly article.
University of Washington professor Holly Barker published her musings on the yellow sponge cartoon character and his deep-sea pals in an academic journal called The Contemporary Pacific: A Journal of Island Affairs, which features “readable” articles focused on “social, economic, political, ecological, and cultural topics.”