THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF CARTOON SPONGE BOB TO THE INDONESIAN CHILDREN

THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF CARTOON SPONGE BOB
TO THE INDONESIAN CHILDREN

Written by: Sri Sugiastuti (S 200060077)

Introduction
Nowadays, many cartoon films have entered to television program as entertainment. As its purpose, the cartoon films are aimed to children. We do remember in the 90’s there are many imported cartoon films from Japan (for example Doraemon became barometer of cartoon film at the time). But now, the existence of Japanese is decreased by American cartoon film. It can be proved by the decreasing of Japanese cartoon film in the television program. In other hand, the American cartoon film has replaced the dominance of cartoon film in Indonesia, which is monopolized by Japan before. The enter of American cartoon films are proved by the television stations that bought even tied by contract with the producer of American cartoon film, one example is Nickelodeon (which is cooperated with ANTV, LATIVI, then GLOBAL TV). The most famous cartoon film produced by it is Sponge bob, every child knows it. It is booming in the children lifestyle, like fashion, furniture, etc. Everything about Sponge bob is always sold-out. Unfortunately, there are some bad effects from this film without realizing by both of children and parents. This film has damaged, step by step, children mindset. If we may say, there is courteous-scene that should not be seen by the children. As we know, the typical of them always wants to imitate something surround them. So, if the children always watch this program without any guidance of their parent, they will get undesirable effects.






Discussion
Sponge bob is a kind of humor cartoon film. It is about the deep sea living. The characters are:
1. Sponge bob  a smart and humorous but fussy chef in Krusty Krab restaurant. He is the only character who can make Krabby Patty (hamburger alike- favorite menu in the deep sea). He lives in a pineapple-house.
2. Patrick Star  A very stupid star fish that always accompany Sponge bob in play. He lives under the rock.
3. Squid ward  A diligent octopus. He hates everything except something that gives him benefit. He looks bore anytime. He lives in a house likes Aztec statue.
4. Mr. Krab  A money mad red crab, the owner of Krusty Krab Restaurant. He is such a timely boss, especially if it relates to money gathering. He will do everything for the money.
5. Sandy  A genius squirrel. She thought that she is the most genius creature in the deep sea, because she is a mammal. She lives in the glass house. There is a normal environment likes in the ground in this house. She wears a glass helm, astronaut alike, in order to get oxygen. Her hobby is karate.
6. Gary  A snail, pet of Sponge Bob. It sounds like cat, meow.

Advantages
There are many advantages in this cartoon:
1. The Unique Characters
By this unique characterization, the audiences can remember the distinguish characters each. It is about protagonist and antagonist, so that the audiences can know it clearly.
2. Culture Enrichment
By seeing this cartoon, the audiences can know the other culture-especially Greece and American.
3. Vocabulary Enrichment
There are so many simple but essential vocabularies that should be mastered by the audience as early as they can. It is important to introduce them with it as the part of English learning.
4. Imagination
This cartoon has great imagination. It will build up the audiences’ imagination. As we know that childhood never repeat, it needs imagination to make them grow up well.
5. Useful Activity
The children are better to see this cartoon than to see other television program like crime news, electron cinema, unethical show, etc.

Disadvantages
In the film, there are many bizarre thing and behavior that should not be consummated by children. We can take examples in the film;
1. Sponge Bob and Patrick Star always show and move their buttock when they talk with another.
2. Squid Ward always shows his bore face when he meets another.
3. Sponge Bob and his pal, Patrick Star, are well-known as their annoyance. They do something that makes people angry.
4. The Krabby Patty is symbolized the favorite menu in USA, fast-food. In this case, in children mind fast-food is delicious, prestige, and everything. It will make them to ask fast –food likes in the film for their daily menu.
5. The habit to say “Oh, Neptune!” which is the word when the cartoon character gets unlucky or trouble. We know that Neptune is the name of god in the sea in Greece myth. So, this thing makes the children to forget their spirit as eastern who believed in One God.
6. The unpredictable plot makes the children mindset become confuse. For example, there is no appropriate plot and run randomly.
7. The strange thing and attitude that is showed in the film, could affects the children mindset to be strange, too. Even they will imitate it.

The Reconstructionists believe that modern society and modern man’s survival are intimately related. To ensure human survival and to create a more satisfying corporate civilization, man must become a social engineer who is able to plan the course of change and direct the dynamic instruments of science and technology to achieve the desired goals. A Reconstructionist education is one that cultivates (Cultural Studies, Chris Barker: 260):
1. a sense of conscious discrimination in the examination of the cultural heritage;
2. a commitment to work deliberate social reformation;
3. a willingness to develop a planning mentality which is capable of plotting the course of cultural revision;
4. the testing of the cultural plan by enacting programs of deliberate social reform.

Reconstructionists believe that all social reform arises in existing life conditions. Students are expected to define the major problems facing mankind. A sense of conscious discrimination means that the student is capable of recognizing the dynamic forces of the present. It also means that he is equally able to detect the beliefs, customs, and institutions that impede cultural renewal. Those values that dominate merely because they are customary must be discarded. The moral and ideological culture is saturated with values that are residues of the prescientific and pretechnological age. Bigotry, hatreds, superstitions, and ignorance must be identified and discarded.

Although the Reconstructionists have not defined with precision the new society that they wish to create, some of its dimensions might be mentioned. It is likely to be one in which science will be used as a humane instrument; it is likely to be one which is corporate and in which all men equally share the good thing of life, it is likely to be one that is international in scope.

Likewise, Fiske (1987: 288), who argues that popular culture, is constituted by the meanings that people make with it rather than those identifiable within the texts. Fiske discusses television in terms of two separate economies: a financial economy of production and a cultural economy of consumption. The former is primarily concerned with money and the exchange value of commodities. The latter is the site of cultural meanings, pleasures and social identities. While the financial economy needs to be taken into account in any investigation of the cultural, it does not determine it nor invalidate the power audiences have as producers of meaning at the level of consumption

The globalization of the institutions of television is paralleled by the world-wide circulation of key television narratives and genres, including news, soap opera, music television, sport and game shows, set within an advancing ‘promotional’ and postmodern culture marked by bricolage, intertextuality and genre blurring.

Attention was paid to the ideological construction of television programmes, including hegemonic versions of world news which exclude alternative perspectives. However, it was also argued that television programmes are polysemic; they contain many meanings which are commonly contradictory. Thus, audiences can explore a range of potential meanings. Further, evidence was given to suggest that audiences, are active producers of meaning and do not simply take on board those textual meanings identified by critics. Hence, global television is better understood as the promotion of bricolage and hybridity rather than as cultural imperialism.

The significance of television is not confined to textual meanings for it is situated and sustained within the activities of everyday life. While the political economy and programme flows of television may be global, watching television is situated within the domestic practices of the day to day. In particular, it was argued that the domestic space of the home is a site for the construction and contestation of wider cultural identities, including those of gender.


Conclusion
Television has been a long standing concern of cultural studies because of its central place in the communicative practices of western societies and its proliferation across the globe. These concerns have become increasingly acute as global television turns away from public service broadcasting towards commercial television dominated by multimedia corporations in search of synergy and convergence.

The booming of cartoon film in the television program has become a very complicated matter. The economical interest has made the programmer do not care about the importance of children rights, to get suitable entertainment. The entire problem mostly derived from the western capitalists who have power, money, to under control the children’s entertainment. Moreover, the show of cartoon films are now disturb the busy time for them to learn their subject matter. As addition, Sponge Bob cartoon film has taught them some bad attitude and habit that should not they consummate.

However television also has advantages and disadvantages, especially for children. Because they do not know which is truth and which is wrong. The parent and censor agent should chose the best film for the children. Moreover, there are many television programs that have hidden mission likes Sponge Bob to break our next generation slowly. So we have to start from now to select the cartoon films that enter in our television and it is wise to make our cartoon films ourselves with appropriate culture, for example education, ethic kindness, love fatherland, religion, and the spirit of positive thinking.




References
Baker. Chris. 2001. Cultural Studies: Theory and Practice: London. Thousand Oaks, and
New Delhi: Sage Publication

Hillenberg. Steven. 2005. SpongeBob Squarepants the Movie. Australia: Nickelodeon

Lee Gutek, Gerald. 1974. Philosophical Alternatives in Education. Chicago: Loyola
University of Chicago