I was looking around to see if anyone had brought up the issues I raised in the thread "Hints for Adults" regarding the messages about capitalism in SB. And this one came up right away. I'm interested in what people think.
Let me just reproduce the writer, Chris Becker's, central argument here: "It is not a cartoon, it is capitalist propaganda. Actually, it's also a cartoon, I guess. It is a cartoon and it is capitalist propaganda." This runs up against my own position on the show--that SB is in many senses anti-capitalist propaganda.
I'm also interested in what you all think of his interpretation of Spongebob, Plankton, Sandy, and Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy (MM/BB) with regards to capitalism.
Personally, I sympathize with Becker's reading Plankton and MM/BB--and even then I'm not fully agreeing with him, for reasons I can't quite put my finger on right now.
But let's go over the main points.
His central argument is also clearly stated in the original title, "SpongeBob SquarePants poor communist role model." In a word, according to Becker's self-professed Maoist reading of show, SB is ineffective as an attempt to uncover the evils of capitalism--so much so, that it becomes "capitalist propaganda."
As I've suggested above, I'm not certain I agree with that. Ultimately, it is Becker's complete disregard of Mr. Krabs that, in my mind, most flagrantly contradicts his central argument. Whatever we make of his perspectives on the other characters (and there are surely merits therein), I believe that it was the character of Mr. Krabs where the show really gets to the matter of capitalism and its evils. Indeed, I believe that this is so much the case that it thoroughly surprises me that the article would not even mention him. Plankton's nemesis is not Spongebob--it's Mr. Krabs, as any casual viewer of the show can plainly tell you. This puts into serious question Becker's early statement "I understand SpongeBob on a much deeper level than you do." Taking account of the Mr. Krabs character very much undermines his thesis in the article.
And in the end, I'm not even certain that the show was meant to be a "role model" for "communism" in the first place, especially since so many people relate communism to that brand of Marxism-Leninism twisted by Stalin, producing untold suffering and millions of deaths. If I were to write something on this, I would highlight not necessarily the show's attempt to point to a better, more equitable society, but the ways in which the show foregrounds the evils of capitalism (see my discussion in the "Hints for Adults" thread), since that was what much of Marxism is focused upon--how capitalism necessarily produces exploitation and inequality. Greed isn't unique to capitalism, but the way Mr. Krabs expresses his greed is very much capitalist in nature.
Just one example, since I'm writing too much: In the episode "As Seen on TV," Spongebob starts having delusions of grandeur about being a famous entertainer. Right before he goes into Mr. Krabs's office (to tell him he's quitting to become an entertainer), we see Mr. Krabs say something to the tune of "If I fire him and make his successor do twice the work, and..." then Spongebob comes in. What was Mr. Krabs saying? He was asking, in essence, "How can I exploit my workers as much as possible?" We all know it's all about money in the world-according-to-Mr.-Krabs. So he's asking, "How can I exploit my workers to reap as much personal profit as I can?" According to Marxist theory, profit in capitalism can only come through the exploitation of the workers. This is obviously not the place to engage in a debate over the merits of this--but this is the theory, so I put it out there. The writers are clearly putting forward a fairly orthodox Marxist viewpoint here in their choice of words for Mr. Krabs.
When Spongebob enters his office, how does Mr. Krabs react? At first, he attempts to hide the paper. Then he relaxes and says, "Oh, it's only you." This implies that Spongebob won't grasp the complexity of capitalist exploitation, so Mr. Krabs has nothing to hide from him (unlike Squidward, as seen in the episode "Squid on Strike." We also see Spongebob's naivete explored in that episode as well.) This somewhat confirms Becker's position on Spongebob himself in the article--though I think the "retarded" and "imbecilic" labels are a bit extreme. As the argument goes, Spongebob is too stupid to realize he's being exploited. But I cannot help but recall Plankton's remark to Spongebob "Gee, and I thought you were stupid" in the first season episode "Plankton!"
Anyway, my point is that the writers are very much attuned to the evils of capitalism and use the character of Mr. Krabs as not the only, but the central character in presenting a commentary on capitalism, because it is through the character of Mr. Krabs that we witness the stupidity and sheer irrationality of capitalism. The episodes "Clams" and "Born Again Krabs" represent just two more obvious examples of this. And as we know, it goes much deeper than "Mr. Krabs loves money."
For these reasons, despite the good points Becker makes, I have to reject the overall argument.
