The latest fictional character to be deemed problematic is none other than SpongeBob Squarepants, who is a “violent,” “racist” colonizer, according to one University of Washington professor.
Professor Holly Barker, in her scholarly article “Unsettling SpongeBob and the Legacies of Violence on Bikini Bottom,” argues that “SpongeBob Squarepants and his friends play a role in normalizing the settler colonial takings of indigenous lands while erasing the ancestral Bikinian people from their nonfictional homeland” and suggests the colonization of Bikini Bottom is “violent” and “racist.”
Lest you think this might be a one-off take by some rogue scholar with a wild imagination, think again. Many fictional characters have drawn the ire of the left in one way or another.
We at The College Fix, as well as others, have chronicled this ridiculous trend for years and can provide a quick snapshot of just how much the progressive left — and professors in particular — seem to read way too much into the fictional world, especially cartoons and kids’ movies.
This list is by no means complete, but it provides a good snapshot.
July 2019
Professor: ‘The Lion King’ is ‘fascist ideology writ large’
This scholar argues that the film’s predator-prey relationships are really indicative of white supremacists who believe “some groups of people are inherently superior to others.”
October 2018
School cancels ‘Aladdin Jr.’ performance because it ‘stereotypes’ Arabs
You ain’t never had a friend like social justice warriors with an ax to grind.
December 2017
Princes in ‘Snow White,’ ‘Sleeping Beauty’ are sex offenders
Did you know Prince Charming is a rapist? Now you do. (p.s. Don’t miss this bonus track).
November 2017
The soft racism of Apu from ‘The Simpsons’
The stereotyping of Apu makes white people feel better about themselves, or something.
July 2017
Professor says ‘Spider-Man’ flick isn’t sufficiently diverse
Says prof: “It’s nice that Spider-Man comes home to a nongentrified neighborhood, but the movie goes out of its way to let you know that white guys are still running things.”
September 2016
Student complaint: Harry Potter mural represents ‘white, cis, man power’
Who would have thought that Neville Longbottom of all characters “represents white power. Man power. Cis power. Able power. Class power.” This triggered student did, apparently.
March 2016
College student warns: ‘Zootopia’ movie is ‘call to arms for white people’
In this leftist student’s mind, in this cartoon the “prey are akin to minorities of the world, in the way that they get preyed on by the predators, which are white people.”
April 2014
Professors decry Disney’s ‘Jungle Book’ as racist
C’mon, you know you saw this one coming a mile away.
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