Nickelodeon

Nickelodeon is known for being very family oriented and “parent pleasing”. In the book Kids Rule, Sarah Banet-Weise shows how Nick as grown from an upstart cable network to an international conglomeration. She explains how Nickelodeon tries to have its cake and eat it too where they are a network where kids rule but yet it is very pleasing to parents. Nickelodeon over the years has tried to touch on all kinds of family issues and diversities in a very subtle and discrete way. Many shows such as Rugrats, celebrate religious holidays and tell the stories and traditions behind them. The shows always try to teach kids rather than convert them or bash the religion. Nick is known for approaching issues and dealing with them in a few subtle and rational ways. In a particular Rugrats episode based around the Chanukah holiday, the children did not understand the traditions behind it and Tommy Pickles’ grandfather sat them all down and read them a story all about the story of Chanukah and its traditions.



Since Nickelodeon is a very family-oriented company they can’t come out with shows that would create controversy or raise serious questions. Instead of coming out with religious jokes and comments that could seriously cause issues with the network it is argued that Nick has shown controversy in a very subtle way. The character of Spongebob is questioned to have homosexual tendencies. Dr. James Dobson, a conservative Christian leader and gay marriage opponent has said that, "We see the video as an insidious means by which the organization is manipulating and potentially brainwashing kids.”



Shows on other networks are much more out spoken about homosexual characters, such as South Park and Family Guy, but Nickelodeon being the family orientated network that it is cannot boldly come out with such characters. The question really is whether Nickelodeon means to make Spongebob to portray a homosexual but due to censorship cannot comment on the issue, or are people creating these issues since they are so accustom to shows on other networks not being so subtle with their homosexual characters?