The following poll was part of a Guardian newspaper located in the UK. This poll is quite recent and talks about whether the government should abandon plans over whether or not to allow gay marriage within the country. As you can see, there were far more votes for stopping it, as opposed to going along with it, as previously planned. Should the Government have even allowed a poll like this even to be published? Especially knowing that it could get negative feedback from the public?
Within our media, and the certain types of shows that we see, we often come across episodes that seem to have some homosexual tendencies, or parts were the characters 'act gay'.
For example, in Spongebob Squarepants, it is undetermined whether Spongebob is Patrick's partner, or if they are just extremely close friends. There was much controversy over whether they should be confusing young children like this, and thee was even talks of canceling the show altogether.
CAN YOU IMAGINE YOUR CHILDHOOD WITHOUT SPONGEBOB?
Do you agree with the skeptics by saying Spongebob should be cancelled? Or do you think that people are just over thinking the whole issue and should let it slide?
I haven't seen Spongebob in a long time but I never found what was shown to be bad. I grew up watching it but it never influenced me in a negative way. If you really think about it, even the nursery rimes sung to kids are also very negative such as Rock-a-by-Baby or Ring Around the Rossies which was a song I used to sing as a kid. However we never stopped kids from singing it nor were we ever stopped. I mean I still sing along is I see kids in my neighbourhood singing. About the poll, I feel there is a bias. It was published in the newspaper and so the response is basically on voluntary bases. It makes sense for only those people to replay who have a problem with it because they don't want it to happen. I feel this is not the right way of getting data and the poll should be more unbias.
ReplyDeletePosting the results in the newspaper was unnessary. It's already upsetting enough by not being accepted by society, and by adding on in public about not being allowed to marry the one and only person you may love is bitter. I think this vote was a bit unfair because you are asking a majority group on the marriage of a minority group. Homosexual's do not interfere in your marriage, so you have no right to interfere in theirs.
ReplyDeleteI have never acknowledged Spongebob and Patrick as being more then just real good friends. No, I don't think Spongebob should be cancelled because I didn't take any thing from the show as being an "homosexual act", however in the eyes of others, if it is seen as an homosexual act, then it definitely shouldn't be cancelled. Media affects humans on the way they think, and their perspectives on certain issues. If media portrays more homosexual acts, maybe it will help people accept homosexuality even more.
I have never understood (and still fail to understand) why two close friends of the same sex, can't be physically comfortable with each other (like sharing hugs, holding hands, and other such friendly innocent gestures) without being called 'gay'. Where I come from, physical proximity is a thing that goes hand in hand with close friendships. As you walk down the street, there are guys holding hands with other guys, or drape their arm around another's shoulder without the worry of any such comments being passed about. Therefore, when I watched SpongeBob, I saw nothing unusual; in fact, it was something familiar, when in other shows there were no hints of physical ‘chumminess’ between close friends!
ReplyDeleteAnd I still believe in this view; at lunch you can see me lying on my friend’s laps, or hugging them, or leaning on their shoulder if I’m tired. Basically, there’s no need to get hyper when seeing two people (of the same sex) acting like friends do, and there’s no need to jump to any conclusions. If the two are a same sex couple, then be it, really there’s no need to overthink about it.
Children barely know anything about sexuality and what it is to be straight or homosexual. I think people are just over thinking things. I've watched Spongebob all my life and I have never seen him and Patrick as an "item"...if you know what I mean. THEY'RE BFFs...they got matching watches. I thought Squidward was gay. I don't know if it's his moodiness or the idea of stereotypical gay person playing a clarinet.
ReplyDeleteWhenever media is censored, we violate the Charter. From what I understand this is an American issue, not a Canadian because same sex marriages were legalized in Canada in 2005. I don't think is survey reveals anything too disturbing. Publishing this poll is nothing compared to the protests anti-same sex marriage people have. I don't know much about American law, but Americans are all about liberty.
ReplyDeleteI find them very contradictory. They have a clear separation from religion and they value liberty. Religious groups put pressure on state officials to ban homosexual marriages, but if USA is defined as a secular country, than religious notions shouldn't have an influence on their decisions.
Growing up as a kid, i really didn't like spongebob. So it won't concern me if spongebob was taken off air or not. Even thought I don't like spongebob, I still don't agree with the people that spongebob's character show sign of homosexuality. If they were to cancel spongebob then what the point of asking us? Since most of us would probably say no to the cancellation, it's not like our opinion matters THAT much. Still to cancel spongebob because of sign of homosexuality, is really stupid, since the majority of people that watch spongebob are children. The children that watches spongebob, watch it because they like it and their not going to stop because they see sign of homosexuality.
ReplyDeleteI think what the government did is not a big issue, because what if they actually legalized same sex marriage without asking the public? The public might throw riots and create problems which may endanger the government and those who are for same sex marriage. It was a way for the government to speak to the public and hear what they had to say. This also allows homosexuals to have a say, which is quite rare because often times they are opressed. This is actually a privilege that many countries/individuals don't get to experience.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I have never thought the relationship between Patrick and Spongebob has was anything more than friendship. I always thought they were just very close, like me and my bestfriend. This opinion arised from when I was young because when you are young you don't pay attention, you just let your mind wander as you watch the t.v shows. For example, Disney movies, when I was young I was not aware of media's protrayal of women, I only noticed when I grew up and started learning about media, and gender roles.
I think what the UK Government did was a good thing. Having a poll to decide whether or not they should allow gay marriage showed it was a type of democracy. If they announce it out of nowhere, there would have been many riots to ban the gay marriages. Many of the religious citizens wouldn’t like it because it is a form of sin.
ReplyDeleteHaving the ability to the poll gives the people a "say" in things. It is their right to vote for it. Even though it wasn’t on a real bill, it was on a smaller thing which is a poll.
I think they shouldn't ban SpongeBob because it was my favourite childhood show. SpongeBob and Patrick are neighbours which have a really good friendship, and that’s how young children would see it.