Television violence: analysis of the abusive figure as a social manifestation in a well-known cartoon series

Abstract

The following scientific article presents the review of the plot, physical aspects and dialogue of the various characters associated with the chapter entitled The Bully, an episode of Nickelodeon’s American animated series "Spongebob SquarePants"; Television product created by Stephen Hillenburg, broadcast since 1999 in the USA and subsequently serialized in different countries over the next decades. The series featured various marine figures who imitated rational behaviors and suffered events that compromised their lives, presenting themselves under the guise of black humor. The content analysis performed at The Bully confirms that this animation in question transmitted to the children’s audience a strong message focused on the identification of behavioral patterns that makes up the identity of an abuser, being present in the longevity of the episode an emotional charge represented through the mood of the protagonist and the real suppression of the consequences of the acts, aspects that made it impossible for the audience to fully understand the argument of the chapter.