The Indonesia Broadcasting Commission (KPI) delivered a warning letter to a television station after airing The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie because of its violence and sexual content.
And yes, you read that correctly.
GTV received the letter on September 5th which outlined the board’s issues with their showing of the film on a family program.
KPI’s guidelines say “broadcasters must pay attention to the interests of children in every aspect of broadcast production” and reportedly, showing Spongebob that breaches that promise.
On KPI’s website, the board elaborates on their decision to issue a “written strike” to GTV over SpongeBob’s appearance on TV.
In a letter from KPI takes issue with:
“The ‘Rabbids Invasion’ segment where there is a scene of a rabbit committing acts of violence against other rabbits namely, hitting the face with a board, dropping a bowling ball from above so that it hits the head, hammering a hammer into the face, and hitting a cactus pot using a racket toward the face.”
In addition, KPI also refers to “scenes of throwing cake tarts to the face and beating using wood” which do not comply “with the provisions of the classification of broadcast programs based on age and maturity level of the audience at each event.”
The letter says the The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie falls into a category “that encourages young people to learn about inappropriate behavior and/or justify such inappropriate behavior as normal in everyday life.”
Deputy Chairperson of the Central KPI, Mulyo Hadi Purnomo, said the violations related to content inspired by “the paranormal,” violence and sexual content.
In a press release issued by KPI, Mulyo shared:
“We don’t want that content to encourage them to believe in the power of paranormal, occult, and supernatural practices. Protection of the interests of psychological growth and development of adolescent children must be maintained. Broadcasting institutions must pay attention to the provisions concerning the prohibition and restrictions on sexually charged broadcast programs. Broadcasts are prohibited from displaying content that encourages teens to learn about inappropriate behavior or justify inappropriate behavior as normal.”