I think one of the deftest anti-management satires on the tube is "SpongeBob SquarePants," with its dead-on depiction of ultra-venal entrepreneur Eugene Krabs -- "Hello, I'm Mr. Krabs, and I like money!" – owner of the fast-food joint The Krusty Krab (slogan: "Come spend your money here!"). Krabs is constitutionally obsessed with exploiting employees and cheating customers. Krabs’ primary employees – fry cook SpongeBob SquarePants and cashier Squidward Tentacles – amply document that workers have no effective defenses against the depredations of management. SpongeBob, for instance is the embodiment of a corporate team player, the very apotheosis of a Stakhanovite. E.g., in one memorable episode, it dawns on Mr. Krabs that he can maximize profits if The Krusty Krab *never* closes – so SpongeBob gleefully works around the clock for weeks on end without a break until he has a psychotic breakdown. Conversely, Squidward Tentacles, the ultimate loner and cynic, readily sees through all of Mr. Krabs’ schemes, yet it avails him nothing – he, too, is a total slave to Mr. Krabs’ greed, utterly unable to escape any insane management demand made of him.
Oh, and as for customers: The Krusty Krab’s feature attraction, the “Krabby Patty,” is so crammed full of excess fat and other toxins that a consumer’s thighs will quickly swell and actually explode if he/she eats too many of them.
"SpongeBob SquarePants" is probably the most anti-capitalist cartoon series ever made. I can’t imagine how it stays on the air, but it is unquestionably an ideal way to introduce young children to the world of work that awaits them, a land of evil more menacing than anything they will encounter in the tales of the Brothers Grimm.
Carl
_________________________________________________________________ The average US Credit Score is 675. The cost to see yours: $0 by Experian. http://www.freecreditreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=660600&bcd=EMAILFOOTERAVERAGE