Subliminal Spongebob & Messages from Miley

Tonight, when I logged onto AOL, the first two articles that popped up were about Miley Cyrus's new video and Spongebob Squarepants. Ordinarily, these wouldn't seem like things that would make you think of American Studies, but that's what I did immediately. For the past couple weeks, a researcher from Northwestern University has been observing our class. She is conducting a study on how media effects today's youth. Both these articles are about how kids are effected by what they watch and who they look up to. Though it's sad that young girls are watching Miley while she sets a very bad example for them, I think it's awesome that Spongebob has added some important lessons to their seamingly pointless show. Do you remember any lessons or messages you got from media when you were younger?