I wake up, it’s three in the morning, I’m in a cold sweat, all I can think about is Pingu. I have been thinking about nothing but Pingu ever since I turned twenty-two, ever since the day of the”revelation”. People laugh and mock me when I tell them what I truly feel about this godlike masterpiece our human race has been given, they are ignorant but I know the truth. You may now be thinking, “Why would Pingu of all things be so important to you, it’s simply a children’s show?” This is what bugs me, children’s show, children’s show? How can you call this masterpiece a children’s show? But I suppose I must explain. It was twenty years ago, I had recently turned twenty-two. I was sick with a fever of around 104 and was seated upon my couch when this show “Pingu” came on the television. I supposed I’d give it a watch, and from the second I finished watching this episode, I realized the true beauty of this show. You see, it’s all about symbolism and finding the deeper meaning. Let’s start with the setting, Pingu and his family live in an igloo, in some yet undisclosed location in what we can assume to be the frozen continent of Antarctica. Seems typical, almost comical for a family of penguins to live in a nice, homey igloo instead of a normal house, but it means more than this. Igloos, as you know, are famously round and dome shaped, and in many science fiction movies or settings, characters are trapped in a dome. The dome shape, is synonymous with being trapped or caught and unable to escape, and this is why I feel like Pingu is trapped in his own home. But there is of course a doorway, that leads outside, yes, and it is at the end of an extended tunnel. To me, this signifies how simple it may seem to escape a situation of mental illness, trauma, or domestic abuse, but as we took note of earlier, the tunnel is long, and may not be so obvious to those who are suffering, or caught in the “dome” of an inescapable situation. So what can we affirm from the outside? Outside of Pingu’s house is a barren and frozen waste. One more observant individual might wonder why there are almost no notable features outside of Pingu’s house, wouldn’t it be easy to simply put another igloo in the distance? And this is it friends, it would’ve been so easy to fill this empty void, and yet, the creators of the show chose not to, for what I think are two reasons. One, is that the focus is on Pingu’s inescapable “dome” situation of domestic abuse and mental illness, and how there are people out there who could help him, but he is so entangled in his own “dome” that he hardly acknowledges let alone seeks help from any others that could help him. For Pingu, there might as well be nothing outside of his house. The second reason, I believe is that the Antarctic waste symbolizes the empty plains of a child’s imagination and innocence, and how it can be shattered. The only feature of any notable distinction is the igloo. The igloo here represents Pingu’s traumatic memories of abuse, mental illness, and trauma in his life. It is a scar on the smooth, white, frozen plains of his innocence. It tries to blend in, being white colored at first it appears to match is surroundings, but if you look closer it sticks out like a sore thumb, there is clearly something there. This is also representative of how victims of abuse may not obviously identified as abuse victims, and that a closer look is often required. As you can see, there are so many layers here, and people tell me this is simply a “show for children”. How can they not see the true, raw, intellectual beauty of a show like this? No show has ever done anything anywhere near this before. Next we have the character Pingu himself. One thing of note here is that Pingu cannot speak, but neither can his family. I believe that Pingu is obviously silenced and not allowed to have his voice heard in his own home because of his abusive family, but also that Pingu no longer sees his family members as family, but as monsters. If you watch the show, you will hear the twisted noises and agonized moans and groans that are violently vomited from these “penguins” foul beaks, they are simply monstrous. This is how Pingu interprets his fear of his family, but also how he sees himself as a monster due to the abusive rhetoric of his family, and the frequent insults and abuse he endures. He is permanently scarred, and will never be normal to others again. And this is just the basic setting and characters, not to mention the endless works of genius wrought throughout the plot and story lines of each episode! And I’m sure there are still things I’ve missed and more layers to uncover. I hope that this writing has made you realize, like me, the true genius of this show, and realize why I haven’t stopped thinking about since the moment I have had my realization about this show. Thank you, and I hope you understand my message of the true brilliance of this show, and the godlike powers of it’s creators.