What is SpongeBob SquarePants?
SpongeBob SquarePants is a Nickelodeon TV show about aquatic creatures who live very human lives, but in an underwater world known as Bikini Bottom. The show first aired its pilot episode, "Help Wanted", in 1999. In "Help Wanted", the main character, SpongeBob SquarePants, gets hired at the local fast food establishment called "The Krusty Krab" after saving the workers from a mob of anchovies. This episode sets the scene for the entire SpongeBob universe.
Hillenburg's vision for SpongeBob was that it would be a show where "innocence prevails". This can be seen with SpongeBob's lack of knowledge about the outside world, his best friend Patrick's lack of knowledge in general, and the childish nature of these characters despite them holding full-time jobs and being homeowners.
Although the setting, characters, and general premise of Spongebob has remained the same for the entire show's existence, the show is not famous for having a strict storyline or continuity from episode to episode. For example, there are many episodes in early seasons where the episode ends on a scene where the Krusty Krab is completely destroyed, only for it to be in perfect condition a few episodes later. That being said, the personalities of characters and the general purpose they serve have not changed since Hillenburg introduced them.
Hillenburg left the show after its third season and the following SpongeBob SquarePants movie, and ever since many hardcore fans have felt that the quality of episodes have declined. Fortunately, the traits of Bikini Bottom have remained the same across sets of writers, but most famous SpongeBob references and memes on the internet still refer to the iconic first three seasons.
Unfortunately, Hillenburg passed away in 2018 after a long battle with ALS. His legacy is still prevalent in SpongeBob, as every episode begins with credits that mention his name as the creator. SpongeBob has had an enormous impact on the children of the 1900's and 2000's, and has also become a staple of internet culture.
I love that you focused on SpongeBob for this blog post, as it is a kids show most people don't give a second thought about. But I remember loving the show growing up and I had no idea that it changed writers after the first three seasons. I remember when the art would change in new seasons, which makes sense now because of course artists change, and being so confused as a little kid! SpongeBob should definitely get more recognition because it has shaped a lot of internet culture and so much of our generations childhood.
ReplyDeleteHi Edison! I grew up on Spongebob and I'm glad you took the time to write a blog post about it. There's so many interesting things that you can draw from the show, because it covered such a wide variety of topics. I've seen some speculation that Spongebob may be gay, and I found the commentary to be extremely intriguing. I, as a LGBTQ+ individual, would love to know that Spongebob is gay, but it seems like a narrative that many people are trying to excessively push simply because they want LGBTQ+ represntation. My question then, is, if Spongebob is LGBTQ+, do you think that changes anything about how you view the show, or how people who grew up view the show? I think it would be a powerful statement, but it really can come down to performative activism— it would seem that Nickelodeon is submitting to this truth simply because of public pressure.
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