SpongeBob's Cultural Impact Explained

How did SpongeBob raise a generation?
How did we get from the original episodes of our childhood to the most popular of memes?
In this video essay, we're taking a look into how SpongeBob raised YOU, why it stood out so much, the reasons parents HATED IT, and the effect it's had on us as a society.
(Still not over the Super Bowl performance thing)

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My Stuff :)

[Liuss]

What's your favorite Spongebob memory?

[barrymcoc]

My Mexican Dad who didn’t even understand English would laugh his butt off watching sponge bob with me, he also loves Courage the Cowardly Dog. Rest in Peace Dad I miss you so much.

[thirteen]

I remember my dad walking past the tv as the memorable line "Seaweed. 50% sea, 50% weed" was being shown. He burst out laughing while my sister and I didn't have any idea why he laughed that hard lol

[bobachii]

My parents and I all loved SpongeBob. We still do. We all quote it to this day and it's a part of our lives

[JC-smmp]

I kind of love that SpongeBob is a childlike adult. I have a full time job and go college every day, pay my bills and act adult, but really I don't feel like an adult. The comfort of look at this guy who is also just figuring it out :') really reconciles something for me

[WingedFish]

SpongeBob isn't just popular with our generation, it's cross-generational. I have nieces and nephews (12 and under) that quote the same lines from the classic episodes with the same enthusiasm as I did at their exact age and I can say the quotes in perfect tandem with them. It's so surreal

[ItssKiriko]

Early SpongeBob is quite literally, a timeless classic. I can’t believe we got to experience a show like SpongeBob growing up. Idk, a thing like SpongeBob feels like a one of a kind experience

[faeangel]

Fun fact, Spongebob wasn't banned in my house, but Caillou was. My mom thought Caillou was an annoying, whiny brat and she didn't want us to act like him, but Spongebob was just a funny little show so she didn't care if we watched it

[Chineseisntalanguageapparently]

I’m pretty sure everyone who grew up with SpongeBob ended up being a better human being than they could’ve been without, that’s just how good it was

[julialuna]

I started tearing up when you talked about how they didn’t perform the SpongeBob band song at the Super Bowl. I’m not joking, that broke my heart, and to this day I still remind people of it and how we were robbed.

[LiberatedNotes]

Im from India. I didnt knew spongebob until in my teens when i had stopped watching cartoons. I fell in love immediately and i still watch it now(28). Taking a nap in afternoon after watching spongebob is one of my best memories

[year-longhiatus]

When we were kids me and my brothers would go to my grandpas house to hang out. Every time we were there he always put SpongeBob on, because it gave him an excuse to watch it. I remember him dying of laughter from many of the episodes, especially “Band Geeks”. He once told my mom it was his favorite show. Just imagine an old widowed Vietnam Vet laughing his ass off watching a cartoon about a sponge. That’s why SpongeBob has always held a special place in my heart, because when I watch it I can still hear my grandfather’s laugh.

[shadowofchaos]

Spongebob raised a generation that's for sure. Me and my friends still reference those earlier seasons to this day

[exosluckyone]

i hate the idea that parents thought spongebob was dumb because there are things i learned from it that i still use today. where else would i learn the word enigma? what 4 year old would know about oppression and wage theft off the top of their head. i even watch it in other languages to study

[Amira]

It's weird how shows like Spongebob are so well preserved in our memories that whenever I see a clip of a first season episode it feels like i watched it yesterday when it's probably been around 15 years

[totally_not_a_possumlmao]

19:00 My mom was the one to suggest “Sweet Victory” being played when the bengals won. She always loved spongebob and watched it with us.

[Freakinout]

Btw, I strongly urge anyone who didn’t watch it as a kid to watch it now. It’s really good. My mom fell in love with it in her 20’s and I even know someone in their 40’s who is enjoying it right now. Never too old to enjoy good writing! :)

[chlorox]

What's crazy is that this isn't even a US/Western phenomenon. Some countries that had good dubs for it, such as South Korea, also experienced this same cultural impact. I can't tell you how many times I've heard or seen a SpongeBob reference in Korean web-shows and from people who live in Korea. SpongeBob is universal.

[palacsintakat]

I have 2 degrees in STEM and arts and am working on a doctorate and my mom was OBSESSED with spongebob and it was mostly what we watched on TV. But we also weren't allowed to watch TV all day and even in summer she made us do workbooks (which we liked) and she never said no if we wanted a book. But also she really idolized intelligence and thought spongebob was a very clever show, which I now appreciate as an adult

[anthonyminimum]

11:11 Caillou wanted to swim and dive just like the other children.
Caillou: *turns his head.*
*cuts to a gorilla beating up Sandy and Patrick in a burlap sack.*