How Spongebob Explored Existential Nihilism

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BUSINESS INQUIRES:

Thank you for watching! :)

[KarstenRunquist]

what’s your favorite spongebob episode..?

[AskAir]

"In case you've forgotten, here's how things work. I order the food, you cook the food, then the customer gets the food. We do that for 40 years and then we die."

[JG-ptxe]

When you think about it, Squidward is probably the most fleshed out character in Spongebob (In the early seasons at least). He starts off as this snarky person who seems to just hate everyone around him. But over time, it's shown that Squidward only acts this way because he feels like he's trapped in this world where no one else understands him and will always be alone.

[otaddiction]

Something else I noticed about the episode when it comes to how lonely Squidward truly is in the world is the fact that he was locked in a freezer but felt confident that someone will come looking for him "in no time", but he waited 2000 years and nobody bothered

[lunondisposable]

I love when people discuss the actual philosophical implications, instead of just calling every weird thing in kids' cartoons "purgatory" or "a dream/hallucination"

[moricwilson]

When I was a kid for some reason I thought the square things in the nowhere place were like abstract things Squidward knew about. The yellow and pink are Spongebob and Patrick, purple is Squidward's house, red is Patrick's house, etc, like if they devolved into their basic elements in his mind.

[Claire.blain.]

The scariest thing to me is that the episode isn't even named. SB stands for spongebob, and 129 is 129 because it's in the first season and is the 29th segment on the show. It scares me and for no reason.

[rickcorn]

Hillenburg in heaven:
"Uh, yeah, I totally meant all that"

[ausernamed]

4:13 in this scene alone, i think all the coloured squares surrounding squidward are meant to represent the spongebob main cast.
yellow, brown/orange = spongebob
pink = patrick
light blue, purple/dark blue, red = mr. krabs
these coloured squares disappear once he mentions being alone
it may just be accidental, coincidental, or was done for a reference but it might be meaningful here :P i don't know

[niklasjoel]

Can't believe Nietzsche was such a big Spongebob fan that it inspired him to write a book. Amazing

[GenScinmore]

This episode and Rock Bottom was so uniquely disturbing as a child, though I couldn't explain why at that age.

[silverman]

SB-129 is basically just ‘The End of Squidvangelion’

[ang]

It’s so disappointing SpongeBob no longer makes amazing episodes like this. They’re now targeted towards brainless children

[KircherTalksEntertainment]

This dude literally just put together a collegiate essay based on a memed SpongeBob episode. Well done!!

[jaredhernandez]

Why are the episodes that focus more on Squidward always the scariest?

[Naans]

I was so lucky to grow up with SpongeBob. Intelligently written, hilarious, deep, and interesting. A show that sticks with you forever.

[jjs_arkade]

This episode kinda scared me as a kid, crazy how existential nihilism is so present in our minds it penetrates the blissful ignorance of the youth

[royalrod_]

This episode is the reason I’m afraid of the walk-in freezer at my restaurant job.

[musicmancer]

I don't know why I only just realized this, but the only reason SpongeBob and Patrick like jellyfishing is because Squidward showed it to their ancestors. He is the maker of his own prison.

[Blake-tjkc]

I took an entire class on Existentialism this past semester. From Heidegger to Camus and Sartre, each one’s insights force you to approach time, our liminality as we stand between our past, present and future, as well as our mortality, and our question and search for meaning. Definitely my favorite class I’ve taken so far.