Given that SpongeBob SquarePants has been broadcasted for almost 20 years, the first three seasons of the show (played between 1999 and 2004) were regarded as the influential. These 60 episodes were the only ones supervised by founder Stephen Hillenburg, who recently died from the SLA. They are transmitted during the critical period of the current 20-something adult. The young people can easily concentrate on the stupid, absurd characters of the show, and go home after school hours and watch any SpongeBob playing on Nickelodeon. Stephen Hillenburg died right at 57 years of age.
This is also the moment when the same generation has just started surfing the Internet and finally has made the Internet look like today. After nearly two decades, people who saw SpongeBob grew up like those who created memes – that’s why SpongeBob has too many memes in these years. From Winded SpongeBob to threatening Patrick for Squidward tracking, the most common SpongeBob mould on the Internet comes from the first three seasons of that helms from Hillenburg.
Looking back at the first episodes signifies uniqueness of the show, confirming that Hillenburg completed the enviable eternal prowess of children’s show: the first SpongeBob was so stupid that kids liked the animated comedy that was flashing on the screen. The adults were able to relate to the mundane plights pertaining to the ordinary characters.
Kids swallowed SpongeBob as they entered a new space and found a new way to communicate with friends. SpongeBob Square pants debuted at the most crucial point of time between the century’s analogue past & the digital future, which made it possible for SpongeBob SquarePants to become a remarkable show. The language of human beings evolved with the Internet age, and people can proudly relate to the fact that SpongeBob narratives stayed with them.
On the other hand, SpongeBob injected a mainstream audience that did not foresee the role of the Internet in our social and pop culture.
