RIP Stephen Hillenburg

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The creator of Spongebob Squarepants passed away today. RIP Stephen Hillenberg, the man who created a new Mickey Mouse.





You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
Of the current cartoons, I think Spongebob Squarepants is the closest we've gotten to the brilliance of the old Disney and Looney Tunes cartoons, in that they can be enjoyed by both children and adults.

R.I.P.





Spongebob was one of those shows I enjoyed watching growing up. And after all those years of watching in my adolescence, it still holds up. The show had such a big effect on my sense of humor. It was really absurd and nonsensical whilst still being intelligent and funny, sure - you get a lot of that in American art, literature, movies, all that. I’m reading Infinite Jest right now, and in a lot of ways, it has a similar sort of absurdist humor.

But what separates Spongebob from other cartoons, and what still affects me to this day: is it's heart. The best seasons (1-3, when Hillenburg was still attached) have such a genuine, warm feel to them - Spongebob and Patrick’s friendship is so sweet. The heart I describe is essentially one thing: innocence. The early seasons encapsulated ideas that related to the innocence of being a kid--fighting with your friend, playing outside, using your imagination to play in a box, learning about Santa & Christmas, getting your first job, learning to drive, and then eventually getting old ("I hate the pill.")

It taught me to have fun in life, laugh at myself, and the world, but not in a cynical way, to keep joy and love in my heart. Not a lot of art does that, most of it is really afraid to. Spongebob really affected me, and I think it’s lasting.


THANK YOU BASED STEVE. You were too good for this world.

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