Advertisement
Opinion

Paul McNamee: SpongeBob’s wisdom wipes Brexit fears away

We mustn’t be sniffy about diverting, absurd brilliance

“F is for fire that burns down the whole town, U is for Uranium… bombs! N is for no survivors!”

While you may read this as the negotiating position for either (or both!) sides within the Brexit fandango, it is, surprisingly, not.

These are the words of SpongeBob SquarePants. For those of you unfamiliar with SpongeBob SquarePants (shame on you) he is a yellow sponge who lives in a pineapple at the bottom of the sea.

He works in a fast-food burger joint and wears brown shorts and a red tie. He has a friend called Patrick who is a starfish and not hugely bright. He is always joyously, unbreakably, happy. I’ll be straight with you. SpongeBob is not actually real. He is a cartoon. He features in a TV show of the same name, and in a number of big screen movies too.

Last week SpongeBob’s creator Stephen Hillenburg died from motor neurone disease – that vicious, cruel, unstoppable horror. He was just 57. It is sad news.

Like a lot of people, I became aware of SpongeBob through my children. They were entranced. After sitting down to watch it once, so was I.

Advertisement
Advertisement

It is very, very funny, and at its centre is a big, glorious heart.

The heart, hot diggity! I challenge you to watch the Best Day Ever sequence and not want to punch the air and wipe away a tear. It’s a show that has subtle sophistication beyond gags about a jazz-sax playing squid. It captures the wide-eyed innocence of childhood that passes too quickly and nods at how we know it passes.

Most of all, it’s really funny. Laugh-out-loud, knockabout funny.

There’s a line in absurdity to it that can be easily traced back to the Marx Brothers: “You don’t need a licence to drive a sandwich!” This is not mere cultural ephemera.

David Bowie knew this. One of the few things he did in the early years of his Noughties New York exile was to appear in SpongeBob. In the episode Atlantis SquarePantis he played the Lord Royal Highness, the emperor of the Atlanteans of Atlantis.

I became aware of SpongeBob through my children. They were entranced. After sitting down to watch it once, so was I

“What is art?” he asked. “Art is what happens when you learn to dream,” he answered. Preach, David!

Last week, during the interminable argument about the details of the TV debate between May and Corbyn on December 9, the Labour leader came out with the most focused thing he has said about Brexit in months. He was reluctant to go head to head with the final of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!

I’m with him. I’d rather watch that. And I REALLY like talking about Brexit. I’m a Brexit bore.

But, you know, Noel and ’Arry; the fragile masculinity of Nick Knowles; the brilliance of Holly and Dec as hosts.

The show, ultimately, won’t solve the riddles of the universe, but we mustn’t be sniffy about diverting, absurd brilliance.

At this time of a national nervous breakdown, it’s especially welcome. Watch it, then go and celebrate the genius of Stephen Hillenburg.

SpongeBob – he knows nothing and he knows everything.

Advertisement

Become a Big Issue member

3.8 million people in the UK live in extreme poverty. Turn your anger into action - become a Big Issue member and give us the power to take poverty to zero.

Recommended for you

Read All
The budget was a start from Labour – but we need much more to transform disabled people's lives
rachel reeves preparing for autumn budget
Chloe Schendel-Wilson

The budget was a start from Labour – but we need much more to transform disabled people's lives

Big Shaq comedian Michael Dapaah: 'Young people are the future – I want to help them to thrive'
Michael Dapaah

Big Shaq comedian Michael Dapaah: 'Young people are the future – I want to help them to thrive'

Labour's autumn budget was another failure to make real change for disabled people
rachel reeves
Mikey Erhardt

Labour's autumn budget was another failure to make real change for disabled people

'No two prisoners are the same': 6 ways we can break the UK prison system's cycle of failure
prison leavers
Sid Madge

'No two prisoners are the same': 6 ways we can break the UK prison system's cycle of failure

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over

Citroën Ami: the tiny electric vehicle driving change with The Big Issue
4.

Citroën Ami: the tiny electric vehicle driving change with The Big Issue