SpongeBob: An Unexpected Social Parody

Tyler and I went to see SpongeBob the Musical last night, since – surprise, surprise – it wasn’t on the top of Peter’s list of shows he longed to see. Tyler was next in line, and we called it our Self Quarantine Jailbreak.

Listen.  I didn’t expect to love it.
SpongeBob was on our TV purely for mindless distraction.
Emphasis on mindless.

But I had to admit, shortly into the show: the storyline was timely.

SpongeBob is saving the world from pending doom.
There is a scientist whose mission is to keep everyone scared.
Nobody knows for sure if they can trust the government to make good choices on their behalf.
Patrick starts speaking nonsense, and a handful of fish claim his as their guru and savior.
They isolate into schools of thought and fear, and they choose their villains.
They decided who to hate based on what they’re afraid of.

It was an interesting social parody for where we find ourselves, especially because this show has been touring for a long time now.

Sometimes life imitates art.
Sometimes art imitates life.

In the end – I’m sorry to spoil it for you if you’re planning to see the show, or if you’re waiting to see how this COVID situation plays out – the community discovers that their fear and isolation harmed them far more than the crisis ever could have.

Throughout the show, the audience responded with spontaneous applause.

It seems we couldn’t help ourselves.