15 pieces of pop culture that may have been influenced by South Park

SpongeBob Square Pants

You may not care for your social satire to be shouted at you at full volume, but just because SpongeBob Square Pants is loud, doesn’t mean it’s not relevant. In the first few seasons of the animated hit, writers included an acerbic, clever look at contemporary culture, that was meant for much more mature audiences.

In the same way that South Park wasn’t really a cartoon for kids, SpongeBob didn’t start out that way either. In many of the early episodes, writers took on heavy issues like consumerism, body image, and even cultural bias. While also appealing to younger audiences with its scatological humor, insufferable repetition, and headache-inducing volume, there were loads of subtext for the  more savvy viewers. The characters of SpongeBob and Patrick (and other residents of Bikini Bottom, for that matter) are portals through which we can judge our own human behavior. By removing the humanity, we are less likely to become defensive as we recognize questionable human behaviors.

Often dismissed as “children’s programming,” both SpongeBob and South Park have been discounted by some cultural critics as low-brow comedy with very little academic value. But each series has proven otherwise, if by nothing else, their long-time existence in the popular cannon. Both shows have been on for two decades or more, and both have defied the way in which we look at the delivery system for smart, relevant humor. While some audiences refuse to see past the fart jokes and obvious gags, others can recognize these artifacts for their value and contribution.

Best of: “Squirrel Jokes” (season 2, episode 11) and “Chocolate with Nuts” (season 3, episode 12)