ArE YoU FeElInG It NoW Mr.KrAbs?

Before I explain, this thought came to me while browsing on instagram and looking through posts on the spongebob instagram blog because I have no life and I'm avoiding doing 3 assignments at 2am. Context is important.

Anyways they have a spongebob shop in their bio linked so I checked it out. It was the cheapest and most basic ass spongebob merchandise imaginable. Of course it should be obvious since ~Nickelodeon~ has been milking Spongebob well into I was born so.

Most of it is just Spongebobs face slapped onto stuff, meme figurines, or generic stuff that would have been popular in 2012 like "like a bawse" and a boring overused black and yellow aesthetic or trying to copy the popular summery pineapple aesthetic that has been popular in 2015.

I think the only thing interesting was the spongebob vintage horror movie parody tote bags (probably because I love vintage horror movies), but from my knowledge, the art were originally created for posters to sell at the spongebob shop at the universal studios theme park or whatever. The art was just repurposed so it wasn't super interesting.

The worst part is how overpriced they are. Tiny meme figurine costing close to $30. Why? Because its a collectors item or something?

Anyways I'm going off topic, I would buy generic spongebob stuff because I'm boo boo the fool but that's not the point, anyways, looking through this stuff did cause a thought to pop in my head. All this stuff is so generic, its so weird considering how unique spongebob actually is.

Especially looking at the generic black and yellow spongebob aesthetic merch, or just any sort of generic popular aesthetic they managed to shoehorn spongebob in that doesn't fit in. Why don't they use the aesthetic in the show?

I don't know if I can properly explain this but spongebob, particularly first season spongebob had such a unique look and feel with its colors and background art, it just created its own feeling and style. The darker and less saturated colors, plus the very striking reds, I'm not sure how to properly explain but I'll leave pictures.

As a kid I couldnt tell what was the difference between spongebob, season to season. I knew something was off and different especially with the early seasons vs the later ones, but one I could always identify was the first season.

They were slower paced, darker colors, the more greens and less vibrant blues, and the striking bright red that would occasionally come up (which have you ever noticed was a common thing in 90s cartoons, most colors are very desaturated but the red always looked so bold?) Even the show itself just had a calmer vibe. I always associated it with a Sunday afternoon, there's nothing to do, the sun is shining bright even though its evening. Its a weird feeling like time doesn't exist and spongebob is on. Its the only show you're really interested in watching and its just so slow and mellow?

Maybe its just me but it just felt like that. Even now when I look at it, it just reminds me of being a kid, the sun is shining so bright through the window but you can't go out, you try to use your imagination to make up and play games, time feels like its moving so slowly. Its peaceful. As a kid it probably bored you to death but as an adult it holds a nostalgia factor that can certainly be capitalized on (why? Because I'm an asshole with ideas xD)

They can take that calming mellow feel of the first season, the backgrounds, the colors, like a slow peaceful summers day with nothing to do and sell merch of that.

It can create its own new popular aesthetic to sell and stuff. Another thing about the first season is the use of unique backgrounds. The floral patterns and such just tie it together nicely. Though that can be slightly problematic since that was from (not the sky flowers but the title card art inspired by native Hawaiian art and tiki art) profiting off marginalized cultures and stuff. That's a topic for another day. That be nickelodeon tho.