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By Simran  Kaur Takhi 

From its premiere in 1999 till present day, SpongeBob SquarePants is credited as the longest running series on Nickelodeon, spanning 10 seasons.

In many episodes, it can clearly be seen how SpongeBob has infiltrated popular culture. For example, our favourite sea sponge can be seen as one of Stewie’s toys in Family Guy:

The Simpsons have also paid homage to the iconic TV show by depicting him as some sort of godly figure (rightly so) as part of the opening credits.

But what do The Simpsons and Family Guy have in common? Their popular culture references are aimed at a demographic who can understand them. It is therefore interesting to know that Spongebob, a show aimed a children, has made references to things that haven’t been targeted just to children. Here are just a few examples:

Nosferatu (1922)

In the world of SpongeBob, it seems perfectly okay for a few seconds of a horror scene to be shown, albeit, one that has been edited for comical effect. The scene in question is from the film Nosferatu, a 1922 German horror about a vampire whose disturbing appearance isn’t what would be expected to be shown to the SpongeBob target audience.

In the episode, we see Squidward ask SpongeBob and a customer at the Krustykrab: “But if that was you on the phone and you on the bus, then who kept flickering the lights?” A few eerie seconds of Nosferatu being the culprit is shown and Spongebob and Squidward exclaim, “Nosferatu!” The final scene consists of Nosferatu flickering the lights again but, this time, accompanied by lively Spongebob-esque music. Here we see old fashioned horror being mixed with the jaunty theme that normally runs through SpongeBob and the producers  manage to deliver the two contrasting styles perfectly.

Lord of the Flies (1954)

The plot that runs in the episode Club SpongeBob is comparable to that of William Golding’s novel Lord Of the Flies,  an American literary classic.

Squidward, Patrick and Spongebob, become catapulted to Kelp Forest, a barren wasteland. As Squidward expresses his distress from being stuck in the forest with those he despises, Patrick miraculously pulls out a ‘magic conch’, reassuring Squidward that as long as they have the conch, they will eventually make it out of the forest

The plot here compares to the similar fate of the characters  in Golding’s novel. The book sees a group of young boys having to sustain their lives on a remote island after surviving  a plane crash. Early on in the book, one of the protagonists, Ralph establishes order and a sense of discipline by  declaring that the right to speak should be only be  granted by holding a conch which was spotted on the island. The authority of the conch is mirrored in Spongebob’s  and Patrick’s wide eyed optimism and respect for the conch.

Kill Bill Volume 1 (2003)

The combination of the yellow and black seen on Sandy’s suit may immediately ignite something in Tarantino fans. The donned suit bears a striking resemblance to the outfit of Beatrix Kiddo, the protagonist in Tarantino’s 2003 cult thriller Kill Bill, an 18-classified film.

The episode sees SpongeBob and Sandy visiting Karate Island where, to cut a long story short, Sandy has to fight, the owner of the island, Master Udon, in order to save SpongeBob from being  kept hostage. Sandy eventually uses her  fighting talents to defeat Udon. It’s intriguing, even comical, to know that a film which had to be shown in black and white in order to secure an 18 rating has managed to influence a show with a target audience that so contrasts with that of the film it references.

Do you follow a series targeted at a younger audience? Send your review to humanityhallows.editor@gmail.com