The Super Bowl is the most-watched TV event every year. And in recent years, Nickelodeon has been getting in on the action with its own kid-friendly broadcast.
I have watched Nickelodeon’s Super Bowl broadcast with my nephews and it’s extremely cute. This year, children were taken through the play-by-play calls by the incredibly popular cartoon characters SpongeBob SquarePants (Tom Kenny) and his best friend Patrick (Bill Fagerbakke).
Now, people don’t often think of cartoons as being super-political. After all, kids are so innocent, who wants to drag them into the mess that is the current reality adults have created and sustained? But as we know, life itself is political and therefore a few references and even a poignant life lesson or two are bound to slip through.
One such comment made by these two during the Super Bowl got many on social media talking. The pair were discussing how tiring it can be making crabby patties, presumably relating to how tired the football players must have been at that moment. Then Spongebob helpfully reminded everyone, “That’s right, that’s why we have a union!” What!? A union!
Naturally, a lot of viewers took a moment to celebrate this shout-out to workers’ rights.
Exactly!!! Nickelodeon used a small moment to make a point that is lasting: Workers’ rights are human rights! I know I would like to know what SpongeBob’s union is called. How many people are a part of it!?!? No this isn’t the biggest deal in the world, but small moments matter and I like that small strides are being made to bring real-world issues to younger demographics.
This isn’t the first time SpongeBob and friends have mentioned unions and labor issues. An iconic episode titled “Squid on Strike” aired a whopping 23 years ago, in 2001. Mr. Krab, the notoriously rough boss, started putting the hammer down at his Krusty Krab establishment. He started charging Spongebob and Squidward for things like “breathing.” Spongebob initially was going to just accept these strict changes, but Squidward was not having it. He convinced his friend to go on strike. There was a particularly famous line from this episode, as Spongebob chanted his frustrations.
The line went: “Krusty Krab is unfair! Mr. Krabs is in there! Standing at the concession! Plotting his oppression!”
Insider Union analyzed this episode and agreed that it taught important themes about workplace strikes and unions in general. For example, it showed how important unity is. Squidward explicitly told SpongeBob that they had to “unite as workers!” This is such an important message. It is going to mean something a little different to children; they may just understand the importance of sticking together as friends. But in the real world, they will come to learn that there is power in numbers and that they deserve to fight to be treated well.
SpongeBob’s impact is colossal in the realm of television and broader culture. And this Super Bowl moment may end up adding to its huge legacy.
(featured image: Nickelodeon/X)
