Hi,
I am writing this sitting on the couch of a friend whose dog I am taking care of and it is Thanksgiving. I also just watched an episode of SpongeBob Square Pants titled "Cuddle E. Hugs" written by Ben gruber.
Confronted with this new environment I am inhabiting for the evening, I felt inspired to flip through the channels of cable television which I haven’t done in years.. SpongeBob was on and it inspired a few thoughts.
( decently long summary..unless you're familiar with the text) This particular episode started in the Krusty Krab. SpongeBob and Squidward are cleaning the restaurant. From the mess squidward picks out a “rotten” crabby Pattie that he moves to throw away. SpongeBob protests and says that no crabby pattie could ever be rotten and takes a large bite out of the teal green and mould infested sandwich.
SpongeBob’s face begins to contort, his eyes shrink then suddenly expand radiating fast changing shades of psychedelic purple. His face then turns a teal shade of green matching the “rotten” pattie!
SpongeBob runs outside where a large digestive bulge emerges pressing against the material of his trowsers, thrusting and gyrating back and forth.
Suddenly a shadow covers the frame and SpongeBob looks up towards a massive hamster with a huge soft belly and a green top hat and bow tie. The huge figure, (voiced by Jeff Garlin of Curb your Enthusiasm) tells SpongeBob that his name is Cuddle E. Hugs” and is spongebob’s new best friend.”
Suddenly and apparently cured of his illness SpongeBob and this big hamster romp through bikini bottom enjoying a classic day of friend shenanigans portrayed in a cute montage.
At this point i was confused and wondering why the episode took such a sudden turn.
Once Cuddle E and SpongeBob return home they say goodnight to each other and SpongeBob goes to sleep on cuddle E’s belly.
SpongeBob wakes up alone and laments cuddle E's absence and asks “what if I never see him again and feel his furry embrace” without hesitation and almost compulsively, he pulls out the rotten crabby Pattie stored safely in his pocket and takes another bite. Cuddle E reappears instantly.
I began to understand.
SpongeBob resolves to introduce Cuddle E to his friends except none of them can see or hear him.
SpongeBobs’s behavior begins to upset the people around him which in turn upsets spongebob. Cuddle E tells S Bob that the people are reacting this way because they haven’t eaten the magic sandwich. This inspires SpongeBob to offer slices of the pattie to customers at the Krab. At this point cuddle e begins to exhibit mannerisms more similar to that of an evil villain than a happy friend.
Initially no one is interested in the “aged” and “artisanal” Patties until they are offered for free. The customers eat the patties and begin to see Cuddle E. Who bellows a deep maniacal evil laugh And starts physically eating the customers.
They all wake up the next morning collapsed in a heap. SpongeBob is upset at cuddle e’s behavior and takes one final trip to confront him.
SpongeBob tells cuddle e that he embarrassed him to which cuddle e responds that the E. In his name stands for eat and he should have known better.
SpongeBob then feeds cuddle e the last piece of the rotten Pattie where Cuddle E immediately wakes up in a live action bedroom as a normal sized hamster in a cage. End of episode, ha!
If you haven’t already made a similar deduction I believe that this episode is a metaphor for drug abuse.
I was intrigued to watch S Bob because I loved it as a kid and remember quite a lot but I didn’t remember this intense anti drug messaging or anything of the like. It’s ironic that this be the first episode that I return to as I am acknowledging my sixth month of sobriety this week.
Also, of note is the fact that this period of abstinence was inspired by a particularly scary bad trip.
anyway , I was surprised, impressed, amused , and troubled by this episode.
How much moralistic propaganda does SpongeBob project onto young minds?! How much of the composition of my being is related to the programming that I was glued to as a child? I feel curious but I don’t know if I can justify watching more SpongeBob to find out. Perhaps I can find an expert in the field.
I looked up the episode and found that on SpongeBob wiki each random fish character in bikini bottom is deliberately cataloged and marked as “incidentals 1-99...” each and every appearance of these fish extras or background characters has been dutifully recorded. I find that so crazy. The term "incidental" feels significant because of course these characters were not incidental enough to the patriot who noted their every movement for our collective benefit. Maybe my expert is out there.
Regardless. The anti drug message is worth noting and exploring. The episode suggests that the initial allure of drugs is great yet they quickly isolate you from the people around you as your experience begins to diverge from theirs.
Cuddle E. Hugs introduces himself as SpongeBob's “New Best friend” and soon begins to replace spongebob’s old friends. Upon observing the situation, Patrick attempts to fight the "imaginary" Cuddle E but to no avail. Kicking and punching the air Patrick bemoans the absence of the old SpongeBob and perhaps? the presence of his new addiction.
SpongeBob attempts to resolve the issue by mass distributing the Patties to his friends so they can all collectively share the experience. However, this backfires as SpongeBob’s companions don’t tolerate the drug the way he does and they have “bad trips” in which they believe they are being eaten alive.
Here, a wrinkle is added to the larger theme. In wanting to share the drug with his friends SpongeBob was acting irresponsibly where perhaps the larger sin is committed. When using on his own, SpongeBob influences the people around him to an extent but the larger corruption occurs when he manipulates them into becoming abusers themselves. simple moral reasoning I suppose but I think it’s interesting.
As far as my experience relates, there is significant overlap to this episode's depiction. I don’t believe that I actively coerced folks to abuse substances on a large scale so much myself but the depiction of spongbob's individual abuse resonates with me.
My relationship to marijuana at one time was as significant, complex and large as my relationships to my loved ones. I could be alone and smoke and not need attention from anyone else. Like Cuddle E, pot was reassuring and loving and allowed me to submerge myself deeply into these feelings and escape the world around me. And that escape was literal, even though I walked and moved in the same spaces as folks around me, I wasn’t really there.
Constantly haunted by this relationship I lived in a different reality. The good feelings turned to bad ones, anxieties crept in and it felt like I had a big monster hamster following me around telling me what to do. Similar to cuddle E. Addiction loves to eat and it’s never satiated. My relationship to pot grew and grew and very quickly began to influence all of my other relationships for the worse.
I'm still picking up the pieces and there are many. but alas, tomorow is a new universe.
I feel like I should also say that I am only remarking upon my own relationship to addiction here. I don't intend to cast judgment on others or suggest drugs are unconditionally bad.
So yeah the episode resonates with me personally. However I don’t know how I feel about these programs, aha! Key word! Program? How these programs program. It’s the same with adult television of course, although some of these things seem more sinister when in miniature on the kids channel.
One commercial break on Nickelodeon brought forth what felt like a torrent of fantastical worlds, monsters, aliens, pretty princesses, all beckoning us to their welcoming plastic clutches. Perhaps here, swimming in these ads, we are first baptized into the church of capitalism where toys are our first taste of the golden sweet nectar, or rotten putrid pattie.
Jack
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