Do you think SpongeBob should have more recognizable pop culture refferences?

[SterBob]

"Is this Pizza Castle? Oh Hey Mario"
"Hello Plankton...COME AND PLAY WITH US...Hurry...before we meeeeeelt..."
Gosh, those rare occasions where SpongeBob has pop culture references from things most people actually know about is just so hilarious!
I don't really want SpongeBob to have Mr.Krabs holding an iPhone, or have Squidward rapping (I was surprised Larry the Lobster said "You Only Live Once" in the most recent episode, but I still think SpongeBob wouldn't be so bad with pop culture references...what do you think?

 

[SUS]

Jailbreak and The Executive Treatment referenced A Clockwork Orange, where Plankton's and Patrick's prison numbers were 655321. There was also the McDonalds reference from Tutor Sauce, where Squidward asked the customer "And do you want fries with that?"

Just like many of SpongeBob's jokes, they should keep these subtle.

 

[Illiniguy34]

If a show's gonna make pop culture references, I'd rather have that be the schtick from the beginning as opposed to doing it later on. This does leave out whether or not it's executed well or not.

 

[Fred Mercury]

It would be great

 

[DadMom AngryPants]

No. Pop culture references can become out of date very quickly, so by keeping them to a minimum the show stays more timeless.

 

[The Drifter]

Maybe, as DMAP said, references got old, if SpongeBob references newer things and makes it rather blatant. So far, references in SpongeBob are put in a more subtle manner, and they references famous old stuff or obscure old stuff (Too hot, too wet, Toulouse Lautrec). So as long SpongeBob didn't go overboard with plastering the episodes with blatant references of new stuff, and only references something that is already established in a subtle way, (like the Clockwork Orange reference), I'm okay with references.

 

[E.V.I.L]

I think We Bare Bears is our show for that.

 

[BabySmitty]

Only if they're subtle and only if the joke can still be funny even if the reference flies over the viewer's head.

I mean, up until recently I didn't realize that "Club Spongebob" was a reference to Lord of the Flies.

 

[Supmandude]

"You only live once" wasn't a reference to "YOLO" if that's what you're thinking. That saying has existed for decades, YOLO is just an obnoxious short version of it.

Also, Mario is a real Italian name. I don't think it was referencing Super Mario.

 

[spacepirate]

It had santa claus in an episode once.

 

[SpongeyKid]

It's definitely fun to have for other shows, but I'd rather not have it with SpongeBob. It'll become outdated in the future and confusing as some people might not understand some jokes.

It might be funny to look back a few years later and to remind ourselves the stupid things that were popular, but not for this show. Keep it on other things like We Bare Bears :P

 

[SpongeRoadie UK]

If it's subtle then there's no problem. If it's really explicit it would get cringy once whatever was referenced got stale. Pop culture references will not last and it doesn't give the impression of a show having integrity and an identity, and also wanting to be timeless.

 

[Cha]

The more references it has, the more it'll feel outdated in years to come. Like look at Animaniacs, like sure they have great references to the 90's and below, but the newer generations probably won't get every joke. Some jokes that are subtle and feel timeless would be okay though. (We've seen in the 2nd movie trailer SpongeBob twerking and all that, yeah no I don't want the show to become trash.) The iPhone thing doesn't bother me because one we've had an iPhone in the SB Comics before and two, the show already has computers (besides Karen). Though I'm surprised they've never used the internet on the show before.

 

[Jewish Cyborg]

No.

Just no.

Subtle allusions are okay for the show, but I don't want to see this show succumb to doing pop culture references like, say, Family Guy or The Simpsons.

SpongeBob is supposed to be a timeless classic. It doesn't need to reference things like iPhones, Lady Gaga, The Hunger Games, and stuff like that.

 

[Jerry]

Nope

If it's done subtley it's fine, and SpongeBob always done subtle references. And unlike many Nickelodeon shows, SpongeBob tries to keep it as subtle as possible. One of the best things about SpongeBob is that it's timeless, it's why it's so memorable. You're not required to have lived in the era that SpongeBob was aired in to be able to get all the jokes or even what's going on.

Also because pop-culture references gets annoying overtime and many shows (from the 90's to now) had tried to cram in as much pop-culture references as possible. Many of those shows or games even aren't as well known as the ones that try to be timeless as possible.

Short Answer: Leave one of the many things that SpongeBob is good at alone.

 

[Flabby Patty]

They would be okay, at least stuff like that would be a little time mark. Keep it subtle, like a lot of people are saying.

 

[The Appetizer]

Subtle is how it should be- but I can name a few not-so-subtle references off the top of my head...

- Horace B. Magic in "Hocus Pocus" (Wizard of Oz ref)
- Kelpy G. (Kenny G.)
- Kenny the Cat (satire on all the cat media these days)

Ahhhhhhh- I got carried away a little there.

I agree with everyone else- they SHOULD be kept subtle. The humor of this show should be timeless. You DON'T have to be young or old to get the jokes. That's why
it's so memorable to this date. Pop culture references on SB should be kept to a BARE MINIMUM. In fact, when I see a riff on something that will probably be seen as "dated" 10 years from now, I'm all like "OMG! THEY BROKE THE CULTURAL REFERENCE RULE!!!!". Save the satire to MAD magazine, or a revival of "Animaniacs"
or "Tiny Toon Adventures". I agree with DMAP, they (the references to pop culture) become out of date quicker than you can say the word for the fear of long words.
(I ain't even going to type it in this post.)

To keep it simple-
Keep the humor character-driven. It's more timeless. :)

 

[President Squidward]

I'm sorry but it think Squidward taking a selfie with an iPhone would be cute.

 

[ryanator20x6]

I'm sorry but it think Squidward taking a selfie with an iPhone would be cute.

It would go against his personality, and the iPhone has a horrid front-camera.

 

[PinkPearl]

If they kept putting in obvious references, it would seem gimmicky and commercial-istic (word invented by me for lack of a better one). So no, I don't think the show needs more.