Being SpongeBob

When discussing Jean Paul Satre last week, we brought up the subject of bad faith and the example of the waiter. I thought of the SpongeBob SquarePants episode Squilliam Returns. In this episode, Squidward's nemesis comes to Bikini Bottom expecting Squidward to own a five-star restuarant. He enlists SpongeBob to be the five-star waiter. Seeing that he feels pressured, Squidward encourages SpongeBob to empty his mind, only thinking of "fine dining and breathing". His mind completely clear, he is able the perfect waiter, as he serves Squilliam. This is a great example of the bad faith waiter. SpongeBob identifies himself as an object or, a waiter. He shows bad faith as he does not identify with otherness but only with that of being a waiter. Thinking of himself just as a waiter, or being-in-itself prohibits him from transcending the facts of the matter so much so that he is not even SpongeBob SquarePants.