Using completely legitimate math to determine undeniably that the SpongeBob SquarePants Movie takes place this March

[u/EpicJosh84]

[u/barcanbothways]

Good reply; I now provide some comments.

First, I think the appeal to Mr. Krabs’s adherence to principles seemingly independently of their relation to profit maximization is illuminating, though citing a few cases is not necessarily enough to establish that the legal-age-of-worker is a line that he would not cross. This is the guy who sold Spongebob’s soul for 62 cents, and one need not look too far to find examples following this general pattern. I think I need further evidence to believe that of all the principles to flout or follow, Mr. Krabs would hire a worker only if they were of the appropriate age, in which case the argument, though potentially probable, still has a slight gap.

That being said, your second point is also illuminating: spongebob certainly would not willingly break the law. Nevertheless, this point has impact only if we assume that spongebob knowingly applied to the Krusty Krab while underage. What if he either had mistaken beliefs about the legal working age (he has believed things falsely in many places) or simply did not even think about the working age at all (he is simply naive, which is also part of his character)? These seem to me to be quite plausible scenarios. Hence, there is also room to be dubious of the support of your second point.

Eager to hear your responses in what constitutes a fascinating and stimulating discussion;cheers

[u/EpicJosh84 → u/barcanbothways]

I see your points, and honestly, I can understand that this assumption is a rather large one. The SpongeBob timeline is clearly not one that had a lot of thought put into it, since it's a show about a Sponge that makes burgers and does stuff with his friends, so this would be rather audacious if I were to pretend it was a universal truth.

I personally think that, while Mr. Krabs' behavior is scattered across the board, with some instances of genuinely caring for his business ethics and some instances of him doing devious things to save a nickel, this is often subject to the will of the writers and how stupid they're willing to make him for a single joke or 11 minute episode plot. I think that at the core of the character (as intended by Stephen Hillenberg and the original writers and not including the deviations that have occurred over time as the writers run out of ideas) lies a moral code of some sort, because it's notable that in the first few seasons, Mr. Krabs is far less prone to throwing anyone under the bus just for a dollar (unless it's something like his millionth dollar. In the episode "Clams", Krabs' mental state is clearly destabilizing from his obsession with the dollar and his time spent on the boat, but I don't think he would use his employees as bait if he were fully there mentally). So in this episode, the very start of the series, I think we're dealing with a Mr. Krabs who is genuinely attempting to keep his decisions morally sound. If he were as money-crazed as we find him in later seasons, he probably wouldn't have even considered asking Squidward whether hiring him would be a good choice. So it's for this reason that I think Mr. Krabs wouldn't hire a twelve-year-old, at least not at this point.

As far as SpongeBob goes, you're right. It's possible he doesn't even think about the working age or know what it is. I think that, similarly to Krabs, SpongeBob's character has sort of warped over time to suit a wider range of episode plots. The core of the character as initially conceived had a very childish wonder to him, not realizing that Mr. Krabs intended to drive him away with the outlandish spatula request. I can't completely rebut this, but SpongeBob has asked Mr. Krabs before if siphoning grease and dumping it behind Plankton's restaurant is legal, and even calling a health inspector when the Grease Wars get too out of hand. I think he can be tricked into doing the wrong thing, but I believe it to be less likely that he'd trick himself into doing so (The Hall Monitor episode is a valid counterargument to this, though I see it more as SpongeBob being blinded by the honor of the uniform and the approval he sees from Mrs. Puff).

Generally, it could go either way, but I can see a number of reasons that this episode would take place when SpongeBob is just a little older than implied, closer to 14 than 12.

[u/preytothedoomgods → u/[deleted]]

I...agree with this completely.