Commentary: Bubblestand
- SpongeBob loudly constructs a bubblestand outside Squidward's house while Squidward is trying to practice.
- SpongeBob says, “We're not just blowing bubbles, we're making bubble ART! Watch carefully...” and then he shows a bubble-blowing technique that's complete nonsense, but it produces incredible bubble sculptures.
When SpongeBob's butterfly bubble pops on Squidward's forehead, he says, “That's not art. That's just annoying! Blowing bubbles—that's just the lamest idea I've ever heard!” - SpongeBob and Patrick put their heads down, deep in shame, and walk back to SpongeBob's house.
Squidward, alone, chuckles to himself, “Hmm hmm. Bubbles. Hm hm. Art.” And he keeps muttering, but starts glancing around him, and notices nobody's around him to see. He sniffs the wand and picks it up.
- Just as he breathes in to blow a bubble—“That'll be twenty five cents, sir!” SpongeBob and Patrick are there, beaming at him!
Squidward pays, and blows the most pitiful bubble you've ever seen, and it pops with a fart noise at his feet.
- Squidward keeps paying quarters while SpongeBob and Patrick yell “Technique! Technique!” Finally, Squidward flies into a rage and does an sarcastic impression of the technique.
He screams his lungs out into the bubble wand.
The bubble, a product of his rage, lifts into the sky. As Squidward's house is going up, he plays the clarinet, beautifully, and SpongeBob and Patrick cheer for him.
The bubble lifts Squidward's house up to the sky.
It pops, and his house comes crashing down.
I skipped over the whole business where SpongeBob charges Patrick a quarter, and Patrick borrows a quarter from SpongeBob to pay SpongeBob a quarter. That bit is pretty funny on its own, and it shows the dynamic between SpongeBob and Patrick—they imitate serious business like kids do—but what I'm looking at here is everything in relation to Squidward. With respect to Squidward, the scene functions as something between steps 1 and 2: their antics are there to annoy him, and give him something to complain about. Creating value by circulating a single coin is a form of stupid magic (something out of nothing), so it's part of what's so irritating to Squidward about the bubblestand.
One thing they've done very subtly in this episode is the moment where Squidward goes from noticing he's alone, to picking up the bubble wand, to making an attempt at it. First he chuckles and mutters words you can make out (“Bubbles. Art”), then his laughter and muttering become indeterminate. They turn into a general sound without any particular content. Why does this make sense for the moment when he changes his mind? I mean, consider the alternatives: his eyes could bug out, or he could get a cartoon light bulb over his head, or could deliver an aside to the audience about the idea (“Now I'll do it in secret”)—but he doesn't. I think what's necessary for Squidward blow the bubble is that the decision doesn't register consciously. He needs to enter a state where he's at least a little bit out of his mind.
Another thing worth mentioning here is how Squidward acts when he's caught with the bubble wand. First his face caves in:
Then he has this deer-in-the-headlights look and says “Who would pay twenty five cents to blow bubbles?”
When SpongeBob offers lessons for beginners, Squidward starts coming back to his usual self—he says some words: what could be easier than to blow a bubble? And then he pays the 25 cents. What explains this? Why does he act haughty and then do what SpongeBob says? Why doesn't he walk away? I think it's because SpongeBob has offered Squidward a chance to measure his worth against a standard; and any alternative to paying the 25 cents would, in Squidward's estimation, be tantamount to failure. Unacceptable. So he pays. But also note that there's a layer of performance here: Squidward doesn't just pay and state the reasons he's paying; he also has to deride the whole game of bubble-blowing.
It's interesting that Squidward plays well when SpongeBob and Patrick are cheering him on. Squidward is celebrating himself, and finally hearing himself celebrated. The bubble makes a good symbol: for a moment, high on the narcissistic fuel he's addicted to, he actually likes himself, and all of a sudden, for once, he can play clarinet. But the moment is transient. The bubble pops, and his ego crashes back to rock bottom. And then he sucks at clarinet again.