Most fans of the cartoon “SpongeBob SquarePants” would recognize the voice of the French narrator whose “ … Hours Later” interjections brought a laugh out of many viewers. However, many viewers are likely unaware of the subject of the voice being parodied: famed explorer Jacques Cousteau.
Cousteau’s portfolio of work defined him as one of the leading minds in oceanography throughout the 20th century. His passion in studying the ocean can be traced back to the era of Vichy France.
In June 1943, in a train station in Bandol, France, Cousteau waited patiently for the arrival of his team’s newest innovation: the aqualung. This progenitor of the SCUBA system allowed divers to move freely underwater without heavy diving equipment, making the world’s oceans more accessible to divers.
Cousteau and team built the first self-contained underwater camera to record their exploratory expeditions to new ocean regions. The first footage taken by the team was compiled into the short film “18 Meters Deep,” which portrayed previously unseen regions of the ocean floor.
Cousteau would go on to co-author the novel “The Silent World” with friend and teammate Frédéric Dumas, detailing the process of creating the first SCUBA device. The novel was adapted into the Oscar-winning documentary of the same name in 1956.
Cousteau followed up his award-winning film by committing his time to research the ocean aboard his ship, “The Calypso.” Cousteau team’s achievements were warranted. Specifically, their work and research into decompression sickness, or the bends, shed new light on the effects of atmospheric pressure on the body, which would be foundational for future projects on exploration, including space travel.
In time, Cousteau would even rethink humanities’ relationship with sea life. The increase in shark killings after the release of “Jaws” and the prevalence of contamination lead to Cousteau’s own activism, often asking people to rethink the tenuous relationship between humans and the sea.
Cousteau produced films, novels and television shows to spread his message and educate people on the ocean and humanity’s relationship to it. The result was widely syndicated and acclaimed nature documentaries depicting sea life around the globe.
For Cousteau, as discussed in an interview with Roy Leonard in 1978, the point of the documentaries and expeditions was to learn. At the time, Cousteau was engaging in an expedition to find the origins of the myth of Atlantis to end the public debate on its existence. Cousteau didn’t believe Atlantis existed but wanted to trace the myths to their roots.
Cousteau was an adventurer at heart. Each of his innovations, from underwater cameras to SCUBA gear, were created to promote a deeper understanding of the ocean that covers our world. For Cousteau, the adventure came with the act of learning something new.
For a generation of viewers, Cousteau was the face of marine biology and became a source of inspiration for creators from cartoons like the aforementioned “SpongeBob SquarePants” to Wes Anderson’s film “Life Aquatic of Steve Zissou.” Today Cousteau’s books are mostly sold in second-hand stores, gathering dust in libraries or appearing in the lyrics of popular folk and rock songs.
The daring among us who take SCUBA diving courses, like those provided at Ohio University, engage with a history traced back to the South of France in 1943, where a French researcher’s fascination with the ocean changed how we see and think about the world around us.
Benjamin Ervin is a senior studying English literature and writing at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Want to talk more about it? Let Benjamin know by emailing him be425014@ohio.edu.
