It's hard to overstate the importance that Sesame Street played in my life.
My parents had VHS tapes shipped internationally, and my parents got not only an American TV, but an American VCR, in France, in 1979 so I could watch it.
When I was a small child, Sesame Street was one of my favorite shows. I enjoyed the animation and complexity, not only the word lessons but life lessons too.
And it absolutely had an impact on how I saw the world, and probably why NYC feels more like home than anywhere else in the world to me.
I was too old for Sesame Street when Elmo became prominent, but I saw the cultural shift it created. I didn't like Elmo or the direction the show was taking.
I'm glad other people are talking about it, because Sesame Street plays such a huge rule in my childhood.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQrB2hLClnU
#SesameStreet #Elmo #NYC #childhood #TV
Pamela Barroway – Biz Editor
in reply to Serge from Babka • • •Hub and I are older Gen-Xers who grew up on the first few years of Sesame Street (and The Electeic Company!) … so we, thankfully, missed out on Elmo. When we had our now-teen, one of our agreed-upon rules was no Elmo toys/videos/etc.
We also avoided Barney like the plague.
Night 🌊✨
in reply to Pamela Barroway – Biz Editor • • •@PamelaBarroway
Yes! This is so me!
Happy to jettison Elmo and that purple blob into outer space.
@serge
Pamela Barroway – Biz Editor
in reply to Night 🌊✨ • • •Amanda Carson
in reply to Night 🌊✨ • • •Florida Ted
in reply to Serge from Babka • •Serge from Babka
in reply to Florida Ted • • •@florida_ted
You should watch the video, but here is my take on why people like me dislike Elmo so much.
Sesame Street was built around the idea of modeling. The setting is a city street with characters representing real life people, queue "These are the people in your neighborhood"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2bbnlZwlGQ
The human characters each have a full life, a job, a personality, even an outside life that includes romantic relationships, hobbies, and being a parent.
Sesame Street showcases a way of being part of the world with a diverse community.
The monsters play an interesting role. They're partially archetypes, and partially their own characters, they're fantastical exaggerations of real life people, but in the world of Sesame Street, they remain grounded.
1/
Sesame Street: People in Your Neighborhood with Bob
YouTubeSerge from Babka
in reply to Serge from Babka • • •@florida_ted
Oscar the Grouch represents the fact that not everyone is going to be nice and happy all the time, and that some people choose a very different life as others. I see him in some ways as akin to Linus from Stardew Valley. He lives in the same world as everyone else, but he chooses a different way to be.
For children that's important to learn. In a place like NYC, that's a critical skill.
He also represents accepting "unpleasant" parts of oneself, similar to this goat who gets mad. Accepting negative emotions as normal both in oneself and others is important, and the show models that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-3jSTs2Zsw
Other muppets on Sesame Street represent things. Grover is a child-like muppet who tries to model adult behavior, but also gets lost in his own imagination.
Most importantly, Big Bird represents children's curiosity and fears. He'll ask the questions children will ask, taking risks while remaining vulnerable.
2/
Vintage Sesame Street I Get Mad goat
YouTubeSerge from Babka
in reply to Serge from Babka • • •@florida_ted
Now let's talk about Elmo.
Elmo is a muppet representing a small, younger, more hyperactive child.
Elmo is different than the other children in that while the rest of the show is carefully measured in how the characters behave and interact, Elmo always insist on being center stage- louder than the other muppets, and with a selfishness that other muppets don't have- even ones like Oscar the Grouch.
He reminds me a lot of the Dinosaurs character "Baby", in that he's cute, has a high voice, infantile behavior, and exists for the audience to be drawn in.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4ljtg5vXYQ
(they're also both voiced by Kevin Clash)
When Elmo was introduced, the show began to change, to cater to him specifically, and to aim towards a younger audience, which meant that the show was not the same, and had made a large turn for the worse.
3/3
Not the Mama
YouTubehaiku_shelf
in reply to Serge from Babka • • •I like Elmo very much. See here why:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6hMXrrQ8mc
He shouts: "Waldmeister! Deutschland ist Waldmeister! Jaaaaaa!"
But: Waldmeister is green plant for syrup, ice cream... (sweet woodruff says the dictionary.
He meant Weltmeister, World Champion.
All children laughed and their dad and mums too.
Dear Elmo made a mistake and went on (instead of green ice cream, a soccer ball). Well, soccer is an important thing here.⚽
Elmo feiert den neuen "Waldmeister" | NDR
YouTubeSerge from Babka
Unknown parent • • •@shekinahcancook @florida_ted
I love how the grocer is negotiating on what he's delivering instead of what the guy ordered.
This is such a NYC interaction. The grocer doesn't even want to get involved in the song!
Florida Ted
in reply to Serge from Babka • •Serge from Babka
Unknown parent • • •@dukepaaron @shekinahcancook @florida_ted
Would you prefer a song about how unpleasant and dangerous riding on the subway is?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNBVTCJ9Dks
Sesame Street: Song: The Subway!
YouTubeראַף 🟣
in reply to Serge from Babka • • •@dukepaaron @shekinahcancook @florida_ted
It's very important for kids to learn when to take the local or express train!
Serge from Babka
in reply to ראַף 🟣 • • •@raf @dukepaaron @shekinahcancook @florida_ted
When "Oh... my stop just went by" they hinted at the issue of a train going from being a local to an express for no reason with minimal warning.
Rabbi Nathan Farb
Unknown parent • • •Here's the in-depth musical analysis you never knew you needed...
https://youtu.be/TMtGImlEmu0?si=1QOPm1WeREkbQQf5
This Song Teaches Counting But Is INSANELY Hard To Count
YouTubeCharles ✡️ H
in reply to Rabbi Nathan Farb • • •@rabbinathan @dukepaaron @shekinahcancook @florida_ted
Thank you, I have been confused about how to count this for years.
Serge from Babka
Unknown parent • • •@shekinahcancook @rabbinathan @dukepaaron @florida_ted
He also did an analysis of the music of Mr. Rogers that's worth checking out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z40SZ77CHK0
Mr. Rogers' Music Was Way More Intricate Than You Remember
YouTube