Every good thing runs its course. “I Love Lucy” had its time, “Cheers” had its time…hell, even “Blossom” had its time but now they are all television history for one reason, they were just not able to maintain the magic that made them fun and enjoyable to watch. So when I hear that the Man is starting to mess with Sesame Street, it’s just time to call it a day.
As posted in the Distraction sidebar earlier this week, the Man has put Cookie Monster on a diet. Cookies are just not acceptable anymore apparently - cookies are the devil, at least if you as the Man. The letter C no longer stands for “cookie,” it stands for “calorie” and that makes me just throw up my arms like I do when I’m stuck behind some granny on the freeway and mutter “you have to be friggin’ kidding me.”
My memories of Sesame Street are sporadic and faint at most, but I remember watching avidly and seeing the same Muppet friends day after day having fun speaking Spanish, counting paperclips, and that pinball machine that helped me count to 12. And that was just fine. I liked counting. I liked spelling. I liked paperclips.
I know trends change. I know society changes. I know kids change. But you don’t fuck with something that works well and has worked well for over 20 years and has thousands upon thousands of (now) adults that can testify to it.
If I may be so bold, with this bit of (bad) publicity, I shall declare that Sesame Street has finally jumped the shark (of which could be debated that it is not the first time).
Why all of sudden are cookies bad? Were they not bad when I was a kid? I must have had better, healthier cookies than kids do now. Ha! Take that youth of today! You might have remote-controlled LEGOs and fancy computers, but I had better snacks! In your face!
When it comes to Sesame Street being in the news because Cookie Monster is cutting back on carbs, and Elmo is pumping iron, it is time to stop. Just admit you had a good, long run and go off-the-air with some respect before it’s too late. Don’t pull a Hulk Hogan and think you have some life left in you when you don’t.
Go back to the drawing board and come out of the gate with a new product and save the humiliation from rehashing and mutilating a good thing. I’m sure Jim Henson is rolling over in his cash-filled casket right now because I don’t believe he would give in to the Man so easily. Somehow I think he was one that bucked the system and got away with it because he used the Muppets as a front. Obviously he wouldn’t tell kids to go gorge themselves on Twinkies and Ho-ho’s, but I don’t think he would be sending Cookie Monster on his way with a box of Splenda.
One of my favorite parts in a recent New Zealand Herald article is when a show producer says, “We would never use the word diet with pre-schoolers.” This makes it sound like everyone, including the makers, know it really is a diet, but we just won’t tell the kids.
This whole route of purity and “ideal” morals is now just abominable. Putting things in the magazines we read and the primetime shows we watch is one thing, but drop that shit in a children’s show and you’ve just crossed the line.
Cartoons and other such programming should never be the scapegoat for the (believed) failings of modern society.
“My daughter is getting fat. It’s Cookie Monster’s fault.”
“My son looked at another boy. Spongebob turned him gay.”
Kids have the unique ability to see things in binary - yes or no - no middle ground, it is or it isn’t. Why is it so hard for adults to think that way?
Parents need to stop looking for an outlet to place the blame for their children. If your child is fat there is a good chance that YOU are feeding him/her too much or YOU are not encouraging enough exercise. I totally agree with you: if Sesame Street is going to cave in for The Man, they need to hang it up. I get tired of people acting like a cookie is the devil. The devil is giving your kid the whole box of cookies and driving them all over the place and letting them sit on their asses and play video games all day—maybe kids should turn Sesame Street off and play outside.