This week marks the 40th anniversary of an iconic show of my childhood. Heck, when I was a kid, it was THE show. Not much other competition that I can remember, and I believe that’s why they created it. My how times have changed for the child and parent searching for good stuff on TV.
Obviously, Sesame Street is still on TV these days, and I believe it still has the same education nurturing spirit. Unfortunately, it has lost some of it’s cultural significance because of the huge number of children’s TV programs available now. But parents who grew up on it know to look for Sesame Street online and on TV. My only real programming gripe is that half the show seems to be dedicated to just one character - Elmo.
My mom said I went to Kindergarten reading for one reason only - Sesame Street. I apparently took to their format well and translated what I learned into my first years at school. Repetition with music, dance numbers, skits between puppets and humans, little cartoon vignettes. I still count to twelve sometimes with the ladybug picnic song because it’s so darn catchy. And that immediately reminds me of the popular animated pinball segment that counted to twelve with funk rock music. To this day I have a good appreciation of funk rock as well as counting to twelve.
I wasn’t watching pointless ‘tween sitcoms on Nick, weird shows on Cartoon Network, or an endless stream of hard-to-tell-apart little kid cartoons. And don’t get me wrong, there are several shows for young kids out there today that are good and creative. I’m just saying that with Sesame Street, I know my mom could sit with me and enjoy the whole hour long show along with me if she wanted. I’m not so sure I can easily find such a delicate balance between kid and parent enjoyment from other shows.
Another key aspect is the incredible use of great music on the show from contemporary performers. I saw a video on YouTube by Stevie Wonder that blew me away. Superstition played live on the Sesame Street set for nearly seven minutes. Tell me that didn’t keep a few parents interested in 1972! I know that even today Sesame Street is known for having plenty of current acting and music performers in their episodes. That’s an element that takes their show beyond just numbers, letters, and reading. It’s truly entertaining and captivating.
Now with all of this praise, I must offer up a real criticism to the folks at Sesame Street about the release of some classic episodes on DVD a few years ago. I know this isn’t recent news, but I only learned of it just this year. A warning was included on the DVD saying that the “these early Sesame Street episodes are intended for grownups and may not suit the needs of today’s preschool child.”
Apparently there was concern about aggressive behavior between some characters, kids riding bikes without helmets, regular human adult Sesame Street characters talking to young children they didn’t know (stranger danger), and other such scenarios. While I realize they wouldn’t probably create similar situations in today’s episodes, I think it’s insulting to parents to say that the episodes are only intended for adults. I cannot fathom that Oscar the Grouch smoking then eating a pipe in one episode pushed young kids into smoking. As if all sorts of daily parenting efforts would be wiped out by the occasional classic Sesame Street episode. Really?? Give us parents some credit already.
Anyway, my respect and love for Sesame Street certainly outweighs any small grievances I may have. For my mom, it was a part of her parenting repertoire. For me, it was a safe haven of warm fuzzy TV learning memories. Since so much good classic Sesame Street is now on YouTube (thank you!), I can cherry pick the best stuff to share with my own kids.
Parents, there are some good kids’ TV shows out there today, and Sesame Street still stands up as a great choice. Education, entertainment, and compassion all rolled into one. And if you’re feeling a little dangerous, go ahead and give the classic episodes a try.
Related Posts
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
My Relationship with Sesame Street | Family Mental Health - Halloween Costumes Cheap (November 11, 2009)
Hi, Erika -
Ah . . . thanks for reminding me of a significant icon of my childhood!
- Marie (Coming Out of the Trees)
We had Sesame Street in Australia. I was six and already knew the alphabet and numbers bit. It was a whole new culture to me as I am from Britain originally where Noddy, Big Ears and Bill and Ben hail from.
I think that was where I learned about America from, this far away country where weird, strange but fascinating and friendly people lived.
Bert and Ernie rocked it for me.
Agree on the over-exposure of Elmo in a huge way. Really prevented me from even enjoying the show in my daughter’s preschool years as that shrill voice and obnoxious persona drove me berserk, and the ‘Tickle Me’ craze marked my foray into crusading against consumption cues and mindless brandwashing. (yah, I know, ‘tell us how you REALLY feel, Amy, don’t hold back, right? heh.)
Seriously though, I love your example of Stevie Wonder as adult/integration of artists BOTH ends of the age spectrum could fully enjoy, and to me, this is where I ‘miss’ the classic Sesame St., because it’s now so geared to ‘what sells’ in the merchandising/neuroscience/ad-testing arena (probably why we’ve got a double-dose of Elmo, ask any Focus Group)
Learning quality is still there, (memorization through songs/recall etc.) but so is the marketing (when Abby Cadabby cashed in on the fairy frenzy, I realize the ‘classic’ Sesame St. was a bygone era) Here’s more from Shaping Youth Corres. Sara Grimes on that particular trend. She sums the bee in my bonnet quite well: http://j.mp/ld1lj
Thanks for your post…so glad I found PsychCentral on Twitter!
@ShapingYouth aka Amy
Oh, and btw, I think the litigious absurdity of the ‘disclaimer’ bit for kids not wearing helmets etc. is just indicative of our bubble-wrapped childhood and legal beagle fear factors…
And tho you’re right the ’smoking’ bit may not ‘undo’ all the other learning, I’d still say it should be ditched universally right along w/the ol’ candy cigarettes, as there are enough vices and habitual cues being sold to kids early and often (take a look at our ‘damaging drek’ category on Shaping Youth) from ‘Blow’ energy drink to ‘Snus’ & nicotine laced ’smokeless tobacco’ to keep ‘em dodging toxicity for eons.
Media and marketing producers of today KNOW the impact of messaging, (whether it’s junk food/sugar slop or cigs) so it’s all the more exploitive when we see the reckless abandon targeting kids at ever younger ages, despite public health. NOT ok.
That said, a muppet eating a pipe or a monster cupcake is hardly anything to sound the ‘alarms’ about, ya know? We must ‘get over ourselves’… and bring some sanity and balance into the mix. I’d still take Sesame St. hands down over any vapid Nicktoon/tween sitcom airing as you rightly say…
Yeah, the stuff with Stevie Wonder was great, except that he really looked pretty high when he appeared on the show (not so much in the “Superstition” bit as in the skit with Grover, which can be found on YouTube). I guess that might be one reason they marked the DVD’s as “for adults only…”
According to the book “Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street” by Michael Davis, we have a guy named Kevin Clash to thank for the unfortunate Elmo phenomenon. I grew up on Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers. I remember the song about “chickens in the trees,” but I don’t remember what it was trying to teach me. I’ve been wondering who to blame for my inability to turn down sweets of almost any kind and I’m glad to know I can blame the influence of years of exposure to the Cookie Monster. I’m so relieved! I thought for a minute I was going to have to take responsibility for my own choices. Long live Sesame Street!
Carmella Broome
Adolescent, adult, couples, and family counselor in SC
Author of Carmella’s Quest: Taking On College Sight Unseen (Red Letter Press 2009)
http://CarmelllasQuest.LiveJournal.com
I know, personal responsibility. Who would have thought?
I Used to watch it, the Mexican version, I guess it was. I was so young I can barely make what I learned from it. I Remember Big Bird was called Abelardo. And I love the cookie monster, él mounstro come-galletas.
i love sesamy street too. i do not like however elmos world. that is a true turn off fore me. It is like the coheasivniss of the show is being divided. It is geting bad. but it is still good to woch. I truly like the old shows. oh, and that song i got a new way to walk and it’s not easy being green. that was the time. being a child of the 80s i do see the declin in kids tv. it is truly saad. well thanks
Copyright © 1992-2009 Psych Central. All rights reserved.
Site last updated: 21 Nov 2009
|
