Sesame Street to Introduce HIV-Positive Muppet

[FellowWLover]

I have a good feeling those kids 4-5 and even 6-7 know things that could make a sailor blush.

Who exactly are we talking about here? I can guarantee you that the kids I am referring to know no such thing. Please remember that not all children are being raised by the Jerry Springer generation!

 

[Drtooth]

Yeah, but I just hate him so much!!!!

So many kids around here are very very nasty. They go around harassing everyone. No wonder why they don't watch sesame. It tells them that they should BEHAVE !!!!

Sorry! Just feelin' a little low!

 

[radionate]

Perhaps I shouldn't have used such a strong example, but these kids know more then any of us did at that age, and oftentimes they don't have a proper understanding of such information. They know what sex is (a good chunk of them, even if their parents swear they don't). They know about cancer, death, reproduction, swear words, and lord only knows what else. The problem is that often times they hide their knowledge, and are truly misinformed.

 

[Drtooth]

The only thing bad I picked up was swearing, and my parents slapped me for that. I'm actually for better parenting. These days, kids rule everything, and parents go for three, four jobs to keep them rolling in Playstation 2's and Game Cubes. Not to mention games with the "M" rating (Grand theft auto, etc.) One of my cousins was actually thrown out of the house for being unruley! That's what I hear.

 

[Hays]

What is the most important part of this for children to learn?

I think we need to remember that the core of this issue is different with children. What's important to them isn't really how HIV IS spread, but rather how it's NOT spread. That being said, I'm hoping that Sesame Street mirrors what it did for 9/11, and makes the information more general. Even in 2002, it's pretty rare that a kid will come into contact with someone that they know has HIV, but ALL children eventually confront someone with a scary differece. There are plenty of conditions out there that cause kids to question their personal safety, and confusion can often lead to cruel behavior that needs to be addressed. A new character would be a great way to teach kids, but I hope that by being general it could also support kids who have things other than HIV (cystic fibrosis, cancer, asthma, etc.) without leaving them out.

Although I can understand how this is a hot-button issue for puppeteers, (I don't know anybody in the business who hasn't lost someone) I don't think children need to be educated about HIV reducing behavior - they don't typically get HIV from behaviors they can control. The main point of educating adults about HIV is to reduce high-risk behaviors like unsafe sex, needle sharing, etc., and to encourage immediate treatment - and I hope our world hasn't changed so much that we need to teach this to toddlers.

Something that concerns me about Sesame Street lately is that it seems to be outlining values rather than teaching skills. In the past season, there has been a tendancy towards telling kids what is right, rather than showing them specific ways to cope. I hope that the new puppet teaches kids how to manage their feelings and shows them ways to include children with differences. It would be sad if they just plopped a sick puppet in the middle of Sesame Street and nobody acted like anything was amiss, with the assumption that viewers will just follow along.

 

[beaker]

Heres my thoughts on it all a day after reading it....

Whatever works in S Africa Sesame, BUT!
It would not be appropriate to have a HIV muppet here in the states. Why? Because Muppets do not get diseases, and this would make it all the more confusing to kids. IT would make it a complicated mess, and make it more of a distance to udnerstand.

This hasnt been brought up...Sesame USA already has the means to deal with AIDS, as my solution: NO MUPPET with HIV!!! Instead, a real human person...dont ya guys watch Elmos World from time to time. Mr. Noodle is living with AIDS, as actor Michael Jeter(evening shade, jurassic park 3) would be a great example of someone living life to the fullest wiht the virus.

Not only would a Muppet with HIV cause an upraor here, but people arent as thoughtful as we of course are on here (we can talk about this in a graceful discourse wihtout some lurker posting who knows what about this) This would just cuase to much of a problem and not help anything.

Much more better for people to relate to an actual person, as Im sorry, a Muppet with HIV just doesnt jive.

and to felloww:

"I simply feel that early childhood should be an innocent, untroubled period of time for children to live in a happy, carefree manner. I think that in a rush to "educate" kids about all the troubles in the world, our society sometimes robs children of some of the only exclusively worry free times of their lives."

I agree 100% ! I grew up in the early 80's-late 80's and would have been scared to see this subject matter in the way it sound slike itll be handled, when i was say 5. youre not gonna see israelia and palestinian muppets on US sesame, so the same thing should apply here. Sorry to say this, but it geographically more imperitive for that to stay there, and if the issue needs to be addressed here, an actual person! They dont have a deaf muppet! They have a deaf person.

 

[frogboy4]

Mr Hooper's death was more traumatic...

While I understand where the [loss of innocence] argument comes from, I feel it is delusional to think that kids (even of that age) don’t already have to deal with many more dire issues. I also don’t feel that having such a character on Sesame Street would do anything but teach kids understanding and tolerance for people with this specific disease without going into specifics of course. I think Mr. Hooper’s death was much more traumatic to kids than this character will be. I think a big case is being made over nothing.

Some say kids have lost their innocence a decade ago, some would argue it happened on September 11th, but the truth is our parents were taught to hide under their desks during the threat of a nuclear attack. Not only was that rather asinine, it did not serve to really help anything, but this really could.

Change is made by the pioneers of the world and better things can’t happen without a little controversy. I think this is one of those cases.

 

[frogboy4]

...actually, maybe it being a person would be a better idea, but kids just seem to respond better to Muppets. To tell you the truth, I never liked any of the people on Sesame Street. (ducks)

 

[Drtooth]

I think the angle on this is not how one can get AIDS or that one could get AIDS, but more of the lines of What AIDS is, and that people with AIDS can live normal, productive lives. That's what I think, anyway.

But Seriously, I agree with a lot of you. It shouldn't be a muppet, but rather a human on the street. Muppets, as said before are immortal, like most cartoon characters. No one would like to see a cartoon about Bugs Bunny getting cancer, or Mickey Mouse with HIV.

And will this lead to more somber moments on the show? Will it lead to more unhappy truths in other co-productions? I just have this strange thought running around in my head about Rechov Sumsum (the Middle Eastern Co-production) Will this lead to stories about Jewish families who lost loved ones when an Islamic miliant blows himself up on a bus, or when a Palistinian family's house is destroied (and members killed) by Israeli tanks? I severely doubt it, but it's what happens.

Sesame isn't so much about reality reality (for further coment, I suggest stopping by a library or Bookstore and look for a copy of Mad about the 70's for a satire called Reality Street), as much as a child's view of the neighborhood. The only real somber/ serious moments on the show were Hooper's death, two Hurricanes, and the small fire at Hooper's store. Mainly, the only real problems they face are Cookie Monster losing cookies, or Grover not being able to get something right. After all, it's mainly for kids, so things have to be lighter.

So I say, introduce a human with the disease, let him stay on the show for a year or two, and have him move somewhere else before something bad happens.

I have no idea whose side I'm on here!

 

[SPECIAL ED]

how does a muppet catch aids?