Where are the older humans?

Censored

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
Messages
2,437
Reaction score
557
CAPTAIN KANGAROO is from a completely different time and from a completely different generation: back then, kids may have had more to do with their grandparents and such, but fast-forward to today, parents are getting steadily younger, due to poor upbringing and improper sex education, and as such, grandparents are getting steadily younger. In addition to that, notice something else too: other adults that kids would interact with are getting steadily younger too - teachers, instructors, coaches, etc. Kids today aren't very likely to interact with older people as much as they used to, and like others have been pointing out, today's kids are more likely to relate and respond to younger humans like Chris and Nina than they would the older humans.
Where did you get these statistics?
 

Pig'sSaysAdios

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 12, 2015
Messages
6,506
Reaction score
4,646
Actually, Sesame Street has always been more progressive than the times.
Yes, it's always been ahead of it's time. For instance, no other show before them had such a diverse cast. But on the other side of things, would we have gotten a song like "Wet Paint" on the show today? No, because the song is too 80s. The show has to stay relevant and to do that they, yes they have to innovate, but at the same time they have to fit in with the times
Where did you get these statistics?
It's not statistics, it's called observation.
 

Censored

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
Messages
2,437
Reaction score
557
CAPTAIN KANGAROO is from a completely different time and from a completely different generation: back then, kids may have had more to do with their grandparents...

On the contrary:

Their ranks are increasing. The number of grandparents raising grandchildren is up 7 percent from 2009. Experts say the trend is likely to continue as the nation responds to the opiate epidemic. Military deployment and a growth in the number of women incarcerated are other factors forcing grandparents to step into parental roles.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/more-grandparents-raising-their-grandchildren/
 

Censored

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
Messages
2,437
Reaction score
557
Yes, it's always been ahead of it's time. For instance, no other show before them had such a diverse cast. But on the other side of things, would we have gotten a song like "Wet Paint" on the show today? No, because the song is too 80s. The show has to stay relevant and to do that they, yes they have to innovate, but at the same time they have to fit in with the times

It's not statistics, it's called observation.
Where are you observing to get the information? Statements without facts to back them up mean nothing.
 

D'Snowth

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 8, 2003
Messages
40,651
Reaction score
12,811
Actually, Sesame Street has always been more progressive than the times.
Okay, that I believe we can all agree on, SST has always been a very progressive, and at times somewhat subversive, series - so much so that in 1969, it was actually a big deal for TV audiences to see a cast that was literally half black and half white, in the same setting, as equals. Even Sonia Manzano said that Gordon and Susan seemed glamorous compared to how black people were traditionally depicted on TV back in those days, and at that time, I sure they were.

But, my point is, SST has always reflected the world around us as the decades has passed: when the 70s were all about polyester and mirror balls, you often saw Muppets dresses in leisure suits and dancing to disco (even the humans often wore bellbottoms and wide-collared shirts); 90s saw a lot of subgenres of music that had tropical vibes, and that's when SST reorchestrated its theme song to a calypso beat; and as little mom-and-pop stores began disappearing from the inner city landscape, Hooper's evolved from a little soda shop to a convenience store, and the Fix-It Shop disappeared and was replaced with the Mail-It Shop and later a laundromat. Stuff like this happens in the world all around us, so the show has to be able to make sure the kids watching can identify with the neighborhood and the atmosphere it embodies as the kind of neighborhood they may find in real life.

Where did you get these statistics?
It's just plain and simple observation as I've seen the world and the times change as I grew up over the years. There's no actual scientific research or data to back up my observation, but it's still an observation nonetheless.

I'm not saying you're wrong in claiming age discrimination, because I know it's out there: it's one of the reasons why my mom has never been able to get work these last several years, and it's also the main reason why my dad can't get work as anything other than a truck driver. Reverse age discrimination exists too: I have a friend who just recently turned thirty, and one of her jobs, most of her co-workers are older women, and she often finds herself getting more of the actual work dumped on her because they tell her she needs to help take a load off the older women. So, yeah, you do have a point . . . but so do we, and it seems like you can't and refuse to accept the points we've been making.
 

Censored

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
Messages
2,437
Reaction score
557
Okay, that I believe we can all agree on, SST has always been a very progressive, and at times somewhat subversive, series - so much so that in 1969, it was actually a big deal for TV audiences to see a cast that was literally half black and half white, in the same setting, as equals. Even Sonia Manzano said that Gordon and Susan seemed glamorous compared to how black people were traditionally depicted on TV back in those days, and at that time, I sure they were.

But, my point is, SST has always reflected the world around us as the decades has passed: when the 70s were all about polyester and mirror balls, you often saw Muppets dresses in leisure suits and dancing to disco (even the humans often wore bellbottoms and wide-collared shirts); 90s saw a lot of subgenres of music that had tropical vibes, and that's when SST reorchestrated its theme song to a calypso beat; and as little mom-and-pop stores began disappearing from the inner city landscape, Hooper's evolved from a little soda shop to a convenience store, and the Fix-It Shop disappeared and was replaced with the Mail-It Shop and later a laundromat. Stuff like this happens in the world all around us, so the show has to be able to make sure the kids watching can identify with the neighborhood and the atmosphere it embodies as the kind of neighborhood they may find in real life.
.
Elderly people are not fashion trends that have gone out of style.
 

Censored

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
Messages
2,437
Reaction score
557
So, yeah, you do have a point . . . but so do we, and it seems like you can't and refuse to accept the points we've been making.
If we were talking about any discriminating against any other group besides the elderly, there wouldn't even be a debate.
 

Censored

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
Messages
2,437
Reaction score
557
Still, I hope we can all at least agree that Bob, Gordon, and Luis should stay on the show. I'm sure anyone who loved Sesame Street would not want these 3 people to be treated unfairly. It's amazing when you realize that the producers, who fired them, were probably educated and entertained by them when they were kids. Let's all keep writing in asking them to do the right thing.
 

D'Snowth

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 8, 2003
Messages
40,651
Reaction score
12,811
Elderly people are not fashion trends that have gone out of style.
You completely missed my point.
If we were talking about any discriminating against any other group besides the elderly, there wouldn't even be a debate.
But you're the only one in this thread who keeps the debate going.
It's amazing when you realize that the producers, who fired them, were probably educated and entertained by them when they were kids. Let's all keep writing in asking them to do the right thing.
I'm sorry, but welcome to modern show business practices. In the past twenty to thirty years, show business has gotten more and more corporate, and that's something I can say is fact: Ken Levine, who has been a sitcom writer since the 70s, with shows like M*A*S*H, CHEERS, FRASIER, BECKER, WINGS, EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND, THE SIMPSONS, and others shows to his name, has a blog that he updates daily with anecdotes and experiences about the goings-on behind the scenes in the television industry, and the sad fact is, today's television landscape is all about corporate greed, not about the art or the quality. Even Andy Griffith has made the comparison between when he was working on his original sitcom in the 60s, and MATLOCK in the 80s: by the time he was doing MATLOCK, networks were taking over control of shows and how they were being produced, as opposed to letting the producers, writers, showrunners have their own creative control. Sid & Marty Krofft have also said that many of their shows back in the 70s were made mostly on luck and trust from network big wigs: the networks let them do their shows their way, but they know in this day and age, they'll never get a show done that way ever again (how they've managed to get Nick Jr. to let them do MUTT & STUFF is beyond me). Since we know that Sesame Workshop has a new CEO, new staff members, it's clear that many of the decisions gone into the show since then are mostly based on corporate agenda. . . . we should at least consider ourselves fortunate that SST managed to avoid corporate influence this long.
 

Censored

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
Messages
2,437
Reaction score
557
But you're the only one in this thread who keeps the debate going.
.
No problem with debating. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, just not their own facts. What you said about children having less interaction with their grandparents these days is simply not true. The number of grandparents raising children are growing. Let's continue to celebrate age diversity.

Bottom line: While I don't know Bob McGrath, Roscoe Orman, and Emilio Delgado personally, they made me laugh and taught me for years through TV. My loyalties go to them over new corporate executives. If anyone feels differently, that is their choice.
 
Top