Elmo's Christmas Countdown

[CensoredAlso]

Wow, 11 years! Well you know I was thinking, I wouldn't mind Elmo if he did something, how do I put this...important. Not that making kids happy isn't important. But Sesame Street will be remembered for being a groundbreaking show that occasionally tackled difficult issues and changed the face of television (ugh gotta love TV documentary cliches!).

But Elmo will not be remembered for that. Elmo will be remembered by the unforgiving pop culture archive as a best selling toy (that caused humorous fights in stores), a cute kid's fad. He laughs a lot and says "Elmo loves you!" but there's nothing under the surface. Love is not always bright colors and happy feelings. It can be passionate and painful, even if you're a kid. Elmo couldn't have done the death of Mr. Hooper show.*

*(Correction, I think '80s Elmo might have managed it, hehe)

 

[Ilikemuppets]

Right, it's like it wold be saying it's not okay to cry, but only be happy. They'd just tickle him or something and he'd be over it in a heart beat.

 

[CensoredAlso]

Definitely! And you know, you can give a crying child a cute stuffed animal, and sometimes it will make them feel better. And other times they will throw it back in your face, lol! That's the way kids can be. They don't always want to be cheered up right away, they want to cry for awhile. They want to be told it's OK to be upset. Then maybe they can feel better. Or sometimes it's even harder than that.

 

[Ilikemuppets]

Yeah. It's important to understand that these things are a part of life and that you there things you have to deal with. Yes, it can be hard but it's important to face things that you may not want to have to instead of just with is would just go away or pretending like it didn't happen. But it's a part of growing, you know? And things do get better as well.

 

[CensoredAlso]

I read the summary for the special on Muppet Wiki:

"Every year on Sesame Street somebody gets the chance to open the doors of the advent calendar, counting down the ten days until Christmas. This year it's Elmo's turn -- but the wind blows the calendar out of his hands, and he has to hunt all over the Street to find the days before Christmas comes."

Hmm, that is kinda nice (though of course it just happens to be ELMO'S turn lol). I hope the moral of the story is that Christmas is more than just an Advent calendar (not that an Advent calendar is a bad thing, they're definitely great ). I also wonder if they'll mention why this particular calendar i called an "Advent." Probably not, since most shows nowadays are afraid to do so. On the other hand, Sesame Street did do a manger play in a previous special, which was much appreciated.

 

[Ilikemuppets]

Yeah! I like how there not afraid to explain to children about why people celebrate Christmas.

 

[Drtooth]

Hmm that is interesting! Though it makes sense in the end, the Turtles are fighting for a good cause (unlike The Sopranos heh).

Actually, in the original comic series the Turtels were trained as assassins by Splinter to avenge the death of his master, Hamato Yoshi. hense why they are NINJA turtles.

Anyway, I dunno. You could say the same thing about Robert DeNero or something like that. I gotta say it gives it at the very least an edge for adults to watch it.

And well, as much as I hate to admit it (vis a vis Elmo) when you have a show primarily viewed by 3 year olds, a character that is like them is going to have most appeal. plus the little Red one made them a freaking mint back in 95 and 06 so of course they're gonna milk it. Especially since ol PBS is getting stingy due to budget cuts.

 

[CensoredAlso]

That's very true about the Turtles in the comics!

I won't say the same about Robert DeNiro, The Godfather was a decent film that didn't degrade Italian Americans. It told some of the history and accurate story of the mafia. Plus, it didn't celebrate how wonderful the mob is, or protray the ethnic group as all goofy and stupid (Though he later did mob films that weren't as good).

The main thing for me is that other stereotypes are never allowed on TV. But some are still OK. Again, I'm not putting anyone down who does like the show.

My opinion about Elmo World's is likely never to change so I'm done for now.

 

[Barry Lee]

Okay, heres my view on this, at least were getting a prime time special. Elmo tends to annoy people, but look at the demographic he portrays. I dont think the Saprano thing will be bad, honestly, it might be a spoof, we dont really know, but many adult oriented performers have been on Sesame Street. Heck, Jame Gandolfini even appeared on Sesame Street. Elmo is one if not the most popular character on Sesame Street, so what if he is annoying, we are not the target audience for the show, things change, for better or worse, and we have to except change, and we have to be greatful for things as well, Sesame Street has been on for about 39 years, and Big Bird kept it running at one time, and now Elmo does, Big Bird isn't shoved away completely. I will say this as well, you dont know how the special will turn out until you see it, so look before you speak.
​

 

[CensoredAlso]

we have to except change, we have to be greatful for things as well, Sesame Street has been on for about 39 years, and Big Bird kept it running at one time, and now Elmo does, Big Bird isn't shoved away completely. I will say this as well, you dont know how the special will turn out until you see it, so look before you speak.​

Well I think if some people want to accept what is given, that's fine for them. But if you don't want to accept what's given, if you have different opinion, that should be OK too. We don't have to accept things if we don't want to. I would not be being honest if I accepted everything I saw out of loyalty. Different points of view.

But yes it is true that we shouldn't judge before actually seeing. It's just hard to resist the urge sometimes, you know? hehe

I know I'm not Elmo's target audience. But I'm not talking about me. Everytime I talk about my problems with Elmo's World, I say why it's not good for kids, not just for me.

And I'm not watching the Sopranos bit. Even if it is funny. A lot of stereotypes are funny. I don't dislike it because it's adult oriented. I dislike it because it's insulting. They were not permitted at the Columbus Day event for a reason.

I know a lot of people won't agree with me on this and that's fine. People can have different opinions, I learned that on Sesame Street.