Sesame "Muppet Diplomacy" in the news

[AndyWan Kenobi]

Didn't see a "Sesame Headlines" section, but here's a great article I read online this morning.

http://forum.muppetcentral.com/showthread.php?p=774460#post774460
Mod Note: Started new thread as it was easier than deleting the next 3 pages to clean up the conversation.

 

[Drtooth]

Reading something like that, you have to walk away with the notion that the megalomaniac party leaders who only want to rule the world with an iron fist and make money off of it are nothing but sick pieces of scum for wanting to brainwash 5 year olds to go and kill for them, while they lounge in their hot tubs, feasting off of caviar.

I always felt Sesame Street's best work was off the street and in a total global sense. They WANT to end the needless, pointless plotical blood shed and say "Hey! Killing people is wrong! Violence begets violence. Be a friend, not a fiend." They want the next generation to grow up and actually deal with their OWN problems, and not become pawns in some rich, spoiled moron who can talk a good game, but would soil himself if they ever had to hold an actual loaded gun.

Too bad that these people continue to blacken their own people's hearts (especially since these leaders could care less about their own people, outside of using them as human GI Joes), and dismiss this beautiful stuff as "Western Propaganda." It's terrifying to see what people do to the pure innocence of youth in order to get into or stay in power.\

This is where Sesame Street's hardest work has to be done. And if it can change the hearts of a few people, it does it's job.

 

[CensoredAlso]

The Israel/Palestine conflict is such a blight on this world right now on both sides. Anything that reaches children, that says there's got to be a better way, I'm in favor of.

 

[Drtooth]

The Israel/Palestine conflict is such a blight on this world right now on both sides. Anything that reaches children, that says there's got to be a better way, I'm in favor of.

What really gets me is the big fat military heads on both sides who want to denounce this as "Western Agenda" when we all know the truth... If these two sides stopped fighting, both leaders would actually... ULP... work on economic and government issues... something absolutely frightening to a a politician in ANY country.

Honestly, I think both sides are controlled by greedy fools (I'm sure 90% of world leaders worship Satan) who want to control their people through fear and hatred. Sesame Workshop... say what you will... say what you will... All the Elmofication, all the redonkulous disclaimers, all the guff it takes... they are trying to make the world a better place, and these co-productions are a million times more appealing to me than anything it has ever done in the US... and even then, what they did for the US leaves me breathless.

I hope they continue to get the support they deserve... and If I have to buy Mattel's overpriced toys so they can get their share of the profits, I'll do it.

 

[AndyWan Kenobi]

I hope they continue to get the support they deserve... and If I have to buy Mattel's overpriced toys so they can get their share of the profits, I'll do it.

Well said. I'm always surprised (even though I shouldn't be) at just how darned important Sesame Street can be worldwide!

 

[CensoredAlso]

The difficult thing is when merchandise is made in China and hence, by child labor. I do understand that it's hard to avoid right now. But it doesn't make me feel great about buying stuff in general.

 

[beaker]

Thanks for posting that! Also, here's the video segment on the new Palestinian Sesame Street(I LOVE those two Muppet characters in there!)
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/08/13/generation.islam.gaza.muppets/index.html#cnnSTCVideo

There's been two full length documentaries on International Sesame Street productions and trying to bring the Muppets to violent war torn countries: The World According To Sesame Street and
When Muppets Dream of Peace.

This notion that Jim Henson's dream, the Muppets and Ganz has for so long reached areas once thought impossible...doing all they can to bridge racial, religious and cultural divides.

It warms my heart no end and gives me a lot of hope seeing
the Muppets global reach and appeal to kids, giving hope to a new generation. Seeing two colorful Muppet characters walking around the West Bank is very very cool.

But there is also a very dark reality.
When I see CNN headlines like "Sesame Street songs used in harsh interrogation(torture) on detainees", or "Republican politicians trying to end PBS funding", it makes me sick.

It also greatly upsets me that the military thinktank RAND corporation has been trying to get in on Sesame Street,
and that Sesame Street has been making all these military specials. It completely ruins Sesame canon to make it so the Sesame Muppet's parents are implied to be wounded and killing
Muslims for the US war machine. This is propaganda, as much as people want to think its "helping kids cope with parents off to war". The invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq by the US military has by even conservative estimates has resulted in the death of hundreds of thousands of Muslim civilians and wounded many more. Bush and now Obama have expanded the war into Pakistan, with scores of Pakistani villagers killed by CIA missiles.
And we've seen the US Defense PMC force Blackwater used to commit widespread murder and rape in Iraq and Afghanistan.

And my gosh, I want peace very badly for Israelis and Palestinians...but when you see images of countless dead Palestinian and Lebanese children at the hands of the Israeli military...or Israeli civilians blown up by Palestinian suicide bombers(some who are barely more than kids)...you wonder if there is much hope.

We live in a VERY sick world. Where millions of children are forced into sex slavery, labor and even being soldiers in African massacres.
The world NEEDS Sesame Street more than ever, and I tell ya...if
even people like Saddam and his armies were intrigued by the Kuwaiti Sesame characters they stole...if Northern Ireland kids can be slowly healed by Sesame Street...then I guess anything is possible.

 

[Drtooth]

It also greatly upsets me that the military thinktank RAND corporation has been trying to get in on Sesame Street,
and that Sesame Street has been making all these military specials. It completely ruins Sesame canon to make it so the Sesame Muppet's parents are implied to be wounded and killing
Muslims for the US war machine. This is propaganda, as much as people want to think its "helping kids cope with parents off to war".

Man... and did you see they're making one coping about how we got a recession from all the reckless spending and devaluation of American currency so said war profiteers get a big fat juicy tax cut for selling their weapons to both sides? They should make a Sesame Street special called "Coping with Bush Policies: How everyone's still suffering at the hands of rich spoiled moron kids of rich spoiled morons." You could see 123 Sesame Street bulldozed for condos that lose funding part way, leaving only a vacant lot and a rusting bulldozer with a wire fence decorated with computer composites that say "Bright, shiny future." You could have Elmo asking his father what was the point of going into war with a dictator we helped set up as a puppet ruler when we turned a blind eye to his genocide. And my personal favorite, "Why did we let the credit card companies brainwash us into buying stuff we couldn't afford, and the government enabled them to do so?"

Truely... I think SS has had a wonderful effect on the world so far. Maybe it can help kids not grow up to be the bitter, cynical sheep the money hungry conquistadors masquerading as religious righteous rulers love to play Stratego with. But I really wish they picked a more neutral way of coping with families of kids whose parents were emasculated by our own band of money hungry windbags who would never ever ever ever even visit a warring nation, much less lift a finger in combat. I'm so glad SS was able to stick it to Fox News a few seasons ago on the show.

 

[beaker]

Man... and did you see they're making one coping about how we got a recession from all the reckless spending and devaluation of American currency so said war profiteers get a big fat juicy tax cut for selling their weapons to both sides? They should make a Sesame Street special called "Coping with Bush Policies: How everyone's still suffering at the hands of rich spoiled moron kids of rich spoiled morons." You could see 123 Sesame Street bulldozed for condos that lose funding part way, leaving only a vacant lot and a rusting bulldozer with a wire fence decorated with computer composites that say "Bright, shiny future." You could have Elmo asking his father what was the point of going into war with a dictator we helped set up as a puppet ruler when we turned a blind eye to his genocide. And my personal favorite, "Why did we let the credit card companies brainwash us into buying stuff we couldn't afford, and the government enabled them to do so?"

Truely... I think SS has had a wonderful effect on the world so far. Maybe it can help kids not grow up to be the bitter, cynical sheep the money hungry conquistadors masquerading as religious righteous rulers love to play Stratego with. But I really wish they picked a more neutral way of coping with families of kids whose parents were emasculated by our own band of money hungry windbags who would never ever ever ever even visit a warring nation, much less lift a finger in combat. I'm so glad SS was able to stick it to Fox News a few seasons ago on the show.

Oh my goodness, I almost spit my soda out of my nose. My gosh you are visionary!

I remember in one of those military specials Rosita's dad comes home injured. I mean how messed up is that? It's bad enough hispanic Americans are treated like garbage, but hey they too can be sent away to go kill and die in the name of Amerikkka.

It's interesting about that special too, according to the great Muppet Wiki
"Talk, Listen, Connect is an educational outreach initiative designed to support military families dealing with deployments, homecomings, and changes.

The specials were produced by Sesame Workshop in partnership with Wal-Mart Stores, and have been made available to schools and parenting groups for no charge. The special videos are also available for download by Sesame Workshop and Akamai Technologies at sesameworkshop.org, and on a DVD made available in a free kit from Military OneSource. "
http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Talk,_Listen,_Connect

Well Wal-Mart has donated millions to Republican campaigns as well as the Bush election in 2004. And the founder and head of Akamai Technologies(Daniel Lewin) was the first victim of the 9/11 attacks when he was shot in the head by one of the hijackers on Flight 11. (The event that was used to justify all this endless spending)

I agree with the idea of a Sesame special to help parents deal with the financial crisis. However I think it's clear that this financial crisis isn't just from risky lending and predatory loans("housing bubble"), but from the over three trillion spent in Afghanistan, Iraq, "homeland security" and the so called "war on terror". And sadly now, China(who makes all the garbage we buy at Walmart and everywhere else) owns America by the financial cajones thanks to buying up America's debt and bankrolling a large portion of America's wars.

Back on the Muppet Show they had the "stop hey whats that sound?" song set to hunters, a clear allegory to the horrors of war. Oh how full circle we have come. Sesame Workshop should sue the US government for using Sesame songs in detainee torture sessions, should stop making all these pro war propaganda specials, should disavow the RAND corporation, and
try and get the program back on track. I am very happy that the nation and people of Palestine have their own Sesame Street now, as well as a lot of war torn areas. We need messages of peace not war.

But I can barely be able to wrap my head around your words man, its poetry in motion!

 

[Drtooth]

I agree with the idea of a Sesame special to help parents deal with the financial crisis. However I think it's clear that this financial crisis isn't just from risky lending and predatory loans("housing bubble"), but from the over three trillion spent in Afghanistan, Iraq, "homeland security" and the so called "war on terror". And sadly now, China(who makes all the garbage we buy at Walmart and everywhere else) owns America by the financial cajones thanks to buying up America's debt and bankrolling a large portion of America's wars.

And the oil! Don't forget the oil. I never said that the war was about oil... ego, father issues, politicking, the machinations of the so called Religious Right... but never oil.

But that's besides the point.

The one thing I feel bugs me about Sesame Street is that SW has the major guts to open up new co-productions in war torn places of the world, so the kids can grow up, again, to NOT be the bitter sheep robots created by their own greedy governments who could care less if they live or die. They have the unmitigated gaul to do something so brave and amazing in other countries... and in the US they're totally at the mercy of parental groups and quack child psychologists. Cookie Monster keeps having to stress eating healthy food? Rigid formulaic structure in every episode? Copying the so called educational content of vastly inferior one note wonder shows on cable?

Seriously... if they're brave enough to send valuable puppeteers to sometimes dangerous parts of the world to train people in the good fight, the're brave enough to have songs like "Everyone loves Ice Cream," an SNL style format (last time I checked, it's still on the air) and Cookie Monster eating everything in sight.