How can someone hate Elmo?

[Katzi428]

Well I can explain my own opinions, but they're just my own.

I do not hate Elmo, I actually think he's a great character, although most people who have heard my opinions think that I do.

I just don't like how Sesame Street seems to have become "the Elmo Show". Sesame Street was originally an ensemble show. Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Bert, Ernie, The Count, Oscar, Grover, etc were all equal stars and loved by everyone.

Elmo has been so pushed to the front so much that everyone else has been effectively down-graded, which is where the backlash comes in.

One example of this would be when they came out with the anniversary version of the 1985 movie "Follow That Bird" While Big Bird was featured most prominently, Elmo is shown on the cover along with The Count and Cookie Monster. The problem with this is that unlike The Count or Cookie, Elmo is only in this movie for approximately 2 seconds in a silent cameo where he sticks his head out the window, yet he's on the cover.

People wouldn't have so many negative things to say about Elmo if he were joining the more prominant characters instead of overshadowing him

I hope that answers your question.

My feelings exactly! Plus I'm from the Old School Sesame Street. There wasn't any 20 minute segment dedicated to one Muppet (No..I'm not jealous.) My younger brother & sister were pretty much too old for SS when Elmo gained his popularity (they're in their 30s now )
My biggest fears with my nieces & nephew was that they'd refer to themselves in 3rd person like Elmo did. One niece is now 12 & watched SS & never referred to herself thank goodness. My 5 year old niece didn't really want to watch SS much(she DID go to Sesame Place though so she knows who the characters are.) I'm not sure if my 2 year old nephew watches SS much. He's more into the Disney characters .My 6 month old niece is kind of young for TV yet for TV yet I think.
I wonder what would happen if we showed todays' pre schoolers an episode of SS without Elmo?

 

[Drtooth]

My feelings exactly! Plus I'm from the Old School Sesame Street. There wasn't any 20 minute segment dedicated to one Muppet

But there was a seven minute segment dedicated to cows.

The problem stems from them needing segments in the first place. Elmo was just the first one because he was popular at the time. Since then, we've had lots of other segments devoted to other characters, some stuck, some didn't. I have more problems with Sesame Street being segmented than just Elmo's World. I swear you could break some off and make a separate show out of them.

I've had long diatribes about Elmo's World, but the thing is, no matter who would have hosted it (I could easily have seen it as Ernie's world if Elmo never reached that popularity), it's a weird fit. It feels like a completely different show for an even younger crowd. There's rumblings that something may change next year, but I won't believe it until I see it.

I liked what I saw of Elmo's Backyard. That's far superior a segment, considering the show has to be segments now.

 

[dwayne1115]

In a recent interview Carol Spinny (Big Bird) mentioned the Old School dvd sets and the disclaimer at the front of them saying that the old school shows may not be fit for today's preschoolers. Spenny went on to say that he felt that it was crazy and wanted to know whose idea it was to have that on there, he never got an answer.
I would love test that with kids. have one group of kids watch shows from season 1-20 and then have another group of kids the same age watch shows from seasons 20-43. Then test the kids on what they learned and witch group learned more. I'm sure the results would surprise us all.

 

[Katzi428]

In a recent interview Carol Spinny (Big Bird) mentioned the Old School dvd sets and the disclaimer at the front of them saying that the old school shows may not be fit for today's preschoolers. Spenny went on to say that he felt that it was crazy and wanted to know whose idea it was to have that on there, he never got an answer.
I would love test that with kids. have one group of kids watch shows from season 1-20 and then have another group of kids the same age watch shows from seasons 20-43. Then test the kids on what they learned and witch group learned more. I'm sure the results would surprise us all.

When I watched SS, we were taught how to count from 1-20 & some Spanish words .To me they should have done the same for all seasons. Now they have this "Word On The Street" garbage at the beginning. What do they think; the kids from Seasons 1-10 were too stupid to learn anything?

 

[Oscarfan]

When I watched SS, we were taught how to count from 1-20 & some Spanish words .To me they should have done the same for all seasons. Now they have this "Word On The Street" garbage at the beginning. What do they think; the kids from Seasons 1-10 were too stupid to learn anything?

Well, the Word on the Street segments started when they were promoting reading and literacy, but now, they're basically there to re-iterate the theme of the street story, which I find redundant at times (you spend a whole episode explaining what "amphibian" means, then follow it with a 2-minute bit that basically explains it all again). Back then, the words they used weren't very advanced or anything ("dog", "family", "friend", "sigh"), but now they're promoting more words relating to their STEM curriculum ("deciduous", I'll be honest, I never heard of that word before).

I do think they should incorporate more letters and numbers into the show; they seem to take the backseat to the STEM stuff. I recall seeing one segment that showed the whole alphabet this season. The fault is also the block format, which limits the number of inserts they use per show.

 

[MasterOfMuppetz]

Cookie Monster has always been and will remain my favorite. However, Elmo has a special place in my heart, too. He's so lovable and sweet. How could you not love "Time To Say Goodnight" with Andrea Bocelli or "The N Song" with Ricky Gervais ? He has shown he can be cheeky as well with the hilarious behind the scenes videos with Ricky.

 

[Drtooth]

When I watched SS, we were taught how to count from 1-20 & some Spanish words .To me they should have done the same for all seasons. Now they have this "Word On The Street" garbage at the beginning. What do they think; the kids from Seasons 1-10 were too stupid to learn anything?

Let's not forget... Sesame Street is and always has been an experimental product. They've subtly added more and more with each season since the beginning up until the 90's. Now they teach way too much. There might be a "dumbing down" of some substance, but they're far more advanced than they were when they started.

I do think they should incorporate more letters and numbers into the show; they seem to take the backseat to the STEM stuff. I recall seeing one segment that showed the whole alphabet this season. The fault is also the block format, which limits the number of inserts they use per show.

I've said it a million times before, but I really think Sesame Street has to drop initiatives. We lose a LOT of simple ground that Sesame Street was the foundation of to more complex elements, which are already seen in specialized shows. We get like 2 minutes of letter and number, and usually letter segments are those terrible Sesame Street English cartoons. There's a lack of balance, but let's face it... Elmo is not to blame for that.

 

[dwayne1115]

Well then I think this then would come down to the disliking of the shows material instead of Elmo himself.

 

[Drtooth]

Well then I think this then would come down to the disliking of the shows material instead of Elmo himself.

People just tend to lump the thing together, and blame Elmo for the changes in the program. That's what I always say. If it wasn't for Elmo, would they blame another character, or would they blame the actual producers and crazy studies that contradict themselves?

I honestly feel Sesame Street is trying to do too much with too many different things to focus on, but that is quite a different argument.

However, Elmo's World is quite an interesting piece of the conversation. Like I said before, what Elmo's World basically does is show the different ways that you can present a subject... through wacky skits involving the adult cast, talking to kids about the subject, showing cartoons about the subject, Muppets talking about a subject, film segments about a subject, singing songs about the subject... basically, all Elmo's World is doing is what Sesame Street has been doing all along... just in a matter where they do everything at once, making it repetitive and taking all the fun subtly out of those approaches. Everything's condensed into a tiny "Cliff's Notes" version of Sesame Street. It took me a while to actually connect the dots on that one, but that's all it is. Taking all the approaches of Sesame Street and trying to squeeze them into a 15 minute redundancy fest.

 

[mo]

I'm gonna shoot straight (veronica the muppets)I like big bird more than elmo but I love elmo. here's a short script of the worst bus ride of my life. around febuary.

friend: I remember getting something sesame street but I lost it.
me:why would you lose something like that!
friend: sorry.
me: It was probably elmo
boy: elmo?
me: yeah! from sesame street! seriously if you guys lived in america...
boy: I know elmo he's that little red retard!
me: hubba wha?!?
boy: yeah he's a retard!
me: just shut up! you don't know the first freaking thing about him or his performer!
boy: he's just a retard!
me: I am a strong women and I will not let you say that to my face!

well it basically went downhill and the next day my friend told me to go up to him and do it again becaus he had said more bad stuff about elmo...I lost an argument and a friend I told her we still are but deep down I will never forgive her.