Why Is Sesame Street Such A Controversial Lightning Rod?

[beaker]

Time after time it seems like Sesame Street is always this cultural lightning rod for water cool controversy helped stirred up by the media. The latest is the new yorker cover. Before that it was the "muppet whose parents are in jail" and the fall out of Kevin Clash. Before that it was Big Bird being mentioned by Mitt Romney, becoming the biggest story for a week. Before that it was threatened cuts to PBS, before that it was the Sesame Street song being used in torture sessions against Iraqi prisoners by the US military. Before that it was the "AIDS" muppet.

Has there ever been a kid's show that's generated so much stirred up or manufactured controversy?

 

[D'Snowth]

Well, when you got such a show that's beloved by generations of kids (and adults too), and has always tried to maintain a level of decency for SO many years, even the smallest little shortcoming they may experience is enough for some people out there (like you say, mostly the media, TMZ, people like that) to just blow it way out of proportion, because that's all they have to do with their time, is to look for the mistakes that reputable people, places, institutions, etc. make. Think of it like a high school environment: you got the "hero" of the school, the guy who's captain of the football team, all the girls love him, all the guys respect him, the faculty appreciate him, gets good grades, helps out the school, etc. He seems perfect, but there's a bad seed or two who don't like him simply because of all that, whether they feel jealous because he's so popular and gets all the attention, or whatever, so they just wait for him to make that ONE little mistake, and when he does, they're quick to call him out on it, like, "Oh, look at that, Mr. Goody-Two-Shoes ain't so perfect after all!" Like that.

Plus, we seem to live in a world now where people love to see others experience bad luck and misfortune, I guess to make them feel better about themselves... like Paula Deen for example, she lets a racial slur slip, and now she's like scum of the earth because of it.

EDIT: Okay, I see that NEW YORKER cover. Why am I not surprised?

 

[Drtooth]

The New York cover was completely unofficial. Parody law is the only thing that pretty much protects them from SW suing their butts over it. SW had nothing to do with the cover, and they can't do anything about it. If someone's that stupid enough to think that parody fan art on the cover of a magazine is somehow the fault of a company spreading "evil" propaganda of acceptance, than they're only making themselves look even freaking dumber.

Lemme guess... that Million Moms crap that's mainly made of a small thousand of men?

 

[jvcarroll]

Sesame Street actually has so little controversy when compared with other entertainment properties, particularly considering its longevity. The few issues they've had are due to people holding their childhood memories in such high esteem that they forget real flesh and blood people actually create this content and we live in a complicated world. Sesame Street has an amazing way to navigate through some of these difficult issues in an appropriate way that still retains the innocence of childhood. That is no easy task.

That said, the New Yorker cover doesn't really bother me. Ultimately, all the characters are just puppets. They're abstract and people will see what speaks to them. That's different with every person. The only issue I have is when someone is offended by the idea that Bert & Ernie could represent a couple. Who cares? The problem occurs when people create one. The New Yorker was just being cheeky. Tastefully so, at that. That's what they do.

 

[FunnyBear]

And Bert and Ernie do that, Having Fun with Ernie and Bert anybody? In the LP cover Ernie is leaning on Bert. There is nothing wrong with the picture. Unless the story us about them being gay.

 

[D'Snowth]

It almost seems to me that nobody (and when I say "nobody", I'm generalizing, I'm not necessarily including everybody) is going to be happy unless we just let them think Ernie and Bert are gay.

 

[FunnyBear]

That's so true D'Snowth. But Sesame Workshop won't allow it. Just like Cookie Monster into Veggie Monster

 

[D'Snowth]

Unfortunately, both speculations are justifiable.

As far as Ernie and Bert go, many people point out that at times, they can bicker with one another like an old married couple.

As far as Cookie Monster goes, SST went on a health food kick in the mid-2000s, and we ended up with the likes of "A Cookie is a Sometimes Food".

They're stupid, yes, but again, somewhat justifiable.

 

[beaker]

Oh goodness I'm not starting yet another Bert Ernie gay thread. This is just about the totality of all the parents groups, politicians(both democrat and republican), media, etc who obsessively attack Sesame Street whenever they can. And YES! "Cookie Monster is now Veggie Monster". People are idiots. (They parodied this in a Sesame Street episode a few seasons back)

If I had to address the latest controversy, despite being an unwavering LGBT rights supporter I have never thought Bert and Ernie were meant to be gay. Maybe Scooter after his fawning over Stallone. But it's absolutely disengenuous for Sesame Workshop to say "Bert and Ernie arent gay, theyre puppets!" Um, yeah half the muppets are portrayed as straight. Pepe and Animal are womanizers, so dont give me the "puppets arent sexual" bit. But Bert and Ernie were always a spoof of the Odd Couple/Laurel and Hardy paradigm. If they're straight, its a straight man/funny man bit. That said I think it's ok and even encouraging if Bert and Ernie are a beloved icon for the gay community. But they are most likely not intended to be gay.

However I think there should be a gay human character on Sesame Street. I mean they have every other flavor of human being portrayed.

 

[muppet maniac]

(Sigh) Oh, dear frog, here we go with the E/B thing again.

I'm just gonna say this once and for all...