Why Is Sesame Street Such A Controversial Lightning Rod?

[MelissaY1]

I disagree, because if our world wasn't so PC today, it would be a non issue. Everyone knew what Katy Perry's "schtick" was, so why were people up in arms that she would appear that way on a kids' show? You used the great example of Ms. Yvonne from Pee-Wee, how come parents weren't freaking out because we were watching THAT back in the day? Because society has changed, and everything that "just was" is now a big deal. It's like the bullying in schools, can't say "Merry Christmas" and all the other nonsense that goes on in schools, society, parent rearing, etc.

I'd say the very exact opposite was the case in the Kathy Perry fiasco.

The problem is, SW listened to internet Youtube comments.

The Youtube comments section is usually where the worst people in society go to say racist, homophobic, xenophobic, terrible things that they know would get them a punch in the face if they said out loud, but since they have anonymity, they can say all the horrible, backwards things they want.

I'm sure most of those comments were by the same prudes that freaked out when Archie (a comic book character/series/company that's so incredibly fussy about keeping the characters' purity, they're insanely litigious and even sued a band for using a character name) added Kevin Keeler.

As for the media... no. it's not the PC police. it's about making everything a big fat moral panic and making sure any nuance of a news story is buried under a loud, garish headline to tick off really stupid people. I mean, look at the Paula Deen Scandal. The media hasn't gone far into the details of why she's a social pariah. They're just saying "she said teh N wordz," ignoring the huge legal case against her that's very complicated and very disturbing.[/quo

 

[D'Snowth]

\You used the great example of Ms. Yvonne from Pee-Wee, how come parents weren't freaking out because we were watching THAT back in the day?

Well, even before his own scandal in the early 90s, Pee-wee was kind of regarded as actually being geared more towards adults than kids anyway.

 

[Drtooth]

You're exhibiting why I hate the term P.C.

It's become a catch all term for Moral Guardians/Uptight Groups and by extension any reason why things aren't the imaginary dirty dingy Wild West they think their lives used to be. It's spread by casual racists to subliminally make it okay for them to be racist by confusing "Don't call people the N word" with "we can't eat Peanuts in schools anymore!" It spreads like a virus to common sense people who want a bone to pick with societal uptightness. And often, politics has nothing to do with it. We need a new term.

That guy who created Vegitales (I forget which one... it was on a podcast) said something that's the wisest thing I've ever heard. Paraphrasing, as a society we've reached the point where we're both overly easy and incredibly hard to offend.

Suffice to say, it wasn't "political correctness" that got Katy Perry kicked off of Sesame Street. It was old nannies and grannies and religious prudes who have nothing to do but get morally outraged about nothing so they can inflict the old fogey doctrine of "Things are not like they were when I was young, so it's terrible." I wouldn't be surprised if a bunch of religious groups kept e-mail forwarding the video so they could directly complain about how society slipped into some imaginary Sexual event horizon (and as this is a family site, I can't even finish that sentiment). Decidedly unPC, if you ask me.

If you don't believe me... well, I don't recommend this usually, but look up any "banned racist cartoon" on Youtube and read the comments. They'll be full of people who aren't at all racist ranting about how we can't have blackface in cartoons anymore in frightening terms. usually blaming all the "Libbruls" for taking away their right to hate. Oh, Did they mention that they aren't racist? Like 20 times before saying something racist?

Same people.

 

[Drtooth]

Well, even before his own scandal in the early 90s, Pee-wee was kind of regarded as actually being geared more towards adults than kids anyway.

I hate when someone makes a point before as I finished posting... but yeah.

Peewee was an adult stage show parody well before it became a kid's show. It suffered the Weird Al effect, as the audience, even at the time, was far too young to remember Pinky Lee and Soupy Sales. If they even remembered Soupy Sales, it was "that guy who did Donkey Kong's voice on Supercade."

 

[D'Snowth]

Yeah, why is it always the "Libbruls" who gets blamed for everything?

 

[D'Snowth]

I hate when someone makes a point before as I finished posting... but yeah.

Peewee was an adult stage show parody well before it became a kid's show. It suffered the Weird Al effect, as the audience, even at the time, was far too young to remember Pinky Lee and Soupy Sales. If they even remembered Soupy Sales, it was "that guy who did Donkey Kong's voice on Supercade."

Well, even Weird Al has said before that at the times where his songs and videos are at their edgiest, he makes sure they're not to the point that they're inappropriate, because he's aware that kids make up a number of a fanbase as well; but I digress.

 

[Oscarfan]

Yeah, why is it always the "Libbruls" who gets blamed for everything?

Because they're all for social change and not sticking to the conservative status quo.

 

[Drtooth]

Well, even Weird Al has said before that at the times where his songs and videos are at their edgiest, he makes sure they're not to the point that they're inappropriate, because he's aware that kids make up a number of a fanbase as well; but I digress.

Come on, dude... you go to TV Tropes.

The Weird Al Effect is "When a parody remains popular after the original works being parodied are no longer well known to the audience"

I've seen the original PeeWee stage show before. Things were ironic, tongue in cheek, and they even had a cute little mail call segment about a child soldier for the Israeli Army. I mean, the show was cleaned up quite a bit when they turned it into a kid's show. But the references to 1950's clubhouse programs (kinda hidden in the 80's retro 50's kitsch) went over the kids' heads... and even the adults who grew up watching it when they were kids don't get that.

Just look up Pinky Lee. You'll see what I mean.

Yeah, why is it always the "Libbruls" who gets blamed for everything?

Oh, these old racist set in their ways guys blame everyone that isn't themselves. There are racists on the left and right, but they love to blame "libbruls" because they can no longer be titanic racist d-bags in public... just online where they have anonymity. They personally feel that every single change in the world is some greater conspiracy theory that effects only them, and they love to be maytres to an imaginary cause.

Seriously... those "geniuses" are why I hate Leave it to Beaver. They honestly think life was actually like that back then. The 50's were horrible!

 

[beaker]

I disagree, because if our world wasn't so PC today, it would be a non issue. Everyone knew what Katy Perry's "schtick" was, so why were people up in arms that she would appear that way on a kids' show? You used the great example of Ms. Yvonne from Pee-Wee, how come parents weren't freaking out because we were watching THAT back in the day? Because society has changed, and everything that "just was" is now a big deal. It's like the bullying in schools, can't say "Merry Christmas" and all the other nonsense that goes on in schools, society, parent rearing, etc.

This is a very very interesting point. We definitely seem to be in this strange parallel universe where things got super "safe", yet other things got unsafe.

For instance, in many many many PG kids and family films of the 1980s, you could have endless swearing(including the F word) Yet now, PG films can barely have any swearing.
Yet again, today's PG-13's are pretty much R rated movies in a lot of ways violence and theme wise.

Tv comedies of the 1980's were rather tame, and when sex was approached it was a cautionary tale or tongue and cheek referenced. Yet today, with "TV 14" shows like CBS 2 Broke Girls, even the most graphic sexual acts are explored and referenced.
As well, basic cable tv shows like Walking Dead can have Hard R/NC-17 like violence.
(but they can't show boobies!) Compare to pre late 70's shows, where married couples were depicted in separate beds.

Society has also become both open yet not open. In the 1950's a mixed race couple known as Lucy and Desi were shown on tv, even celebrated. But mixed race was illegal in many states and many viewed mixed race as wrong. It was not really until All In The Family where the topic of deep seeded racism was explored. Yet today, there still has never been a tv show, comedy or otherwise where a white/black couple are depicted together. However, we now have a number of comedies and dramas depicting gay couples as normal people and not charactatures.

I believe it was an error for Steven Spielberg to augment and change his beloved film ET(in a different way that many of us were upset over Luca's augmentation of the original Star Wars trilogy of course), because it came from this self projected sense of political sensitivity. But there are many examples, like the warning on the Old School Sesame dvds, where people of today have this bizarre sense of deciding what they want to nanny.

 

[beaker]

Seriously... those "geniuses" are why I hate Leave it to Beaver. They honestly think life was actually like that back then. The 50's were horrible!

The 50's(at least from photos and footage) looked AMAZING. I can't think of any time America just "popped" for the visual senses. Even the 20's, 30's and 40's looked amazing. Maybe it's because I was raised in the 1980's where 1950's kitch and style was popularly mined, but from the colors and designs of buildings and cars to the style everyone had...the 1950's just has this amazing vibe to it. Every single person just looked amazing. It's hard though, because you realize how horrible the racism was, yet there is an undeniable magic to the time period...least filtered through the lens of someone like myself many decades later.