Not Your Dad's Sesame Street

I am not ashamed to admit that I grew up watching "Sesame Street" in the heydey of the show. As a child of the late-70's and early 80's, both my brother and I used to watch the show even after we had learned all of the lessons that the show taught us. Though we understood all the letters of the alphabet and all our numbers, there was still something about watching the show since it was like visiting with friends who you knew since childhood. I used to have a field day imagining what Oscar the Grouch's trash can condo must have been like since there used to be sound effects of swimming pools and bowling alley's and I figured (like most children are wont to do) that the trashcan was just his balcony and the true luxury existed below the surface.

I remember Big Bird and Snuffy, Bert and Ernie, Cookie Monster, the Count, Grover and of course Kermit the Frog. Even the humans who populated the show used to lead such interesting lives. They would have to since they were dealing with muppets on a daily basis. And the show wasn't just aimed at educating kids, but there were very subtle storylines in pretty much every episode, whether it was regarding Luis and Maria making a trip to Puerto Rico or Susan and Gordon having company, there never used to be an episode that didn't have something interesting going on. Recently it was announced that these early episodes of the show were finally coming to DVD, much to the nostalgic joy of many young adults out there. The only problem is that these DVDs will likely have to be viewed after hours or away from any of the children currently watching the show.

Besides the fact that Elmo and many others have yet to make an appearance on shows from the early days, the fact that many parents worry about the messages that the old episodes seem to espouse is what worries a lot of people. Messages like what? Well, look at Cookie Monster, some parents argue that he sets a bad example in that he devours cookies with no worry about exercising or counting calories. Heck, it's only on occasion that he actually has a glass of milk. What about the way Oscar is referred to as 'the Grouch'. Logic explains that he's grouchy hence the moniker 'the Grouch' but some parents are worried that their kids will take it as a sign that all homeless (since Oscar basically lives in a trash can) are grouchy and mean (and have swimming pools stashed beneath cardboard boxes in alleyways).

There are those who wonder about the interaction between some of the adults and kids on the show and whether there is some sub-conscious sub-text to what all is happening on the show. As if we should be wondering why an adult would want to hold a kid's hand. What about the fact that Bert and Ernie (two males of roughly the same age) are living together and sharing the same room. In a society that is becoming so prim, proper and utterly paranoid about possibly exposing kids to homosexual undertones (none of which were even remotely present in the show) then how can you even allow them to share the same room? And the hugging? Forget about exposing today's kids to all that hugging. Given the number of times and incidents of kids being suspended from school for hugging a friend, it's probably best to teach kids to walk around as if wearing a straitjacket in order to prevent any unwarranted physical contact.

I think these days parents are reading far too much into what they're seeing on television and media. The only reason people think that Bert and Ernie might be gay is because they want to think it. Unfortunately in our society these days there's no longer any such thing as a friendly relationship, everything boils down to physical attraction and carnal desires. I think it's a sad state that a show like "Sesame Street" is being treated in such a way. I credit the show for teaching me the English language and giving me a solid foundation for my education. Being on public television it was freely available to anyone who could get the signal. It was fun, educational and best of all, entertaining. If parents are worried about supposed sub-text in these older episodes of this show then they need to wake up and take a look at the shows on TV today. Watch virtually any show on the Disney Channel or on Cartoon Network and then tell me if you don't think "Sesame Street" is tame by comparison.