According to a very funny article by New York Times TV writer Virginia Heffernan, there is a warning on the new "Sesame Street: Old School" DVD that reads, "These early 'Sesame Street' episodes are intended for grown-ups, and may not suit the needs of today's preschool child." Baffled, Heffernan writes: At a recent all-ages home screening, a hush fell over the room. "What did they do to us?" asked one Gen-X mother of two, finally. The show rolled, and the sweet trauma came flooding back. What they did to us was hard-core. Man, was that scene rough. The masonry on the dingy brownstone at 123 Sesame Street, where the closeted Ernie and Bert shared a dismal basement apartment, was deteriorating. Cookie Monster was on a fast track to diabetes. Oscar's depression was untreated. Prozacky Elmo didn't exist.
It brings up an interesting question: Were those of us who grew up in a time before organic snacks and mandatory car seats and Abby Cadabby really at a disadvantage?
Heffernan suggests that over-protected kids today could learn a little something from old-school Sesame Street:
The harshness of existence was a given, and no one was proposing that numbers and letters would lead you "out" of your inner city to Elysian suburbs. Instead, "Sesame Street" suggested that learning might merely make our days more bearable, more interesting, funnier.
We're with her. Kids today are often presented by kids' programming with a misleading "everyone wins!" version of reality. They could stand a little more misanthropic Oscar, a little less "Prozacky Elmo."
Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 14)
1. AOLWTF!
That post was from MONTHS ago!
Mokele Mbembe at 10:52AM on May 30th 2008
2. Why do you think so many grow up to blindly follow ridiculous feel-good idealogies which don't mesh with reality? That's liberalism at work for you.
xxxx
liberalism at work makes people listen to Rush Limbaugh? nah..
Clif Kuplen at 6:56PM on Jul 11th 2008
3. I'm going to be truly sad when the Greatest Generation dies out. They grew up during the great depression and had to make sacrifice in the following events surrounding WWII. They understand a level of suffering that will ultimately be forgotten in the next twenty years or so
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Take heart - the way things are going with the economy it looks like the Gen Y's will get their chance to learn hardship...
Pliny-the-in-Between at 11:44AM on Sep 23rd 2008
4. http://saintbrianthegodless.blogspot.com/
Our blog is getting popular...
Over 170 posts on this one alone!
Hope to see more of the Dinesh regulars there!
-SBG
Saint Brian the Godless at 12:54PM on Oct 31st 2008
5. Clif AND Mokele here! Wow... It's almost like old times!
Miss you guys.
Saint Brian the Godless at 3:13PM on Jan 15th 2009
6. Moke, "yin-free?"
Very interesting. I'm currently having an argument with pboy on my own blog about yin-yang duality. He doesn't seem to see it. Thinks I'm shinin' him on. Doesn't believe me when I tell him that there's something to it...
Saint Brian the Godless at 3:15PM on Jan 15th 2009
7. You guys know that there's still a lot of activity on the old DD blog, right? It's up to over 2100 posts. Stop by and say hi for old time's sake, will yuz?
Saint Brian the Godless at 3:27PM on Jan 15th 2009
8. I wass just calling Observant "tinky-winky" the other night on the DD obama reagan doctrine blog...
Saint Brian the Godless at 3:31PM on Jan 15th 2009
9. Moke,
Check out this link:
http://news.aol.com/newsbloggers/2008/09/27/obama-and-the-reagan-doctrine/442#comments
GearHedEd at 2:31PM on Apr 24th 2009
10. I couldn't agree more. I hate the namby pamby pansy way we educate our kids these days. They are living in a fairy tale world. Why do you think so many grow up to blindly follow ridiculous feel-good idealogies which don't mesh with reality? That's liberalism at work for you.
Steve at 4:37PM on Nov 19th 2007
11. Ah, "The Good 'Old' Days"! Don't Worry America, If Your Kids Need A Reality Check; You Can Take Them For A Drive Through The "Disadvantaged" Neighborhoods Of The "Lower-Class". If You Happen To Live In One Of These Neighborhoods; Then I'm Sure That Your Kids Have Already Seen It!
Instantly Turn your Computer into a Super TV!
http://www.television-on-internet.com/
JC at 5:07PM on Nov 19th 2007
12. Not having seen the 'new' Sesame Street, I can't say what the differences are, but being a Gen Xer myself, I remember Sesame Street very fondly. The show didn't promote learning as a means to an end, but rather as the natural state we should all strive for to be intelligent, creative, kind people. Is the new version pushing some kind of corporate agenda of the American Dream? Sounds like the show has drifted even further into fantasyland!
helas at 5:25PM on Nov 19th 2007
13. All of this is better than the crappy new math that was forced upon us during the 60s and 70s. We want you understand why the correct answer is correct.
Phooey. As mother said, who cares why 7 times 9 is 63. That's the answer. Move on to the next question.
Kent at 9:21PM on Nov 19th 2007
14. As a child who watched Sesame Street, I think that I spent more time learning about letters and numbers than making a psychological analysis of the various characters. Of course, I'm not of Generation X. I was born into the Millennial Generation or Generation Y (people born c.1980-c.1995)... which has just as many flaws, if not more, than previous generations. And I do think the television that we were watching as children can be blamed in part for this.
Moreso than Gen X, Gen Y had to deal with an absence of stay-at-home mothers and were increasingly raised by the cartoons they watched. I know that sounds like an outrageous claim, but when I look back at it, I had more access to my television than I did to either of my parents as a child. And my parents were at home a lot compared to many other people my age.
I have fond memories of the TV shows I watched as a little kid, but most of them had an "everybody wins" theme which cannot be applied to the real world. I can see it today, as people my age are overconcerned with an idealistic concept of fairness. They have trouble accepting discipline, they expect to have things done for them.
I like to think of Generation X as a sandwiched generation, stuck inbetween the hard-working, miserable Baby Boomers and the egotistical, self-indulgent Millenials. It's a tough spot. Kudos to those who are able to deal with it.
I'm going to be truly sad when the Greatest Generation dies out. They grew up during the great depression and had to make sacrifice in the following events surrounding WWII. They understand a level of suffering that will ultimately be forgotten in the next twenty years or so.
Tony Messinger at 9:51AM on Nov 20th 2007
15. Another attack on the Public by Corporate interests.
dave at 3:21PM on Nov 20th 2007