Sunday, November 8, 2009

Same Street, Different World - Happy 40th Birthday Sesame Street


I have to thank Sesame Street for teaching me a few things. These include:

- Teaching me the alphabetical order and counting 1 to 10 properly;
- That Tina is a fine name, and I don't need to change it;
- That cookies are a sometime food.

As you can see, Sesame Street is turning 40 this year. I loved Sesame Street as a kid, until I was five years old. That's when I decided that the show was for babies.

Until recently, when I had to watch Sesame Street with my baby cousins. Has it changed? The concept of Sesame Street hasn't changed, but the look and tone of "Sesame Street" has evolved. When I was a kid, it was a realistic rendition of an urban skyline, grey houses, garbage bins, the messy graffiti and gritty smudges on the street walls - things which resembled city life so well.

Now? It's lolly-coloured chalk drawings, flowers, butterflies, stars, green spaces, tofu and yoga. Also, Cookie Monster no longer eats cookies because it's a 'sometime' food.

It's changed with the times for sure, with parents obsessive with obesity, racial equality and healthy eating. This is clearly evident with Cookie Monster gobbling vegetables and fruits and declaring these foods as 'Anytime Foods'.

I can understand why Sesame Street made all these changes - but is it necessary? Surely, many kids will know cookies are unhealthy. It's sometimes interesting to watch politically correct parents going overboard with these decisions. I understand why these changes had to be made. But, I wish Cookie Monster would do the one thing he was meant to do - to gobble a handful of cookies.

Happy reading,
5ft0

4 comments:

frockandrollonline.com said...

Hahahahaha, that's really funny about Cookie Monster and his cookies being a ''sometimes'' food! I had no idea. Happy 40th Birthday, Sesame Street!

P.S. Thank-you so much for your sweet comment in my 'Textbook Romance' competition! I hope you're one of the winners! :)

Death Wears Diamond Jewellery said...

yet another reason why being a child of the 80's is clearly the best...

i'll always remember seasame street for count dracula. to this day, i still rate him as one of the best vampires EVER

gigdiary said...

Geez, Sesame Street was a cutting edge kids program back in my day. Politically correctness has taken the fun out of everything.

Katie said...

Oo I'll have to give re watching Seaseme St a go. I hope it wont ruin in my childhood memories hehe X

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