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I don't understand why folks think this is out-of-place on HN. It seems on target to me. It is evidence of an emergent media phenomenon (albeit a slow one) -
by jMyles 11y ago
I don't understand why folks think this is out-of-place on HN. It seems on target to me.
It is evidence of an emergent media phenomenon (albeit a slow one) - that a single character on an iconic platform changed its dynamic enough to cause its identity to come into question.
Because Sesame Street leveraged novelty and maturity, the emergence of a cutesy, immature, "it's all about MEEE!" type of character represents a sort of test case, and in this case, the evidence is that the show changed as the result.
- Splines 11y agoIt would have been interesting to explore characters as they age throughout the show. Given the shows longevity it could have been really interesting to have a varied set of characters age right along with the viewers. Children could identify with Elmo for their entire lives. The Elmo of today would be finishing school and starting a job, and only visiting occasionally. He would take a very different role than that of 20 years ago.
- goatforce5 11y agoThat would make reruns tricky to do and/or confusing.
- knicholes 11y agoAren't these characters those like Maria, Gordon, and Mr. Hooper?
- Splines 11y agoFor logistical reasons, not really. It's easier to maintain puppets vs trying to keep the same human actors tied to the show.
- gknoy 11y agoThe point is, Maria and Gordon __have__ been with the show for decades, and now their characters have kids. Similarly, some of the kids in earlier years still are involved as older kids. It's one thing I have really liked about the show, as it lets them show nuanced relationships (both in terms of jobs and family).
- Splines 11y agoAh, I see. I'll admit to not seeing the show for the past few years. Good to see that they're still there!
- sopooneo 11y agoBut they have. And to agree with both you and the parent post, watching with my child the other day, I noticed an adult actor that looked familiar. I looked it up, and he had originally been one of the child actors when I was watching as a kid. Granted he wasn't anywhere near as frequent as the puppet characters, but still amazing.
- Apocryphon 11y agoThe Time When Sesame Street Was Disrupted
- marshray 11y agoSo Elmo coming to Sesame Street is basically like Twitter changing stars to hearts.