By Elliott West
“To master the addictive qualities of television and do something good with them”.
The aims of Sesame Street
Introduction
Described as an “American institution”, Sesame Street was one of my favourite programmes as a child. A programme title that was based on the phrase “open sesame” giving the idea of a place where exciting things occur. Originally conceived as an idea in 1966 to bridge cultural and educational gaps, this children’s programme was the brainchild of Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett and used Jim Henson’s Muppets. First televised on November 10, 1969, on the American network PBS. An innovation that makes reading, writing and maths fun for children via educational goals and a curriculum. It would go on to be one of the longest-running shows in the world.
Children of multiple generations have grown up to love the lifelike puppets. Characters such as Bert and Ernie, Big Bird, the Cookie Monster, Elmo and the Count who loved to count. All expertly scripted to appear in sketches and learning exercises with real children. The animated skits and songs opened a child’s mind in a time when electronic devices were not a distraction. Whether it was a letter, number or a word, these segments of the programme were a golden opportunity for a young child to question and practice maths and vocabulary as they watched, alone or with their parents. A brilliant way of engaging a child’s brain through the power of television. This made the myth that watching too much television gives you square eyes worth the risk with children in the USA in the 1960s watching an average of 54 hours of television a week.
The Preschool Generation
Sesame Street was ingenious because it found a vacant niche in the television market. With $8 million of government funding of central government funding, the Children’s Television Workshop moved from being an idea on a drawing board to becoming a reality. A show that aired on the American television channel PBS on November 10 1969, four months after Apollo 11 successfully landed on the moon and six months before the US invaded Cambodia. Bringing the expert puppetry of Jim Henson on board, believe it or not, the show was originally going to be called 123 Avenue B but the title was rejected for being “too New York”.
This monumental television programme had catchy lines and music that stuck in your mind. It had the pace and bizarreness of Batman and Monty Python. Who can forget the bold, punchy line of . “Brought to you today by the letters ‘W,’ ‘S,’ and ‘E,’ and by the numbers 2 and 3”. One that gave the show an enjoyable sponsor through a child’s eyes. So good was this show that within weeks of airing, it became a cultural phenomenon, described as a “social document of infinite value in education.” This programme gave children simple and concise remote learning and was inclusive, representing the many communities that exist in the USA including the black and Hispanic peoples. This followed active lobbying from outside forces that initially described the show as having a racist attitude but the team took this on board and went on to work with the Latin-American advisory committee. The show in its third series would introduce characters such as Maria and Luis and also addressed the accusation that Sesame Street is “a world virtually without female people”.
Engage and Learn
What impressed me most while researching this piece was that the Sesame Street team believed strongly in community values. When something wasn’t working, the cast were sent on a national tour to targetted cities and the outreach worked. They weathered the storm after a rocky start. Using writers like Emily Kingsley who was hired in 1970. In 1974 Emily gave birth to her son Jason who had Down Syndrome. Her son would go on to appear in 55 episodes, appearing with Ernie in counting exercises and helping the Cookie Monster with reading, and speaking in both English and Spanish. A brilliant way to showcase a child with a disability but prove that Sesame Street was at one and welcomed everybody.
This programme broke new barriers, showing a child in a wheelchair or signing with a deaf child. Although Jim Henson left the show in 1975 to launch The Muppet Show after feeling “trapped”, the show has survived numerous presidents and remains the template for any children’s show, still shown on American television. For me, it was part of my viewing of growing up in the 1970s and I absolutely adored the Bert and Ernie sketches, the puppet version of Morecambe and Wise. Ernie was so good at getting under Bert’s skin. If he was trying to read, sleep or take a bath, Ernie was always there to bug him with something that was on his mind or his yellow rubber ducky. All things that played havoc with Bert’s monobrow.
Afterthoughts
Sesame Street was and is an iconic television programme. It has been groundbreaking in improving preschool educational skills in a fun way through familiar presenters, puppets and makes numbers and words a joy to work with. Often copied as a format in many other countries, the original version is still the best and I still love to watch old clips on social media. This is entertainment that brings Christmas to you every day, nostalgia at its best and a show that broke the mould.
