Sesame Street is Bad for Kids
I grew up watching Sesame Street as did a lot of people my age. What kid didn't like muppets? Recently Volume 1 and 2 of Sesame Street was released on DVD and comes with a warning. The episodes are deemed "Adult Only". Apparently, today's children couldn't handle the Sesame Street of old. WTF?
Characters such as Oscar the Grouch, Cookie Monster and Big Bird, as they used to be, are unsuitable for today's wired youth. Oscar need psychiatric help for his mood disorder. Cookie needs Cookie Anonymous. And Big Bird may very well be taking LSD. Cookie Monster is described as a child's first glimpse into the life of an addict. We all know Big Bird was the only one on Sesame Street who could see Snuffleupagus (which was later changed in the mid-80's). Oscar, as we all know and loved him, was beyond grouchy, kind of like your drunk grandpa recovering from a weekend bender.
Other things that were deemed not suitable for our children is Cookie Monster's role in "Monsterpiece Theater". In these clips he had a pipe which he later gobbled like a tasty chocolate chip cookie. This sends the wrong message to our children.
Sesame Street back then was void of cheerful monsters like Elmo. Bert also seemed to be a gloomy Gus. None of the monsters back then are nothing like the cheerful monsters of today's Sesame Street.
It seems todays kids need to be sheltered from reality. Granted, Sesame Street has never been about reality but the "old school" Sesame Street was a tad bit realer than today. Are our children so fragile that these old episodes will destroy them? I don't think so. We try so hard to protect our kids from anything we can. Our poor kids grow up in this sheltered bubble and when they finally do get to see what the world is about it drives them insane and they go on a shooting rampage through their school.
I find it absolutely ridiculous that the early episodes of Sesame Street is not suitable for my kids. I will gladly allow my children to watch these episodes. There is nothing wrong with them. People need to back off and let our children experience life.
Comments
You have to be joking
24 November 2007 - 1:47am — battye (not verified)How can Sesame Street be deemed adult only. I laughed out loud at "Cookie Monster is described as a child's first glimpse into the life of an addict."
What was it rated out of interest? Here, adults only is essentially "M" for mature audiences, while the level below that is PG.
To put Sesame Street on the same level as, say, The Simpsons (PG) and Spiderman (M) is laughable.
http://www.filmclassifications.com/australia.html
"M: Films classified M, are recommended for mature audiences, generally for viewers over the age of 15."
I take it the US equivalent is either PG or PG13:
http://www.filmclassifications.com/united_states_of_america.html
"PG: This stands for Parental Guidance Suggested (Some Material May Not Be Suitable For Children). Parents are advised to look into the film before they let their child attend, as some of the content may not be suitable for young children.
PG-13: Parents are strongly cautioned when it comes to allowing under 13's viewing films under the PG-13 category, as some material may be inappropriate for children under 13 years old. In the eyes of the MPAA, films rated PG-13 are beyond PG when it comes to language, sex, nudity etc, but not quite R classified. The lowest classification for any film with drug use, is PG-13. If nudity is sexual in context, or violence is frequent, generally the film will be raised to the R classification."
Nice CAPTCHA by the way :)
Let Me Clarify
26 November 2007 - 9:33am — GrinchThe DVD's have a rating of NR which means Not Rated. It has been reported that the DVD's have a warning that states:
I'm not sure if it is a warning on the box or when you start the DVD. I think it is quite ridiculous as well. Do they think our children are too stupid to realize they are just puppets?
Thanks for the comment battye.