How “Sesame Street” was inspired by beer commercials

Directed by Marilyn Agrelo and inspired by Michael Davis’ best-selling book, it focuses on the first two decades of the show’s rise, from its beginnings as a renegade disruptor to ideas on how to speak and educate children. , until his tan on culture. pedestal: a solidified institution in itself, but flexible enough to remain just as relevant 20, 30, 40 and now over 50 years since its inception.

Looking Street Gang it is an emotional experience for many of the reasons mentioned above. It’s rare to have a chance to take a break and reflect on ways to form something Sesame Street shaped who you are and how you see the world; how he connected you with friends, family and, perhaps most importantly, with outsiders; and how much your relationship with the show’s characters and the lessons you learned meant to you, even though I had no idea that the connections were so deep.

The inherent fascination behind a documentary like this is learning what led to the creation of something so deep and sustainable: what did the creators go through to bring the work to the forefront, and the costs they incurred? taken to keep him sharp, fun and in conversation with the evolving needs and curiosities of children as the years passed.

Over 20 original distributors and creators are interviewed for Street Gang, which is abundant with archive footage from the early days of the show and old news that reveals how those behind the scenes reacted to its popularity and, in some cases, to its controversy in real time.

You may know how to get to Sesame Street, but it’s a trip to find out how it was put on the map in the first place.

The creation Sesame Street it was a radical act, one born of counterculture, the protests of the Vietnam War and the civil rights movement. In the late 1960s, the revolution was televised, but so was marketing and – when certain child populations were reached – stagnation. One of the essential inspirations for Sesame Street, believe it or not, there were beer commercials.

Street Gang presents to the viewer the two people who, apart from Jim Henson, are most responsible for the identity and mission that would define Sesame Street.

Joan Ganz Cooney was a media executive who had started working in public television, driven by the climate of dissent and social consciousness at the time. At a dinner party, she was approached by Lloyd Morrisett, a psychologist at the Carnegie Foundation, who focused on the socioeconomic gap in schools. He wondered whether television, which children at the time had begun to watch in record numbers, could be used to help close the gap. But, he says, “Academics weren’t interested in television. They didn’t have it in their homes. It was the tube with tits. ”

His thoughts were music to Cooney’s ears, who had made adjacent remarks, but not this connection. “Every child in America sings commercials for beer,” she says in the documentary. “Now where did they learn beer commercials?” The answer, of course, was television. Enter supermarkets and identify products after seeing TV commercials. “The kids loved the medium, so why not see if it can educate them?”

She commissioned a feasibility study in 1966, entitled “Potential Uses of Television in Preschool Education,” noting that children between the ages of 3 and 5 watch television half of their waking hours. The only thing that overcame him was sleep. If these kids are going to watch so much TV, why not find out what they like to watch, then what is good for them to watch and put the two things together?

Her play brought her an initial budget of $ 8 million, most of it from the government’s Education Office. That check had it New York Times predicting that she will be one of the most powerful women on television.

On bats, she built an unconventional staff. Not only did he hire writers and producers, but also educators and researchers in the child’s development and team up with him. That enterprise, which had never been done before, became known as the Children’s Television Workshop.

It was the series’ original writer and director, Jon Stone, the other pivotal pioneer who focuses on much of Street Gang, which suggested bringing Jim Henson to the workshop. At the time, Henson’s puppet troupe was a high-profile group of beatniks performing late comedy sketches at variety shows, determined to prove that their villainy was above hacks for children’s birthday parties. with which their art form was most associated. But Cooney and Stone’s vision for this new, still-germinating show intrigued him.

“A lot of our work was sophisticated and had a quality of this black humor,” Henson says in an old interview. “And a lot of our audience was really college-aged. So this would be the first time I’ve ever worked for children. When I first heard about this from Jon, I liked the idea, the whole idea of ​​taking commercial techniques and applying them in a children’s show. ”

This word – “commercial” – has become the cornerstone of Sesame Streetpioneering brilliance. The show will treat young audiences in the same way as a commercial enterprise if it develops an advertising campaign aimed at them. As executive producer David Connell puts it, “We’re trying to sell the preschool alphabet.”

But there was more about its beginnings that marked a marked change in the way things were done in children’s television. Cooney was inspired by the civil rights movement, and especially after that first conversation with Morrisett, she wanted to make sure her program spoke specifically — and entertained — children in the city and children of color, demographics so often left out. in addition to the development of children’s television and with an academic disadvantage when they reach school age.

At the time, it was common for a children’s show to be set in a pretty tree house or a clubhouse or a fantasy fairytale country. Stone didn’t want that for his home base. The moment of the light bulb happened while watching an advertisement for the Urban Coalition, which was filmed at the location in Harlem.

“As soon as I saw her, I knew exactly where we should be in this regard,” says Stone. “I wanted to capture that energy from New York, because for 3-year-olds who took shelter in the upstairs room, the action is on the street.”

It is rare that a bolt shown behind the curtain is as fascinating as the one inside Street Gang. Again, of course, it’s interesting. This is Sesame Street—This meticulous and accessible look at how the world works is included in every episode.

You’ll be quick as researchers discuss how they tested the content to determine what balance to keep between education and entertainment, or as comedy writers talk about being taught themselves about differences between concepts such as counting and enumeration, so as to correctly write an impact scene with the Count.

You will certainly be frightened by the puppets, but you will also be amazed at how the human performers of the show crossed the boundaries when it came to a diverse casting.

There are in-depth discussions about the impact the race had on the show and its legacy – and the uneasiness some markets had about it – as well as the darkness that could sometimes loom over the creators of a show that had so much product content in it. every episode, and such a high bar and a mission worthy of living up to every week.

You will review the seminal moments, such as the reference episode in which, after the real-life death of Will Lee, who played Mr. Hooper, Big Bird and the home audience, you learn what death means and how to process it, and you’ll probably you cry again as if you saw her for the first time.

All this is to say that the more you learn about the material of the show that was woven so carefully and passionately by these creators in those early years, the less surprising it is that it managed to remain essential and in terms of , revenue from viewers and goods, successful entertainment in all these decades later.

There is part of a discussion between Cooney and Henson on the show’s 20th anniversary, a year before Henson’s tragic early death, which the documentary airs.

“What is interesting about both of our points of view is that it is a kind of form of immortality. Because if you think about it, Ernie will live forever, ”says Cooney.

“Does that mean I can’t do Ernie anymore?” Henson laughs in response. “No, no,” says Cooney. “But it means that in 200 years, people will look at Bert and Ernie and Kermit the Frog.”

In such a fast-changing world, it is remarkable – and perhaps more intense than can be expressed – to have such certainty that it is absolutely correct in this prediction.