The documentary “Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey” is like an 80-plus minute hug from an old friend. An old, furry friend to be precise.

Turns out the man who gives life to the “Sesame Street” muppet is a tall, soft-spoken black man who dreamed of being a puppeteer all his life. His story – that of a lower middle class lad whose talents led him to muppet guru Jim Henson – provides the kind of sweet, comforting material too rarely seen in the documentary format.

It’s the American Dream on a deeply private scale, and director Constance Marks captures it with an effervescence that honors both the puppeteer and Elmo himself.

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Brought to you by the letters “B” and “G” … for Big Government.

“Sesame Street’s” latest mission has Lily the Muppet telling school children they can get free food from the government. All they have to do is ask.

Lily’s message is being circulated through schools, hospitals and food assistance programs as part of Sesame Street’s “Food for Thought” multi-media campaign, which includes DVDs and a booklet listing “services that can assist your family” as well as “referrals to social service agencies.”

Organizers say they have produced a million of the kits.

This is only one step of a larger Muppet movement regarding nutrition:

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My daughters and I watch “Sesame Street” every day. The show tends to lean to the left with many of its themes (Cookie Monster noshing on fruits and veggies, for example) but my oldest is only 2.5 years old and she really enjoys the program. Statists will stop at nothing to indoctrinate children with their views, and I can see why kids are targeted. A child’s mind is like clay, ready to be molded and formed and unfortunately most parents don’t pay attention to what their kids are watching.

Someone from my home state of Illinois (and I am NOT shocked this originated in Illinois) decided to start a petition to have Bert and Ernie get married on “Sesame Street.” Lair Scott said, “We are not asking that ‘Sesame Street’ do anything crude or disrespectful by allowing Bert and Ernie to marry. It can be done in a tasteful way. Let us teach tolerance of those that are different. Let ‘Sesame Street’ and PBS Kids be a big part in saving many worthy lives.” Seriously? Bert and Ernie getting married is going to help kids not bully others and LGBT kids stop committing suicide? Because preschoolers are the ones doing this? Ah, yes! The #1 way for a statist to promote an agenda is to somehow fit it in with SAVE THE CHILDREN! Mr. Scott is using their tragedy and a child’s program as a means to an end.

Who decided Bert and Ernie are gay? How can a puppet be sexual? Don’t answer that! It’s a rhetorical question. I remember it took me a long time to even realize they live together. It never clicked in my mind as a toddler and young kid that they live in the same house. They’re best friends, the puppet version of Felix and Oscar. (more…)

Will they or won’t they? Could they? Should they? Speculation ran rampant this week after a petition signed by 900 people was sent to the producers of Sesame Street demanding Bert and Ernie finally get with the times and tie the knot. Not wanting to get left out of the march of progress and face the inevitable, I’m going to come down on the side of supporting this initiative. First of all, if a group demands it, then we might as well just do what they say. Secondly, I think this opens up Sesame Street to some provocative and entertaining new story lines.

As we all know, Bert and Ernie have been shacking up together since 1969. That’s a long time to remain in the closet, and we can only imagine the exhaustion they’ve experienced in living out this charade for 42 years.  They’ve no doubt been saddled with an unfair tax burden all this time by being forced to file individually. It’s also likely that at some point or other, one of them has spent time in the hospital, and we can only assume the other was denied visitation rights. It’s not like the rest of the community didn’t know. I mean, they keep pictures of each other on their wall, for chrissakes. Grover’s not stupid. Sure, they sleep in separate beds, but so did every heterosexual TV couple back in the late 60s. Bert and Ernie were simply products of the sexually repressed era they came of age in.

Considering they’ve lived under one roof all this time, sleep in the same room, and obviously share a close bond, there’s simply no reason whatsoever they shouldn’t get married. They obviously care about each other, and when two people care about each other, that’s what they do. Get married. The fact that they’re getting on in years leaves them little time left for a healthy adoption, so now’s the time to demonstrate the strength of their commitment for the good of a young . . muppet. It’s not like they can’t still go out and have a night on the town or hit the clubs after bringing home a child. There are lots of good sitter options in the local community: Cookie Monster and The Count seem like positive role models. And what youngster wouldn’t love spending summer weekends at Big Bird’s Fire Island pad?

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So, the cat’s out of the bag: “Primetime Propaganda” has hit the market, accompanied by exclusive tape of Hollywood insiders admitting to anti-conservative bias in the industry, openly talking about using their shows to propagandize for political purposes, and bashing right-leaning Americans. 

The media has jumped all over the story.  Or rather, they’ve jumped all over the wrong story.  When in doubt, attack the messenger. 

Rather than focusing on the tape we started to release yesterday through Big Hollywood, Townhall, HotAir, and other websites, the left has focused almost exclusively on a one-and-a-half page section of “Primetime Propaganda”: the Sesame Street section.  They’re claiming that I call Big Bird a pinko (nope), that I say that Sesame Street is a socialist haven (wrong) and that I am deeply upset by Sesame Street’s use of liberal pop culture icons like Katy Perry and Neil Patrick Harris (not so much). 

They should probably just read the book.  In the book, I do detail Sesame Street’s historic liberal tilt – the former VP of Children’s Television Workshop, Mike Dann, told me that the show was “underwritten and created primarily for black children, Spanish-speaking children.  It was not made for the sophisticated or the middle class … there’s no written material in a black household.  But there is television.”  This sounds like typical soft bigotry of low expectations material.  

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The U.K. Independent publishes this must-read piece on Ben Shapiro’s Primetime Propaganda: The True Hollywood Story of How the Left Took Over Your TV, which is out Tuesday.  Watch this space for more on this important book:

That’s the claim by a right-wing author who says he’s exposed a left-wing plot behind some top TV shows

The TV series Friends undermined family values; Sesame Street taught ethnic minorities about civil disobedience; Happy Days had a subtle anti-Vietnam subtext; and the 1980s cop show MacGyver tried to persuade pistol-packing Americans that guns are bad. That, at least, is the considered opinion of Ben Shapiro, an investigative author and right-wing columnist who will publish a detailed exposé tomorrow telling how Hollywood producers, writers and actors have been secretly using TV to promote what he calls a “radical” left-leaning political agenda.

Shapiro’s book, Primetime Propaganda runs to 416 pages and revolves around comments by 70-odd industry heavyweights who he approached for interviews. The book promises to “profile the biggest names in showbusiness over the past 50 years” and includes a series of “gotcha” moments, in which the architects of the best-watched TV shows of modern times tell how they tried to use the medium of broadcasting to, as Shapiro puts it, “shape America in their own leftist image”. (more…)

Ed. Note: Please welcome Ashley Sewell to Big Hollywood. Someone sent a link to her site and after a quick look I immediately asked if she would join our growing community. When you read what’s below, I think you’ll see why. — J.N.

I was in Austin Wednesday for the Texas Unions Day Off as they paraded around demanding state government keep its dirty paws off their pensions because, you know, we should keep cutting Child Support Programs and the Cancer Research & Prevention Institute so they can continue planning their retirement party in Jamaica, but whatever.

These two aren't going anywhere!

After the crowds dispersed to collect on the boxed lunch they were promised, I was approached by a guy who I immediately identified as a liberal, but not a union member (he wasn’t wearing a solid-color t-shirt, but he did reek of hipster).  We exchanged niceties and politely told each other what we did: I’m a conservative blogger and he works for Moveon.org.

Yah.

Niceties continued and he asked me if I’d mind taking a few minutes to speak with him on camera.  I believe both sides can engage in civil discussions and he was being very kind, so I agreed.

“What are some of your childhood Sesame Street memories?”
Um, what? Keeping up with the polite conversation, I answered about Elmo, Big Bird, counting – you know, Sesame Street stuff.

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We the People, in order to form a more perfect union,

Establish justice, insure domestic tranquility,
 provide for the common defense,

Promote the general welfare and
 secure the blessings of liberty

To ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish
This Constitution for the United States of America.

If you are like me and grew up on Schoolhouse Rock than you can’t help but sing The Preamble of the Constitution.  I’m pretty sure that I wouldn’t be able to recite any of it if I didn’t watch Saturday morning TV.  Sure, there was Bugs and Woody for some mindless entertainment (side note: I can argue that I learned a lot from Bugs) but there was plenty of entertaining academic options to make parents comfortable that their kids were glued to the television.

Yes, times have changed.  The highly desirable demographic, known to us as preschoolers, is now spoiled for choice. Nickelodeon and Disney have gone head to head with academic based shows.  Nickelodeon has always come out on top with hits like “Dora The Explorer.”  Based on market research, Disney has decided to scrap Playhouse Disney and offer Disney Jr.—a block of preschool programs that focus on social and emotional growth rather than academics.  Apparently, some mothers feel that there is plenty of academics offered to children early on and that they would rather see their children become emotionally prepared for what lies ahead.

Preschoolers are expected to know their ABCs and 123s before they ever even set foot in a classroom.  Then why are mothers saying they would rather their children watch programs that favor social values over academics? According to Nancy Kanter, Senior Vice President of Playhouse Disney Worldwide, “Moms are saying they want their kids to be emotionally strong to really understand how to live in the world. There’s a huge place for storytelling to help do that.” Sounds like a tall order to me.  Isn’t it easier, more practical and more beneficial to teach kids the basics and leave the emotional preparation to the parents?  Is there some kind of universal emotional preparatory curriculum that all parents can agree upon?  Not a chance. While we can all agree that lessons in honesty, integrity and courage are important, there is a subjective nature to all of these attributes.  I don’t think that anyone can argue the product of 3 times 3, but what about dealing with bullies? There is more than one answer to that problem.  I doubt Disney Jr. will invest in programs that teach kids how to stand up for another child or fight back. 

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I’m sure you’ve heard about the Juan Williams/NPR debacle. You may also know that Senator Jim DeMint has vowed to introduce legislation that will deprive NPR, as well as public television, of taxpayer funds. It seems that in this political climate, asking a candidate where they stand on funding public broadcasting or the arts has become the new litmus test, replacing questions about abortion and gay rights.

In other words, it’s Christmas everyday for Libertarians.

There seem to be three consistent arguments in favor of tax dollars being spent on public broadcasting and government subsidies for “art,” First, the defenders question the amount of money actually on the table. After all, these programs are but a teeny-tiny piece of our ever expanding government. Secondly, dispensing taxpayer cash on media is “in the public interest.” In the unholy pursuit of “profits,” private broadcasters and artists often compromise their work to make money. Private news organizations like FOX and MSNBC sensationalize the news and have become hyper-partisan in order to increase ratings and advertising dollars. We need outlets that are free from the restraints of the free market. And, of course, there is the elephant in the room, which in this case is a giant yellow bird. “Sesame Street.”

What kind of Islamophobic, racist, evil, baby-blood-drinking fascist wants to send Elmo to the unemployment line?

The first argument is simply ridiculous. We’ve all had to, at one point or another, examine our household budgets and look for spending cuts. We write down a list of our expenses, organizing them in order of both cost and importance. At the top is stuff like rent/mortgages, utilities, car payments etc. Towards the bottom is the fun stuff like vacations, extra cable channels, and faster internet. Everybody always starts at the bottom. Nobody starts at the top. “Hey, let’s ditch the house and keep our annual trip to the Wisconsin Dells?”  My girlfriend always likes to try and sneak cigarettes and scotch into the non-essential category. Nice try. I always push for more mac and cheese in order to keep my subsidies of R.J. Reynolds and Pernod Ricard intact. But I digress. (more…)

One of the finest comedy movies ever made was the Mel Brooks classic “Blazing Saddles.”  It’s a cult classic that’s still aired on TV today.  The film’s dialogue is riddled with racist, sexist, bigoted speech. The “N” word is used 17 times. Yet, 36 years after the film’s debut the “N” word is “bleeped” whenever it’s broadcast on television. It isn’t because the movie was insensitive to racism in 1974.  Quite the opposite.  The bigotry is an intentional punch line at the expense of the bigoted.  Sensitivity to mere words has neutered an extraordinarily important commentary on race in film.

Mel  Brooks, like so many entertainers of his era made his living skewering racial, religious, ethnic, and social mores.    Brooks, a Jew, was quite fond of poking fun of his heritage.  His movies have lampooned Hitler, Nazis, and the Holocaust.   It makes the “N” word seem like Sesame Street.

Have you ever watched or listened to the Friar’s Club or Dean Martin celebrity roasts?  One of the most famous “roast masters” was legendary comic Don Rickles.  While roasting then Governor Ronald Reagan, Rickles proclaimed it was “his people” that got Reagan elected.  When roasting Sammy Davis Jr. he said “We all have our differences.  Dean’s Catholic, I’m Jewish, Sammy, you’re black.  I’m sorry.”   

Again, these are tame examples, mind you. (more…)

2009 marks the 40th anniversary of many famous things, ranging from the mind-bendingly fatuous (John and Yoko’s bed in) to the truly historic (the moon landings) to the not as good as they used to be (Sesame Street), to the never any good in the first place (Woodstock). But in addition to all of the above, 2009 is also the 40th anniversary of something much less celebrated: a very strange record that only gets stranger with the passing of time, King Crimson’s In the Court of the Crimson King.  

Consisting of four skilled musicians plus one lyricist from England’s West Country (among them the now legendary guitarist Robert Fripp) King Crimson enjoyed a rapid ascent to fame and success. The band formed on January 13th 1969; were declared the ‘best band in the world’ by Jimi Hendrix in April; played with the Stones at Hyde Park in July; recorded their first album In the Court of the Crimson King in July and August; released it to great acclaim in October; then played their last gig together on December 14th in San Francisco, having imploded while on tour. (more…)

Last night, VP of Sesame Workshop Sherrie Westin joined Bill on “The O’Reilly Factor” to defend a recent show where “Sesame Street” trashed Fox News:

So, PBS, if it is true, as VP of Sesame Workshop Sherrie Westin indicated in the above segment, that the GNN (Grouchy News Network) clip exposed by Big Hollywood three weeks ago was in praise of Fox, then how do you explain this?!?!:

I don’t know what was in the head of the producers, but my guess is that this was one of those parodies that was too good to resist. But it should have been resisted. Broadcasters can tell parents whatever they think of Fox or any other network, but you shouldn’t do it through the kids. -PBS Ombudsmen Michael Getler

I guess that means you were against Pox News before you were for it, or something? (more…)

NBC gives new meaning to the phrase “green screen” next week, spreading a pro-environmental message across five of its prime-time entertainment programs – AP News.

When Arthur Miller wrote “The Crucible” it was rightly seen as a brilliant allegory to the House Un-American Activities Committee.  It was a brilliant piece of drama about the Salem Witch Trials of the late 17th Century with obvious corollaries to the political climate of post-World War II America.  And no matter where you fall on the political spectrum you must recognize the play as a classic in the canon of American drama.

My admiration for much of Miller’s work gives me enough confidence to say that he would view the current efforts to ham-handedly inject political statements into television sitcoms as absolute crap.  It takes a deft hand to send a message without it seeming like you are sending a message… and the writers of “The Office” and “30 Rock,” as glib as they may be, are no “Arthur Millers”.

I love “The Office.”  I’m one of those apostates who actually like the U.S. version better than the original (must be my knee-jerk patriotism at work).  But I saw my very first example of lousy (and I mean REALLY lousy) writing this season when they tried to force the issue of “Volunteer-ism” into the storyline. (more…)

In reply to a recent political and cultural controversy involving “Sesame Street,” Sesame Workshop Executive Vice President Miranda Barry wrote:   

Jim Henson, Jon Stone, Frank Oz and others set a witty and silly tone for Sesame Street that our current writers work to maintain despite the demands of political correctness. 

What then, specifically, are the demands of political correctness that Ms. Barry’s taxpayer-funded organization operates under? 

What is Political Correctness? 

For an exacting scholarly analyses of Political Correctness we can turn to Free Congress Foundation & William Lind’s The History of Political Correctness. 

As Mr. Lind distills:

If we look at [Political Correctness] analytically, if we look at it historically, we quickly find out exactly what it is. Political Correctness is cultural Marxism. It is Marxism translated from economic into cultural terms.  (more…)

This week marks the start of Sesame Street’s 40th season.  As announced in an article in National Geographic, the show will be focusing on a green storyline this year:

As another example of the show’s forward thinking, Davis said, the new Sesame Street season that begins next week will introduce children to the basic ideas of sustainable living.  “It’s a curriculum about nature and caring for the world that is just right for today,” he said.  ”This show continues to stay very current with ideas that are in the zeitgeist.”

Sustainability.  Makes you feel smart just reading that word, doesn’t it?  Who doesn’t want sustainability?  This is a great new tactic of the Left; the raping of our language and the use of beautiful sounding, unassailable words to represent an agenda with far more controversial ideas.  Sustainability.

Sustainability is not just about putting your empty beer bottles into a special bin to keep them separate from your other trash.  It’s also more than driving a car with a giant battery in it (which will eventually poison our water system after all of these “Hybrids” end up in a landfill… didn’t think about THAT, did you Mr. Begley?).   It’s also more than building giant solar panels which require preciously scarce water to stay constantly clean and efficient or giant windmills which end up killing endangered birds.  No, sustainability is not any of those ineffective yet relatively benign efforts at “saving our planet.” Sustainability, as a National policy, is the most regressive and dangerous idea the Green-Left has ever put forth.  Sustainability is the death of the West’s economic dominance. (more…)

Having received some criticism for my last post about “Sesame Street,” I would like to briefly respond to some of the questions and assertions in the comment section. 

What’s so bad about saying “we share common humanity despite ethnic/religious/linguistic differences?” 

A main tenet of the multiculturalism and Enviro-Statism inculcated by Modern Liberal educators and as practiced on “Sesame Street” — exemplified in “We All Sing the Same Song,” is the diminishment of the unique greatness of American culture. 

Political Correctness and its Critical Theory are shamefully deployed against American culture to create a false front of “equality” to less free, less successful, and deviant cultures around the globe. 

That is neither a healthy, nor appropriate form of values inculcation upon young American children, nor is it a responsible expenditure of American tax dollars.  (more…)

Just as I suspected, it has happened.  They are trying to “Falwell” me and my colleagues here at Big Hollywood for raising concerns about “Sesame Street’s” description of Fox News as “Trashy.” We are “stupid,” “idiotic” and we are whining and pathetic (impressive debate tactics there, Mr. Socrates).  And, according to PBS’ own Ombudsman, Michael Gelter, we are….  right:

I don’t know what was in the head of the producers, but my guess is that this was one of those parodies that was too good to resist. But it should have been resisted. Broadcasters can tell parents whatever they think of Fox or any other network, but you shouldn’t do it through the kids

I was planning on letting the issue die after being romanced by Media Matters, but I noticed something fascinating.  I’ve written here about a lot of subjects.  Mostly about theatre and the arts, and I also defended that “racist-fascist” Rush Limbaugh,  but, never has a post of mine gotten the kind of hate-filled comments this one did.  Also, for the first time I started receiving hate e-mails… the long, rambling, Holden Caufield kind of e-mails (you can forgive me for feeling a little “Grouchy”).  What gives?  Why was this post different? (more…)

Earlier this week, Big Hollywood’s Stage Right broke the story of a ”Sesame Street” episode which referred to Fox News as “Pox News” and “trashy.” In response to the episode, PBS also received a number of complaint letters from viewers which prompted a reply from PBS Ombudsmen Michael Getler:

I don’t know what was in the head of the producers, but my guess is that this was one of those parodies that was too good to resist. But it should have been resisted. Broadcasters can tell parents whatever they think of Fox or any other network, but you shouldn’t do it through the kids.

In response to Stage Right using “Sesame Street’s” unfortunate behavior as an example with which to speak for the many, many many parents frustrated with the idea of partisan programming aimed at children, some online outlets responded with the expected and usual dismissive snarky contempt. But now that PBS is on record agreeing with Stage Right, we’re left to wonder if they find PBS ”stupid,” “asinine,” “absurd,” and “idiotic.”

You can read Getler’s full article here, along with some of the complaint letters PBS received. (more…)

The Public Broadcasting System’s taxpayer-funded ‘Sesame Street’ has, at cursory glance, presented young American children with what colorfully appears to be one of television’s few safe havens of educational fun. 

Yet, embedded in its visually intoxicating muppetry and otherwise innocently entertaining educational content there lurks highly controversial political messages designed to promote multiculturalism and global citizenship:

–

 ”We all sing with the same voice, the same song, the same voice. We all sing with the same voice and we sing in harmony… 

I live in southern France, I’m from a Texas ranch, I come from Mecca and Peru… I come from everywhere, and my name is you…” 

That’s right kids! We’re ‘All’ the ‘same’… um, except that we’re all different.  (more…)