Shortly before its’ fiftieth anniversary in 2019 it was announced that first-run episodes of Sesame Street were going to be moving permanently to HBO Max. HBO had taken over the program in 2016 in a controversial deal that saw the inter-generational staple of childrens’ television move off of its’ basic cable home of PBS to a premium television service nowadays almost exclusively associated with adult programming. It wasn’t hard to see the integrity of Sesame Street being compromised, a show originally meant to target specifically children of low-income households. You had to pay a more expensive fee to see it, and that’s even moreso the case now that it’s on a streaming service not everyone can afford. PBS still gets to air new episodes some seven or eight months after HBO Max, but it nonetheless feels wrong that such an important show is being restricted from reaching as many children as possible.
I was forced to reflect on this while watching Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street, a documentary ironically enough produced by HBO that chronicles the development and early years of the show that arguably revolutionized kids’ T.V. more than any other. Because as the doc illustrates very well, Sesame Street was a show that began with very intense and important principles -ones that feel like they need to be upheld. I think it’s a very conspicuous reason that the film chooses to cut off long before reaching the modern era of the series. Elmo doesn’t even get a mention.
But of course this movie, directed by Marilyn Agrelo, is mostly concerned with the beginnings of Sesame Street -it’s right there in the title. And it chooses to tell this story through focusing on the various architects involved, though mainly three principals: Joan Ganz Cooney -who produced and developed the show, Jim Henson -whose Muppets coloured the show and gave it its’ core appeal, and especially Jon Stone -who often wrote and directed the show and is portrayed to have been its’ most significant creative visionary. Of course there were many others highly involved whose stories are just glimpsed at and are possibly worthy of documentaries in their own right; from Joe Raposo, who composed much of the early music (including the iconic “Bein’ Green”), to Matt Robinson, who played schoolteacher Gordon and tried to introduce more black culture into the show, and Carroll Spinney, the iconic performer of Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch for forty-nine years.
And that is a bit of a problem the film faces -that its’ canvas is far too big for a mere 107 minutes. There’s so much that has to be glossed over or overlooked in the story of Sesame Street, leaving the film feeling incomprehensive. This is in contrast to another endearing documentary about a titan of childrens’ entertainment, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, which does a much better job encompassing the full story of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Of course, that film had the advantage in that it’s cultural subject was just about entirely linked to its singular human subject. Sesame Street has no one voice -in fact its’ strength is that it was the product of many -including those of marginalized creatives who otherwise may not have had one. And its’ longevity too highlights just how many stories there are within the banner of that cultural phenomenon. Agrelo seems to understand this, trying to emphasize the stories of these other important figures, but it does leave the film feeling a bit spotty at times, hopping from person to person and picking up narratives that had been sidelined for a stretch.
But what the movie lacks in structural consistency it makes up for in sentiment. There’s no denying that certain sweet purity of especially those early years of Sesame Street, its’ noble aims and heartfelt results -and this doc does all it can to remind you of them. Sure there are easy emotional touchstones to hone in on, like the time a human cast member died and the show used it as an opportunity to teach children about death; or a montage of kids who came on to the show and interacted with the puppets in the cutest of ways. But there’s also just such an innate lovable quality to how earnestly everyone involved was dedicated to educating and entertaining children in creative and wholesome ways. You can’t help but admire all these folks. And of course nostalgia makes a difference too. There are two clips of sketches with Grover used in the movie that had been buried in the recesses of my mind from early childhood, and it was a delight to be reminded of them.
On top of it all the film is genuinely very interesting. As much as there are aspects and stories not covered, Agrelo does showcase a lot of what went into the creation of Sesame Street, and it is enlightening and compelling. The purposes behind characters like Oscar the Grouch or Count von Count are revealed, the methods in which the creators evolved the show make for some curious insights, and it was nice learning, having been a child long past his time on the show, about the character Roosevelt Franklin and his brief significance in terms of African-American representation. The behind-the-scenes footage and outtakes (especially those involving Henson and Frank Oz) not always suitable for children are quite charming too, illustrating even more the atmosphere of warmth and friendliness that permeates the show.
The documentary more or less concludes its’ story at the death of Jim Henson in 1990, with additional reference to the waning years on the program of Jon Stone before his own passing in 1997. Most of the figures highlighted by the doc are no longer with Sesame Street or have themselves passed away as well. Like similar celebrations of The Simpsons would, it doesn’t much acknowledge the continued endurance of the show, beyond simply the immortality of the program, its’ vision, and its’ characters. However it’s not a slight against the show now (from what I gather it is still doing good even if from more restrictive platforms) for them to acknowledge that a particular spirit of it died with those early creators. There was something special about the Sesame Street of that era that is completely its’ own; and maybe the greatest accomplishment of this documentary amidst its’ shortcomings is that it communicates that. At the very least it reminded me why the integrity of Sesame Street is worth caring about.
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