Muppet government
Cecily's comment on my last post got me thinking: I suddenly see Grover and Elmo as a compelling allegory for American politics. Blue Grover is big-hearted but maddeningly inept, has delusions of grandeur, and is now not much more than a marginalized relic. He's lost his spotlight to Red Elmo, the corporate superstar who remains unflaggingly upbeat in the face of adversity and is incomprehensibly beloved by all. (OK, just over half.)
That leaves the Green Party to Oscar, occasionally barking his displeasure from the depths of his trash can.
Perhaps it's the libertarian in me, but I've always been partial to Snuffleupagus.
Posted by: Amanda | March 09, 2005 at 17:08
Where does that leave Bert & Ernie?
Posted by: Stacy | March 09, 2005 at 18:25
LOL! I just logged into the comments to say Snuffleupagus was the Libertarian...missed it by that much. Nice insight Amanda. Bert and Ernie clearly lobby for gay and lesbian rights. Kermit strikes me as a Billy Graham or Colon Powell type character, who is looked to with reverence by muppets on both sides of the aisle. But what of Beaker... WHAT OF BEAKER!
Posted by: BIYF | March 09, 2005 at 18:39
Does this mean I stand a chance in politics? I never thought I'd see the day when a Muppet could run for office. Wheeee!
Posted by: Muppet | March 09, 2005 at 20:26
As a libertarian, I was always most taken with the yup/nope aliens; only occasionally seen, possessed of personal knowledge of a large gubment conspiracy (UFOs are real, people! Real!), and otherwise ignored by the rest of the denizens of Seasame St.
Is Telly the Independent voter?
Posted by: sMp | March 09, 2005 at 22:15
That's so fucking accurate an observation I'm mildly uncomfortable.
And hey, Grover may have been inept, by MAN did he get the whole "near" and "far" thing...
Posted by: Cecily | March 10, 2005 at 00:29
BYIF - I'm pretty sure Beaker is Ralph Nader, what with all the sqeaking and squawking and general unimportance...
Posted by: ap | March 10, 2005 at 07:38
Check out this link if you have a few spare minutes for a good read.
The site is called, "Grover is Bitter" and it's all about his rise to stardom and how Elmo took it all away from him, causing him to spiral into drug abuse etc etc.
Sad and funny at the same time.
Posted by: AB | March 10, 2005 at 08:09
And the Swedish Chef?
Posted by: Uma Andersson | March 10, 2005 at 08:11
Funny. When we were in high school, we came up with a "which drug is each Sesame Street character on" theory. It went a little something like this:
Big Bird - Acid (this was back when snuffleupagous was still an hallucination)
Oscar - heroin (obvs)
Guy Smiley - cocaine
Bert - pills
Ernie - E
Grover - Speed
Kermit - weed
Posted by: sac | March 10, 2005 at 11:52
Thanks, sac, for taking this thread where it needed to go.
I'm curious what "pills" means; there are just so many different types. I might also equate Elmo with E and match Ernie up with 'shrooms, because Ernie has the personality of every hardcore shroomer I knew in college.
Posted by: LOD | March 10, 2005 at 16:48
I can't believe it, my co-worker just bought a car for $71745. Isn't that crazy!
Posted by: Betsy Markum | November 16, 2005 at 13:57