Most Sesame Street fans know that CTW has edited several classic clips in the past, because parents objected to violence or rude language in the original version. Still, this has got to be the most ridiculous example of editing-for-language I've ever heard...
What two words inspired CTW to cut this clip off so abruptly? Look and listen for yourselves:
You heard her right: "Darn it!" It frightens me to think that somewhere in 1980s America, a child was forbidden to watch Sesame Street...because of an expletive that most adults would NOT consider rude or obscene. And it frightens me even more that the producers would give in to parental protests like that; Sesame Street used to allow some rude-but-clean language when the characters had good reasons to use it.
What two words inspired CTW to cut this clip off so abruptly? Look and listen for yourselves:
You heard her right: "Darn it!" It frightens me to think that somewhere in 1980s America, a child was forbidden to watch Sesame Street...because of an expletive that most adults would NOT consider rude or obscene. And it frightens me even more that the producers would give in to parental protests like that; Sesame Street used to allow some rude-but-clean language when the characters had good reasons to use it.
If today's Ernie talked to Cookie Monster the way he talked in 1969, I bet that thousands of disgruntled parents would write to Sesame Workshop and demand that Ernie be taken off the show for setting a bad example. But Sesame Street also teaches about emotional honestly, including the right to show grouchy and angry feelings: when a frustrated fairy can't even say "darn it" any more, the show has compromised part of its message.
5 comments:
The parents who wanted "Darn it" to be cencored would of loved the Special Needs school I went to. There they concidered "Darn" a SWEAR. Even if you said "oh Man". It was a swear. It was so weird.
Bob
I'm sorry to hear about what happened at your school..."oh, man" was considered bad language?!? Yow!
To get back on topic, though: I've heard of parents who complained when Cookie Monster's mom said "Oh, what the hey..." a few years ago on Sesame Street. Thank goodness the producers didn't censor that one!
I wounder if that is the reason that they had Cookie Monster stop singing to himself "Dum De Dum Dum Dum" because kids were using it as "Dumb". Remember him doing that? Bob
I hadn't noticed that Cookie Monster stopped singing; but the way parents overreact to kids' TV now, it doesn't surprise me that some busybody interpreted Cookie's "Dum de dum dum dum" in a bad light.
I kinow. It is getting a bit out of control. Bob
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