Dear Internet,
So why
felt puppets rather than real people?
The obvious answer to that is because Jim Henson was a puppeteer. A painter paints, a sculptor sculpts, and a
puppeteer puppets, or something like that.
But that would be oversimplifying things a little. Muppets bring about something childlike
within us. That does not mean that it is
only for children. No, those wacky
little puppets are meant for a wide range audience. Everyone can enjoy "The Muppet Show." That was sort of the point of the show. Unlike "Sesame Street" which was
aimed at the very young, "The Muppet Show" is a show that adults do
not have to enter a mental trance to get through. It is not that "Sesame Street" is a
poor show. It is just a show that cannot
be enjoyed the same way when one grows up.
A show that can be enjoyed by everyone is something that is difficult to
pull off.
"The
Muppet Show" does this well, and it must be examined not from the skits to
the audience but from the audience to the skits. I say this in a confusing manner, much like a
lot of what I say. What I mean is that
the show can been examined by what an audience member is first rather than
looking at what the skit is aiming for.
The audience can be divided into the same two groups I mentioned
before. There are the adults and the
children. These two rather poorly named
demographics are what the show aims at.
I say poorly named because the concept of what is an adult and what is a
child would have to be brought up for debate first. Is an individual an adult by the time since
his birth or by the mental maturity he exhibits? For the sake of liquor licenses and voting
rights, a numerical age is assigned, but that does not qualify one for being an
adult. I know plenty of adults that act
like children, but I am digressing, again.
The children watch "The Muppet Show" for different reasons than
the adults.
Adults
can watch this show and enjoy everything.
Children watch it and try to enjoy everything, but can only enjoy mostly
everything. Let me begin with the
adults. The adults can watch the show
and see it for everything it has to offer.
The songs of melancholy and those of times gone by resonate in the
hearts of those who have experienced much of life or have been exposed enough
of the world. For example, there is the
Judy Collins episode. She sings
"Send in the Clowns," a song that is about the ironies of life and
how we can act like fools throughout life.
A child would be more interested in the actual clowns that dance behind
Collins rather than the meaning of the song.
An adult would take the song as what it is meant to be, a soliloquy that
they apply to their own lives.
Then
you can take the Bernadette Peter's episode where she sings "Just One
Person" to Kermit's nephew Robin.
The song is about how if one person believes in you, that one can become
many, and eventually you will believe in yourself. The song might only seem that it is meant for
Robin specifically, and that it is meant for a child to be sung to. However, the same feelings of inadequacy and
smallness that Robin has are the same kind that affects people no matter their
age. It is not a song that can be sung to
anyone and for anyone. An adult would
get this understanding, while a child would see it only halfway.
At the
same time of all these slyly adult oriented acts are skits that might seem like
they are specifically aimed at children.
These of course are the slapstick ones where someone gets pummeled,
squished, set on fire, or blown up. The
obvious fact of these skits should be apparent, and I feel it rather silly that
I have to outright state this. None of
these things are something that only children find entertaining. Plenty of "adult" shows and films
have these same things occurring for the whole duration of the spectacle. Take for example the 2008 film
"Rambo." It is one of the most
violent films I have seen. I needed to
watch it in two sittings because I found my stomach turning. Despite my rather weak guts, the film is a
testament that violence is a something that even "adult" films make use
of to attract audiences. Whether or not
it worked in "Rambo" is up for debate. What makes the slapstick violence of
"The Muppet Show" seem childish is the unreality of it all. When a large Muppet eats a smaller one, there
are no rips of fabric tearing apart with cotton balls being thrown about. They are eaten entirely in one big gulp. But it really stems from the aesthetics of
the Muppets.
The
Muppets are puppets, but more importantly right now, they are cartoonish
puppets. The Muppets have that
cartoonish nature to everything they do.
A pig can give a Karate chop to a frog.
A pack of rats can do the can-can.
A collection of vegetables can sing about not having a banana. All of this is just a normal day for the
Muppets. But none of this could be
normally done with a live-action cast.
Most of the jokes are only possible because the cast is such a wide plethora
of impossible characters. The Great
Gonzo can barely be categorized as anything specific. These characters are cartoonish, yes, but
that does not mean childish or meant for children. What it does mean is that they are something
that is meant to be enjoyed wholeheartedly and lightheartedly, which is
something that many shows forget to do with their characters. It is not that actors cannot display such emotions, for that would be an insult to the variety of guest stars that appeared each week. It is that puppets can soften our hearts plenty well by themselves.
Yours in digital,
BeepBoop
No comments:
Post a Comment