Skip to main content

Don't h8 the playa, h8 the game

I have been disturbed by the amount of anti-Elmo propaganda that I have encountered over the past few weeks. I have heard him variously described as “too mainstream”, “Sesame Street’s version of Jah-Jah Binks”, “F&*#$@g annoying”, and most commonly, “Elmo has been the ruination of Sesame Street.”

Intrigued by other people’s apparent loathing of the furry red monster, I naively Googled “I hate Elmo” and got three hundred and twenty-nine thousand responses. There is even a group who have organised an International "I Hate Elmo" Week!

Having a look at most commentaries, people seem to feel that Elmo is somewhat low in IQ compared to the other Muppets on Sesame Street. But my understanding is that Elmo's character is three-and-a-half, and his development was designed to introduce a character with the mentality of a toddler, someone the really little ones could relate to while their older siblings enjoyed other aspects of the show.


When contacted by this blog, Elmo declined comment

Elmo wasn’t a character back when I watched Sesame Street, and wouldn’t have been present in the memories of the show in most of his critics (that I know). They appear to hate him because his reasoning is simplistic, he has an annoying voice and that he is repetitive activities are annoying. They also comment on how he compares unfavourably to other, more fondly-remembered characters.

All I can say is, err, what? Maybe because Elmo is fresher to me, I find him less boring than all of the characters I know. Really, The Count? Telly? The Cookie Monster? Bert and Ernie? Big Bird? Snuffie? They’ve been doing the same old stale act for over forty years! God, Telly grates with me in a way that Elmo never could. He’s so damned stupid. At least Elmo is a toddler.

Anyway, I just wanted to publicly say “I have no problem with Elmo”. And it has nothing at all to do with the fact that he is a sure fire way to distract Henry from assaulting me.

Comments

EG CameraGirl said…
Hooray for Elmo! And kudos to you, Kris, for looking for and finding Elmo's positive side.
nobu said…
Hello kris.
I searched "エルモ 嫌い"(hate Elmo) in Yahoo.Japan.
But I found no crresponding article.
I think that in Japan,there is no power try to entrap Elmo to difficult.
blackie said…
Whaa? Elmo was one of the cool SS gang when I was a tacker. Hmmm, after some pondering my theory is that this is connected Emo-ism. Elmo is just too positive to fit in. I'm sure there's a cultural studies thesis in that somewhere. Emo - it's Elmo without the 'l', and we all know what l stands for. Love baby, Elmo brings the love.
Nathalie H.D. said…
When I was a child we had no TV at home (think dinosaur) - it entered our home when I was ten. My kids never watched Sesame Street, actually watched very little TV.

So the whole story is just meaningless to me. I can't relate personally to any of these characters. Amazing, eh?

I also left a comment on your 'unwashed cups in the sink' post.

And congratulations on the award. I really enjoy visiting here. Cheers !
sam said…
hehe, it strikes me that the multiple "I hate Elmo" sites that appeared when you googled it point to one thing... people need to GET A LIFE! When a toddler character on TV can irritate you enough to start a hate campaign, you have to wonder if your IQ is much better than his!
magiceye said…
1st time am hearing of elmo. :)
so good on you and long live elmo! no time for hatred..
Anonymous said…
I'm with Sam. People seriously get worked up over a puppet?
Neva said…
My kids are too old for Elmo but I am a big fan of his.....love his stuffed animal and my little great niece --who is 3---adores him....how could anyone..with half a brain?---find him so annoying? sigh....guess it takes all kinds on the Sesame Street memory lane!
Anonymous said…
I'm very sad to hear of the anti-Elmo brigade. I think he's cool.
grocer said…
The world has gone mad!

I am more disappointed that mr. snuffaluffagus is known to the community at large.
Kris McCracken said…
Thanks for all the comments. Some months later, and I still like Elmo. Henry has an Elmo doona cover and pillow case, and THREE Sesame Street posters in his room.

Popular posts from this blog

Something unpleasant is coming when men are anxious to tell the truth.

This is the moon. Have I mentioned how much I adore the zoom on my camera? It's Theme Thursday you see, and after last week's limp effort, I have been thinking about how I might redeem myself. Then I clicked on the topic and discover that it was BUTTON. We've been hearing a lot about the moon in the past couple of weeks. Apparently some fellas went up there and played golf and what-not forty-odd years ago. The desire to get to the moon, however, was not simply about enhancing opportunities for Meg and Mog titles and skirting local planning by-laws in the construction of new and innovative golf courses. No, all of your Sputniks , "One small steps" and freeze dried ice cream was about one thing , and one thing only : MAD Now, I don't mean mad in terms of "bloke breaks record for number of scorpions he can get up his bum", no I mean MAD as in Mutual assured destruction . When I was a young man you see, there was a lot of talk about the type of m...

Hold me now, oh hold me now, until this hour has gone around. And I'm gone on the rising tide, to face Van Dieman's Land

Theme Thursday again, and this one is rather easy. I am Tasmanian, you see, and aside from being all around general geniuses - as I have amply described previously - we are also very familiar with the concept of WATER. Tasmania is the ONLY island state of an ISLAND continent. That means, we're surrounded by WATER. That should help explain why I take so many photographs of water . Tasmania was for a long time the place where the British (an island race terrified of water) sent their poor people most vile and horrid criminals. The sort of folk who would face the stark choice of a death sentence , or transportation to the other end of the world. Their catalogue of crimes is horrifying : stealing bread assault stealing gentlemen's handkerchiefs drunken assault being poor affray ladies being overly friendly with gentlemen for money hitting people having a drink and a laugh public drunkenness being Irish Fenian terrorist activities being Catholic religious subversion. ...

Ah, Joe, you never knew the whole of it...

I still have the robot on the job. Here you can see the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery . And here is a poem: Soliloquy for One Dead Bruce Dawe Ah, no, Joe, you never knew the whole of it, the whistling which is only the wind in the chimney's smoking belly, the footsteps on the muddy path that are always somebody else's. I think of your limbs down there, softly becoming mineral, the life of grasses, and the old love of you thrusts the tears up into my eyes, with the family aware and looking everywhere else. Sometimes when summer is over the land, when the heat quickens the deaf timbers, and birds are thick in the plumbs again, my heart sickens, Joe, calling for the water of your voice and the gone agony of your nearness. I try hard to forget, saying: If God wills, it must be so, because of His goodness, because- but the grasshopper memory leaps in the long thicket, knowing no ease. Ah, Joe, you never knew the whole of it... I like Bruce Dawe. He just my be my favourite Austral...