Oscar the Evil, Evil Grouch
Growing up, Oscar was always one of my favorite Sesame Street characters. Maybe it's the fact that we share a few common traits: He's a slob, I'm a slob; he'd rather spend his time tucked away in a messy little can, I'm not so big on people myself. For me, Oscar was always the safe choice. Big Bird reminds me of Ronald McDonald -- in other words, creeptastic -- and Kermit is just too much of a camera hog. Recently, TheBoy has discovered the Sesame Street universe. He's an Elmo fiend, and he's got several Sesame-related books, and despite rarely seeing an episode, he knows all the characters. Yet his outlook on Oscar has me puzzled.
In his world, you see, the Grouch isn't just a grumpy gus with a heart of gold. No, no. He's a bad guy, a menace, something of a maniac who spirits away small children and turns them into garbage. How do I know? First, he objected when I tried to give him an Oscar-centric book. Then Judybat and I caught him playing this unpleasant little game with his friend on the way to school today.
TheBoy: "Oscar is coming to get you!"
Friend: "No!"
TheBoy, growling and showing his claws: "Oscar is going to put you in the trash!"
Friend: Unintelligible whimpering.
TheBoy: "Oscar is coming. You are trash! You are trash!"
Friend: Unintelligible screaming/crying/thrashing to get out of the car.
I know where this is headed. Coming next: Snuffy finally convinces Big Bird to take a rifle up to that cute little neighborhood clocktower. That nice Latino couple gets arrested for child porn. Today's episode "sponsored by the number 666 and the letter M -- for murder!"
posted by AnnaRay at 2:44 PM
13 Comments:
Just as long as he doesn't start saying "redrum." I am with you on the Oscar thing. He is a misanthrope-in-a-can. What used to make me shriek with horror was the baker who used to walk with his cakes, view COMPLETELY obstructed, through an open door that dropped into some abyss on the other side. I remember feeling so scared, and yet a little confused that week after week, he continued to do the same dumbass thing. It haunts me.
Sorry, but once Snuffy went from being Big Bird's "imaginary" friend to everyone seeing him, they lost me.
I do like Oscar, though. His can reminded me of Snoopy's doghouse.
I completely agree. I still don't get why Snuffy had to be real. It ruined him as a character and undercut one of the basic beauties of Sesame Street: That underlying theme that it's OK to be different.
The People at The Children's ^Television Workshop felt that if adults continued to poo-poo Big Bird about Snuffy then kids who were abused or had some important secret would assume no adult would believe them and therefore remain silent.
Couldn't the adults have been supportive of Big Bird? Now I'm so depressed.
So THAT is why everybody's screwed up these days.
Another fun Sesame Street fact we discovered recently: Big Bird is a girl. At least, that's what TheBoy seems to think. We had quite the argument about it.
A "bird" is what they call a girl in England, right? Maybe your little man has become worldly!
I never understood why someone as cool as Snuffy would hang out with a big dork like Big Bird. At the time, I thought he was a girl, too. A really dorky girl.
I'm so glad someone else thinks that. Big Bird always struck me as the "special" child of Sesame Street.
He makes Elmo look like a genius.
Now I'm enjoying the image of The Boy calling women "birds" in a British accent, a la Mick Jagger circa 1971.
Sesame Street became dead to me when they had Cookie Monster decide that a cookie is a sometimes food. That is crap. A cookie is an ALWAYS food.
Sesame Street always seemed like it was trying WAY TOO hard to do the right thing by too many people, in that lame 1970's "my parents' generation-question authority" way. Give me Looney Tunes any day. Bring on the ACME company! Plus, the music is so much better in Mel Blanc's world.
Yes but speaking as parent . . . TheBoy will not be watching Looney Tunes for years. Sesame Street may make your teeth hurt, but you can't deny it's educational. And the people are so nice. The only problem is that it might give the kid a warped sense of the universe: Despite what TV tells you, it is a dangerous place.
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