The Muppets: a Model of Community
November 28, 2011While visiting my family this weekend for Thanksgiving, we went to see the new Muppet movie. I hadn't realized that there was a new Muppet movie coming out until just a couple of weeks ago. I was really excited when I found out about it and even more excited that I got to see it with my entire family. I love my family and I love the Muppets so somehow it seemed right.
My family had mixed reactions to the movie. My dad thought it should have been better, he had secretly been hoping that it would be so good that it would immediately spawn a new Muppets tv show, but doesn't think that it was good enough to do so. I on the other hand loved it. The last several movies felt like extended Muppet sketches, this was the first where the Muppets felt like actual beings that exist in the world and interact with humans again. The greatest things I remember from the Muppet show and Muppets on Sesame Street are the Muppets having conversations and interactions with humans (whether the guest star or children or other characters played by humans). I loved seeing humans hugging Muppets and having really beautiful moments with them. This is one thing I found lacking in the current movie. The celebrity cameos did not really interact with the Muppets. This was the only disappointment though.
The thing that I liked the most about the movie was the realization as I watched it that the Muppets are a model of a functional community. Each Muppet has their strengths and the show always allows them to shine in whatever it is. This is illustrated perfectly by the new Muppet's opportunity to perform on stage. At the same time though, each Muppet also has their weaknesses, but are still accepted by their peers even if their jokes are awful, they are a little impulsive and daring or they tend to think that the world revolves around them. Each Muppet is embraced for strengths and weaknesses alike and they achieve their greatness as a group, working together to get done what needs to get done. And they perform their tasks with love and care, for what they are doing and for each other. Imagine what the world would be like if we treated those in our own communities like this. How the work week would differ if in every workplace this was the attitude we approached our jobs and our coworkers with. The fact that the humans did not participate in this in the movie is (now that I think about it) very problematic. Why don't the humans participate in the same way as the stars on the original Muppet show did? Are we at a point in time where we cannot even imagine humans taking part in something like this, in a community built on the values of love and care? That's a sad thought. Fortunately the example of the Muppets is still there for us to see. And hopefully if my dad's hope somehow comes true and the Muppet Show is put on air again, we will see human guest stars participate in what is a beautiful example of community.
My family had mixed reactions to the movie. My dad thought it should have been better, he had secretly been hoping that it would be so good that it would immediately spawn a new Muppets tv show, but doesn't think that it was good enough to do so. I on the other hand loved it. The last several movies felt like extended Muppet sketches, this was the first where the Muppets felt like actual beings that exist in the world and interact with humans again. The greatest things I remember from the Muppet show and Muppets on Sesame Street are the Muppets having conversations and interactions with humans (whether the guest star or children or other characters played by humans). I loved seeing humans hugging Muppets and having really beautiful moments with them. This is one thing I found lacking in the current movie. The celebrity cameos did not really interact with the Muppets. This was the only disappointment though.
The thing that I liked the most about the movie was the realization as I watched it that the Muppets are a model of a functional community. Each Muppet has their strengths and the show always allows them to shine in whatever it is. This is illustrated perfectly by the new Muppet's opportunity to perform on stage. At the same time though, each Muppet also has their weaknesses, but are still accepted by their peers even if their jokes are awful, they are a little impulsive and daring or they tend to think that the world revolves around them. Each Muppet is embraced for strengths and weaknesses alike and they achieve their greatness as a group, working together to get done what needs to get done. And they perform their tasks with love and care, for what they are doing and for each other. Imagine what the world would be like if we treated those in our own communities like this. How the work week would differ if in every workplace this was the attitude we approached our jobs and our coworkers with. The fact that the humans did not participate in this in the movie is (now that I think about it) very problematic. Why don't the humans participate in the same way as the stars on the original Muppet show did? Are we at a point in time where we cannot even imagine humans taking part in something like this, in a community built on the values of love and care? That's a sad thought. Fortunately the example of the Muppets is still there for us to see. And hopefully if my dad's hope somehow comes true and the Muppet Show is put on air again, we will see human guest stars participate in what is a beautiful example of community.
Posted by Sarah McCann. Posted In : Entertainment
