I have long stated that it has been & still is a Life Goal of mine to be able to hug a Muppet. This is something that I say completely unabashed & with all frankness.
Though it goes beyond that.
As much as I would love to hug Sweetums or cuddle Cookie Monster, what I truly want is to be able to meet those who made The Muppets, who worked along side Jim Hensen in bringing all his creations and imaginations to life and simply say: thank you.
I want to shake the hand of Frank Oz and tell him how his work with Jim astounded me as I grew up, I want to be able to walk up to Jim's son Brain Hensen to let him know how much his father's work truly influenced me as I progressed through those early stages of life.
Until recent years there has always been something in my life that has had the hand of Jim Hensen, even if is the technology in the movies to make creatures seem more real than the humans whom they do act against. Jim Hensen and more importantly The Muppets & his characters on Sesame Street have always been an intrinsical part of my life, possibly having the greatest total influence over me than anything else in helping to form the person who I am today.
To better explain and understand, you must look beyond all the gags, beyond the silliness, colour and routine to the core of the Muppets. To their very morality and the morality that Jim himself seemed to hold and that is: No matter the difference who should accept one another for who you are.
That deep down, once you strip past all those surfaces things, we are all the same. Living beings with hope and dreams, wants and needs, trying to make it in this big crazy World, just doing the best that we can in order to make it through the day.
Why in all logic should a Frog's two best friends be a Bear Comedian who can't tell a joke and a chicken obsessed Sadomasochistic Whatever (Gonzo), who also has a girlfriend who is a self-obsessed violent she-pig and runs a completely chaotic show who's only true fans seem to be two cantankerous old men who delight in mocking everything no matter how good it is (Statler & Walfdorf, who are the self admitted creators of the YouTube comment).
The Logic is in the fact that he accepts them all, even the constant Chaos around him, and loves his friends, treating them like his very own family.
Kermit is able to look beyond the surfaces of his friends and employees and see the good within them all and they do for him and each other in turn.
The Muppets show that the world is a crazy and sometimes dangerous place but yet if you stick together and help each other out you can get through it all.
Sesame Street showed that you didn't have to like some body or what they do in order to accept them. Oscar the Grouch demonstrated this many a time, because he never liked anyone around him (apart from his worm Slimey) but he still accepts them.
The other great example of how opposites can learn to tolerate each other and live together are Burt & Ernie. Who live together and remain friends even though they are polar opposites and that Ernie can be annoying at times.
the other great lesson that Jim Hensen and Company taught me is: that a Monster is not always a Monster.
That what appears to be the most scary and the most different may actually be the most like us.
In the Jim Hensen production Labyrinth, the monster Ludo who appears to be a fearsome beast but is in fact and noble and gentle soul, loyal to Sarah who saved him from the Goblin's torments. Upon her quest she receives add from others who are different yet still have noble hearts. Even the Goblins themselves aren't evil but rather mischievous children who delight in the absurd and in pranks but still loyal to their King Jared and forgiving of Sarah at the end. Other creatures she meets along the way aren't entirely noble but more often then not they are true to themselves and their ways.
Although not ever monster in a Hensen production is in reality a sweet sensitive creature, as evidenced with The Skeksis in the film the Dark Crystal, who are evil but this is represented in their twisted forms and selfish natures.
And I think that the morals imprinted above should stand true today.
In an Age where we all beat our chests, point our fingers and becry: "YOU ARE NOT LIKE US! YOU ARE NOT LIKE US!".
When we should be asking: "How are they not like us? What makes them different from us?" and then come to understand that we are all basically the same.
The last great lesson that Jim Hensen and all his fellows did teach me is to revel in my Imagination and that Dreaming is not a bad thing.
The different kinds of productions that Jim Hensen was involved in was simply amazing and two of the most profound ones to me are the oft overlooked Jim Hensen Hour, where he told extraordinary tales with such passion, and The Storyteller who re-imagined classic folktales and gave them interesting twists. In both those productions you were shown the power of imagination and strength of the Story.
How words and images can last so long and be so powerful.
I honestly don't want to live in a World were people are afraid to have positive & colourful imaginations and I certainly don't want to be in a World where children are taught & encouraged to hate just because something is exteriorly different to them.
The Principles of Tolerance and the seeds that sprouted them were installed in me by such things as The Muppets and I am not afraid to admit that.
We draw out moral from, or by rejecting, those things which are most prevalent in our lives and I want any children that I bare in the future to understand the notions of Acceptance that The Muppets (and other more real people) taught me. As well as to have faith in their Imaginations and let them take a positive flight out into the World.
So I shall leave who with something that embodies that Spirit of Dreaming that Jim and his creations embodied and employ you to share this with other and to share your own experiences and what moral lessons who took from life and those around you.
Always remember to love each other no matter how different you may be and be accepting of all things.
All the best
Shadow
Though it goes beyond that.
As much as I would love to hug Sweetums or cuddle Cookie Monster, what I truly want is to be able to meet those who made The Muppets, who worked along side Jim Hensen in bringing all his creations and imaginations to life and simply say: thank you.
I want to shake the hand of Frank Oz and tell him how his work with Jim astounded me as I grew up, I want to be able to walk up to Jim's son Brain Hensen to let him know how much his father's work truly influenced me as I progressed through those early stages of life.
Until recent years there has always been something in my life that has had the hand of Jim Hensen, even if is the technology in the movies to make creatures seem more real than the humans whom they do act against. Jim Hensen and more importantly The Muppets & his characters on Sesame Street have always been an intrinsical part of my life, possibly having the greatest total influence over me than anything else in helping to form the person who I am today.
To better explain and understand, you must look beyond all the gags, beyond the silliness, colour and routine to the core of the Muppets. To their very morality and the morality that Jim himself seemed to hold and that is: No matter the difference who should accept one another for who you are.
That deep down, once you strip past all those surfaces things, we are all the same. Living beings with hope and dreams, wants and needs, trying to make it in this big crazy World, just doing the best that we can in order to make it through the day.
Why in all logic should a Frog's two best friends be a Bear Comedian who can't tell a joke and a chicken obsessed Sadomasochistic Whatever (Gonzo), who also has a girlfriend who is a self-obsessed violent she-pig and runs a completely chaotic show who's only true fans seem to be two cantankerous old men who delight in mocking everything no matter how good it is (Statler & Walfdorf, who are the self admitted creators of the YouTube comment).
The Logic is in the fact that he accepts them all, even the constant Chaos around him, and loves his friends, treating them like his very own family.
Kermit is able to look beyond the surfaces of his friends and employees and see the good within them all and they do for him and each other in turn.
The Muppets show that the world is a crazy and sometimes dangerous place but yet if you stick together and help each other out you can get through it all.
Sesame Street showed that you didn't have to like some body or what they do in order to accept them. Oscar the Grouch demonstrated this many a time, because he never liked anyone around him (apart from his worm Slimey) but he still accepts them.
The other great example of how opposites can learn to tolerate each other and live together are Burt & Ernie. Who live together and remain friends even though they are polar opposites and that Ernie can be annoying at times.
the other great lesson that Jim Hensen and Company taught me is: that a Monster is not always a Monster.
That what appears to be the most scary and the most different may actually be the most like us.
In the Jim Hensen production Labyrinth, the monster Ludo who appears to be a fearsome beast but is in fact and noble and gentle soul, loyal to Sarah who saved him from the Goblin's torments. Upon her quest she receives add from others who are different yet still have noble hearts. Even the Goblins themselves aren't evil but rather mischievous children who delight in the absurd and in pranks but still loyal to their King Jared and forgiving of Sarah at the end. Other creatures she meets along the way aren't entirely noble but more often then not they are true to themselves and their ways.
Although not ever monster in a Hensen production is in reality a sweet sensitive creature, as evidenced with The Skeksis in the film the Dark Crystal, who are evil but this is represented in their twisted forms and selfish natures.
And I think that the morals imprinted above should stand true today.
In an Age where we all beat our chests, point our fingers and becry: "YOU ARE NOT LIKE US! YOU ARE NOT LIKE US!".
When we should be asking: "How are they not like us? What makes them different from us?" and then come to understand that we are all basically the same.
The last great lesson that Jim Hensen and all his fellows did teach me is to revel in my Imagination and that Dreaming is not a bad thing.
The different kinds of productions that Jim Hensen was involved in was simply amazing and two of the most profound ones to me are the oft overlooked Jim Hensen Hour, where he told extraordinary tales with such passion, and The Storyteller who re-imagined classic folktales and gave them interesting twists. In both those productions you were shown the power of imagination and strength of the Story.
How words and images can last so long and be so powerful.
I honestly don't want to live in a World were people are afraid to have positive & colourful imaginations and I certainly don't want to be in a World where children are taught & encouraged to hate just because something is exteriorly different to them.
The Principles of Tolerance and the seeds that sprouted them were installed in me by such things as The Muppets and I am not afraid to admit that.
We draw out moral from, or by rejecting, those things which are most prevalent in our lives and I want any children that I bare in the future to understand the notions of Acceptance that The Muppets (and other more real people) taught me. As well as to have faith in their Imaginations and let them take a positive flight out into the World.
So I shall leave who with something that embodies that Spirit of Dreaming that Jim and his creations embodied and employ you to share this with other and to share your own experiences and what moral lessons who took from life and those around you.
Always remember to love each other no matter how different you may be and be accepting of all things.
All the best
Shadow
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:Smug:
