Sesame St Introduces HIV+ Muppet

by Prisca 14 Replies latest social entertainment

• 

  Prisca

  Sesame Street to introduce HIV-positive Muppet

  July 12, 2002 Posted: 12:35 AM EDT (0435 GMT)
  

  Talks are under way to add an HIV-positive Muppet to the Sesame Street gang, which includes Ernie and Bert.

  NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Sesame Street will soon introduce its first HIV-positive Muppet character to children of South Africa, where one in nine people have the virus that can lead to AIDS.

  The upbeat female Muppet will join "Takalani Sesame" on September 30 for its third season on the South African Broadcasting Corp.

  The character -- which has yet to have a name or final color or form -- will travel to many if not all of the eight other nations that air versions of the educational children's show that began in the United States in 1969, said Joel Schneider, vice president and senior adviser to the Sesame Street Workshop.

  Schneider said talks are under way to introduce an HIV-positive character to U.S. viewers.

  MORE STORIES Botswana sees 9/11 impact on AIDS program Company offers AIDS vaccine hope AIDS cases in the U.S. end downward trend Researchers call for new AIDS strategies Court orders end to HIV drug block Bush's Thompson booed at AIDS conference EXTRA INFORMATION In depth: AIDS at 20 Gallery: AIDS in Asia Flash: How HIV infects cells Timeline: 20 years of an epidemic Explainer: What is a retrovirus? Map: AIDS: A global perspective Treatments and vaccines CNN Presents: The AIDS epidemic in Africa RESOURCES AIDS 2002 Conference TIME.com: Map of AIDS in Africa

  Schneider announced the new character this week at the 14th International AIDS Conference in Barcelona, Spain, where he spoke by telephone on Thursday.

  "This character will be fully a part of the community," Schneider said. "She will have high self-esteem. Women are often stigmatized about HIV and we are providing a good role model as to how to deal with one's situation and how to interact with the community."

  The program is aimed at children from 3 to 7 and the messages delivered by the new character will be "appropriate," said Schneider, meaning that there will be no explicit mention of sex.

  "Not every show will deal explicitly with HIV/AIDS," Schneider said. "We want to show that here is an HIV-positive member of our community who you can touch and interact with.

  "We will be very careful to fashion our messages so they are appropriate to the age group. What do I do when I cut my finger? What do I do when you cut your finger? That sort of thing."

  "Takalani Sesame" will be the second children's show in South Africa to have an HIV-positive character. But it is believed to be the first among shows designed for preschoolers, said Beatrice Chow, spokeswoman for the Sesame Street Workshop in New York.

  In some parts of South Africa, 40 percent of women of child-bearing age are infected with HIV, and in 2000, about 40 percent of adult deaths in South Africa were attributed to AIDS, according to the U.S. State Department.

  Copyright 2002 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

  http://www.cnn.com/2002/SHOWBIZ/TV/07/12/sesame.street.reut/index.html
• 

  refiners fire

  (reading)

  uhhh......REALLY?......ummm......HMMMM!?

  Pris. Yeah, another deeply significant post I see.
• 

  refiners fire

  ummm. Pris.

  Actually, I didnt read it .

  I just read it now and it IS a deeply significant post!!

  (refiner- "embarrassed" class)
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  MrMoe

  Thanks for sharing Prisca... how disturbing... not quite sure how to take it... so very sad... perhaps it will be like therapy to the innocent children, but then again maybe the show they watch every morning with breakfast with the new HIV puppet will be like a terrible reminder. Personally, I find it a bit off color, would have to see an episode to make sense of it all, although I assume it will not air in the USA...

  Amanda
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  Kingpawn

  This would be great for in the US!

  "This character will be fully a part of the community," Schneider said. "She will have high self-esteem. Women are often stigmatized about HIV and we are providing a good role model as to how to deal with one's situation and how to interact with the community."

  To many people, HIV and AIDS are synonomous. If this educates people that they are separate stages and a person isn't an "untouchable" because of it, more power to them.

  The program is aimed at children from 3 to 7 and the messages delivered by the new character will be "appropriate," said Schneider, meaning that there will be no explicit mention of sex.

  Doesn't have to be all the time. Drug users get it, as well as newborn children while still in their mother's wombs. There's enough prejudice in the world about a lot of things; I say if this can educate the next generation about respect for people with HIV or AIDS then I'm all for it.
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  FriendlyFellaAL

  I have to agree with you, Kingpawn. When I first heard about this yesterday afternoon I was taken aback. Now that I've heard a bit more detail about what they are planning, I think it's a brilliant idea.

  It will have to be handled responsibly and appropriately, but if done right this might be invaluable to those that are afflicted.

  Brian
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  Xander

  From CNN:

  ------------------------------------------------------------

  S. Africa 'Sesame St.' to add HIV-pos Muppet

  No plans for character in U.S.

  July 12, 2002 Posted: 4:27 PM EDT (2027 GMT)

  "Sesame Street" is popular the world over, with each country altering the show to fit its viewers' needs.

  NEW YORK (AP) -- The South African version of "Sesame Street" is introducing a character with a problem far more serious than scraped knees or missing cookies. She's HIV positive.

  The Muppet character will join the cast of the children's show in September to help educate children about AIDS at the urging of the South African government.

  Some 4.7 million South Africans -- one in nine -- are HIV positive, more people than in any other country in the world.

  There are no plans to incorporate an HIV-positive Muppet in the American or other versions of the show, said representatives of Sesame Workshop, its New York-based production company.

  MORE STORIES Botswana sees 9/11 impact on AIDS program Company offers AIDS vaccine hope AIDS cases in the U.S. end downward trend Researchers call for new AIDS strategies Court orders end to HIV drug block Bush's Thompson booed at AIDS conference EXTRA INFORMATION In depth: AIDS at 20 Gallery: AIDS in Asia Flash: How HIV infects cells Timeline: 20 years of an epidemic Explainer: What is a retrovirus? Map: AIDS: A global perspective Treatments and vaccines CNN Presents: The AIDS epidemic in Africa RESOURCES AIDS 2002 Conference TIME.com: Map of AIDS in Africa

  Plans for the South African version were announced this week at the International AIDS Conference in Barcelona, Spain.

  "Takalani Sesame" in South Africa is one of several locally produced versions of the children's program. Egypt, Russia, Germany, Mexico and Spain, among other countries, all have shows modeled after the American "Sesame Street" that premiered in 1969.

  The South African show uses Muppets similar to the American characters of Big Bird, Elmo and the Cookie Monster. The South African Cookie Monster, for example, is called Zikwe.

  Sesame Workshop hasn't revealed the new, HIV-positive character's name, but it will be a girl Muppet who is an orphan, said Robert Knezevic, head of the company's international division.

  In one script being developed, the character is sad because she misses her mother, he said. In another, the character is shunned by children who don't want to play with her because she is HIV-positive, but the other Muppets rally around her.

  Children won't be told how the character became HIV positive. Nor will the common ways that the virus is transmitted -- through sexual contact or drug abuse -- be discussed, he said.

  "We don't think those are appropriate issues to deal with on the air through a television program that targets children," he said.

  Educational materials distributed to parents who request them will suggest ways of broaching the more delicate subjects with their children, he said. The government hopes the show will be a springboard for family discussions.

  "One of the things about the Muppets is they are so non-threatening to children that we can communicate what may seem to be controversial messages and start a dialogue," Knezevic said.

  The American version of "Sesame Street," for example, gingerly introduced the issue of the terrorist attacks by having Elmo be scared about a fire in the general store. The Egyptian version of the show frequently stresses the need for girls to get an education, at the government's behest.

  In South Africa, despite the large population infected with AIDS, there is a crushing stigma surrounding it. The government has been criticized for its often lackluster approach to fighting the disease, but recently expanded its budget as the Cabinet announced a strong effort to fight AIDS.

  "We want to build hope and address the issues of stereotypes against HIV," said Yvonne Kgame of the South African Broadcasting Corp., which airs the program.

  "The reality is that children as young as they are affected very closely by HIV/AIDS. They experience death and dying of people very close to them."

  Copyright 2002 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

  ------------------------------------------------------------

  Note the "no plans to incorporate an HIV-positive Muppet in the American or other versions of the show".
• 

  Valis

  I think its a good thing. My 5 year old knows that AIDS is bad and I like it that way. Morality or shielding kids form some harsh but simple truths is no substitute for education, and certainly not an excuse not to plant early seeds of VERY important info in thier heads. Also, South African medicine and social policy may be getting smarter and less self righteous than many superpower countries in the fight against AIDS. Thier motto, IMHO, is fast becoming one of "let's do WHATEVER it takes to win. As well, I doubt Sesame Street will have muppets showing the proper way to put a condom on Big Bird or anything...

  Sincerely,

  District Overbeer
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  BeautifulGarbage

  Because the rate of AIDS among South African children is so high, I can understand why such a character would be introduced on Sesame Street in that country. I'm not sure I agree completely with that decision. But because I do know that so many South African children are affected by the disease, or probably know a child that has it, or that has died from it, there may be some positive learning that comes from having character with HIV.

  Now, would I want my own preschool child to learn the harsh realities of living and dying from AIDS from Sesame Street?

  I would have to answer "no." First off, AIDS is a reality here in the US and some children have the disease. However, it cannot not even begin to compare with the devastation done by the disease in South Africa. I do not want my PRESCHOOL child burdened with having to try and understand AIDS without a point of reference to put it into perspective. That is a burden they should not be asked to carry at that age. That is my job to do.

  Now, if my child were to come to me and ask me about the illness, I would be as honest as I possibly could without unduly frightening, or confusing, him or her. Of course, I understand there are many harsh realities in the world that children have to come to grips with. I understand that. But to think that we must "inform" young children "just because" is not fair to them.

  As my children get older, I decide what information they are prepared to ingest and they are not. Sexuality is also a reality of life, but I don't think a preschooler is should be taught about it. Especially on a TV show. Yes, I'm protective. Probably more than the average parent. I don't try to deliberately hide things from them. But, there is NO WAY I will allow them to be expose to information that may only add to more confusion than understanding.

  Andee
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  plmkrzy

  This would be great for in the US!

  Actually they said on the news that we would be next in line for the little muppit. Africa gets the first one because they have the highest percentage of folks infected. So (even though they didn't say) I'm assuming we must have the second highest percentage.