underrated gem! not geared for kids! randomly wanted to learn about international co-productions of sesame street and i had to HUNT to find this documentary abt making sesame street in bangladesh and kosovo.
i was ready to watch and be like “waah waah waah cultural imperialism” but lwk sesame workshop seems to work very hard to offer a framework/funding to allow hyper-localized versions to thrive! the throughline follows the creation of sesame street in bangladesh and kosovo and i was genuinely gripped by whether or not the bangladeshi government would let sesame street air on the one state-run broadcasting network. sometimes the narrative got a little weirdly paced (mainly bc the kosovo project seemed to unceremoniously flop) but overall i REALLY adored this and i think it should lowkey be more popular. it’s muppets and geopolitics this is basically autism-bait
some of my highlights
— all discussions of kami (south africa’s HIV-positive muppet)… curtis sliwa makes a cameo???
— the kosovo production meeting being tense asf between the albanian and serbian team-members. the curriculum is talking abt empathy and the room goes silent and the lead producer later is like “damn it’s like the israel and palestine sesame street all over again”
— bangladesh creates a segment with their own style of puppet (based!) and the puppeteer takes forever to make the puppets which delayed production (camp!)
— production on kosovo and bangladesh halting due to political violence and general strikes… whoa!
— in kosovo, they bring up needing to teach kids how to identify grenades and not pick them up
— the excitement and talent of the bangladeshi crew! they all just cared so deeply abt the children of bangladesh unlearning deep class/gender divides and also bangladesh’s artistic identity like whoa!!!
— apparently big bird isn’t in most countries bc he’s too american except china was resolutely and immediately like “why can’t we have big bird???
— there’s a whole saga abt trying to court the bangladeshi minister of women and children affairs and on the elevator to the meeting the producer is like “damn that lady is intimidating”
— one quick interview with a bangladeshi kid who’s like “the tv is full of sin and makes you blind” and then asked if he watches tv he’s like… “yes” and grins a little grin
a very low-budget PBS documentary but i just really loved the subject matter and the heart of it all.
underrated gem! not geared for kids! randomly wanted to learn about international co-productions of sesame street and i had to HUNT to find this documentary abt making sesame street in bangladesh and kosovo.
i was ready to watch and be like “waah waah waah cultural imperialism” but lwk sesame workshop seems to work very hard to offer a framework/funding to allow hyper-localized versions to thrive! the throughline follows the creation of sesame street in bangladesh and kosovo and i was genuinely gripped by whether or not the bangladeshi government would let sesame street air on the one state-run broadcasting network. sometimes the narrative got a little weirdly paced (mainly bc the kosovo project seemed to unceremoniously flop) but overall i REALLY adored this and i think it should lowkey be more popular. it’s muppets and geopolitics this is basically autism-bait
some of my highlights
— all discussions of kami (south africa’s HIV-positive muppet)… curtis sliwa makes a cameo???
— the kosovo production meeting being tense asf between the albanian and serbian team-members. the curriculum is talking abt empathy and the room goes silent and the lead producer later is like “damn it’s like the israel and palestine sesame street all over again”
— bangladesh creates a segment with their own style of puppet (based!) and the puppeteer takes forever to make the puppets which delayed production (camp!)
— production on kosovo and bangladesh halting due to political violence and general strikes… whoa!
— in kosovo, they bring up needing to teach kids how to identify grenades and not pick them up
— the excitement and talent of the bangladeshi crew! they all just cared so deeply abt the children of bangladesh unlearning deep class/gender divides and also bangladesh’s artistic identity like whoa!!!
— apparently big bird isn’t in most countries bc he’s too american except china was resolutely and immediately like “why can’t we have big bird???
— there’s a whole saga abt trying to court the bangladeshi minister of women and children affairs and on the elevator to the meeting the producer is like “damn that lady is intimidating”
— one quick interview with a bangladeshi kid who’s like “the tv is full of sin and makes you blind” and then asked if he watches tv he’s like… “yes” and grins a little grin
a very low-budget PBS documentary but i just really loved the subject matter and the heart of it all.
