Tone Day In: Street Gang - How we got to Sesame Street
IMAGE © UNIVERSAL, (COURTESY OF NEW YORK TIMES)
COVID-19 brought an end to our team’s quarterly “Tone Day Outs”. These were outings to museums, galleries, and conferences, which gave us time to pause, re-set, get inspired and connect.
So, as a response to the pandemic, we pivoted to “Tone Day In’s.” And over the last few years, we’ve started a new tradition of watching documentary films together. We were inspired by Design & Thinking. We were moved by Finding Vivian Maier. And most recently, we were amazed by Street Gang: How we got to Sesame Street.
This latest film was seen as a strange choice, and many of the team questioned why I chose it. As a child of the 1980’s, I grew up watching Jim Henson’s magical creations, first in Sesame Street, and later in The Labyrinth. In fact, when I was in high school, I had my heart set on one day becoming a puppeteer. It wasn’t meant to be, but this film reminded me why I fell in love with puppetry, and how much the lunacy and energy of the early Sesame Street years has influenced my design practice.
I thought I’d share a few things that resonated with me as I watched the documentary:
It was exhilarating to get an understanding of how much creative strategy and thinking went into the development of a children’s TV program. Sesame Street was revolutionary from the outset, bringing educators, entertainers, and creatives together – in the same room! – to close the literacy gap for inner-city children.
The result was what television would do if it loved people instead of trying to sell to people.
This really hit home for our team, many of whom have left the commercial sector and come to Tone because they’re passionate about using their skills and creativity to drive social change, and work towards making the world a better place.
The documentary beautifully captured the magic that can happen when you bring together an extremely talented group of people. At one point they describe the creative tension, “You could feel the lunacy on screen. The contained madness!”
Joan Ganz Cooney. Jim Henson. Frank Oz. Jon Stone. The incredible music director, Joe Raposo! However, this was the chaos of people dedicated to a real idea and having the will to get it done.
FRANK OZ AND JIM HENSON, Image © Universal, (COURTESY OF NEW YORK TIMES)
One thing that surprised me was the commitment to diversity. What I mean by this is, as a child who grew up watching the show, it didn’t feel political to me (as a four-year-old). But as an adult looking back, I’m so inspired by the ground-breaking work the show did to make the world a more inclusive place. They shifted the dynamic on racism and discrimination in the USA.
One Mississippi state TV station even refused to air Sesame Street after complaints about the racially integrated cast. When asked about their racially diverse casting, I believe it was Jon Stone who said “We haven’t beaten that horse to death on air. We simply show it.” There wasn’t a dry eye at Tone when they showed the Rev Jesse Jackson leading children in reciting a poem on the steps of Sesame Street.
We were all incredibly inspired by a team of creatives working on ideas bigger than themselves. The team at Tone look forward to carrying on the good fight.
Vanessa McCarthy is the Director at Tone Studio and specialises in branding and identities. If you found this post helpful we would be grateful if you shared this with a friend or colleague. Thank you.
Tone Day In: Street Gang - How we got to Sesame Street
COVID-19 brought an end to our team’s quarterly “Tone Day Outs”. These were outings to museums, galleries, and conferences, which gave us time to pause, re-set, get inspired and connect.
So, as a response to the pandemic, we pivoted to “Tone Day In’s.” And over the last few years, we’ve started a new tradition of watching documentary films together. We were inspired by Design & Thinking. We were moved by Finding Vivian Maier. And most recently, we were amazed by Street Gang: How we got to Sesame Street.
This latest film was seen as a strange choice, and many of the team questioned why I chose it. As a child of the 1980’s, I grew up watching Jim Henson’s magical creations, first in Sesame Street, and later in The Labyrinth. In fact, when I was in high school, I had my heart set on one day becoming a puppeteer. It wasn’t meant to be, but this film reminded me why I fell in love with puppetry, and how much the lunacy and energy of the early Sesame Street years has influenced my design practice.
I thought I’d share a few things that resonated with me as I watched the documentary:
It was exhilarating to get an understanding of how much creative strategy and thinking went into the development of a children’s TV program. Sesame Street was revolutionary from the outset, bringing educators, entertainers, and creatives together – in the same room! – to close the literacy gap for inner-city children.
The result was what television would do if it loved people instead of trying to sell to people.
This really hit home for our team, many of whom have left the commercial sector and come to Tone because they’re passionate about using their skills and creativity to drive social change, and work towards making the world a better place.
The documentary beautifully captured the magic that can happen when you bring together an extremely talented group of people. At one point they describe the creative tension, “You could feel the lunacy on screen. The contained madness!”
Joan Ganz Cooney. Jim Henson. Frank Oz. Jon Stone. The incredible music director, Joe Raposo! However, this was the chaos of people dedicated to a real idea and having the will to get it done.
FRANK OZ AND JIM HENSON, Image © Universal, (COURTESY OF NEW YORK TIMES)
One thing that surprised me was the commitment to diversity. What I mean by this is, as a child who grew up watching the show, it didn’t feel political to me (as a four-year-old). But as an adult looking back, I’m so inspired by the ground-breaking work the show did to make the world a more inclusive place. They shifted the dynamic on racism and discrimination in the USA.
One Mississippi state TV station even refused to air Sesame Street after complaints about the racially integrated cast. When asked about their racially diverse casting, I believe it was Jon Stone who said “We haven’t beaten that horse to death on air. We simply show it.” There wasn’t a dry eye at Tone when they showed the Rev Jesse Jackson leading children in reciting a poem on the steps of Sesame Street.
We were all incredibly inspired by a team of creatives working on ideas bigger than themselves. The team at Tone look forward to carrying on the good fight.
Vanessa McCarthy is the Director at Tone Studio and specialises in branding and identities. If you found this post helpful we would be grateful if you shared this with a friend or colleague. Thank you.
IMAGE © UNIVERSAL, (COURTESY OF NEW YORK TIMES)