Jim Henson
by Risha L. Moskalewicz

It was during the period of the weathermen. There had been bombings and so
on, and we knew that some people didn't like what we were doing. I was sitting up front with others from the Children's Television Workshop when this strange man came walking in, wearing what appeared to be hippie clothes and a hippie beard. He walked straight, looking forward. Rows and rows from the rest of us. I turned to Dave Connel and said, 'How do we know this man isn't going to kill us?' 'It's not likely,' he said, 'That's Jim Henson.'" (Finch 4 6)

This comment was made by Joan Conney, the founder of Sesame Street and one of Jim Henson’s close working partners. It is almost unbelievable that she could have made this comment about Jim Henson, for he was the furthest thing from violent. He was an artist, a teacher, an entertainer and a dreamer, and through his innovative creations, was able to cross the boundaries of artistic genres, national borders, and age limits and became an unheralded promoter of peace.

Jim Henson's life spanned through some of America's most trying times. He was part of a nation forced to endure the impact of the Second World War, the Korean War, the Cold War, struggles for civil rights, Vietnam, and the assassinations of some of America’s most loved people. Despite the suffocation of death and despair, Jim Henson never lost hope for humanity, and brought and enthusiasm for life back to the world through his programs.

Jim Henson's creatures were cute, fuzzy, and warm, but they were designed to deliver a very strong message to the world; one that said peace and tolerance were attainable goals. He wanted to ". . .write scripts that would stop wars." (Finch 202)

In the words of Gandhi, "If we are to reach real peace in the world. We shall have to begin with the children." (Reinitz 1). Television had the greatest potential for reaching children all around the world. For preschool children up to the age of six, watching television occupies more of their time than all other activities besides sleeping. (Lesser xxiii) This puts in perspective how influential positive children’s programming can be on the development of a child. Young children do not have the attention span to listen to adults speak to them about jealously or cooperation, but seeing characters that are near and dear to their hearts carrying out these actions and learning the consequences, they are reached on a level that words cannot.

Studies have proven that television has such an impact on social behavior that it is capable of breaking down stereotypes and changing common social views. (Greenfield 39) One such example comes from a study that was done on a group of minority children who watched Sesame Street. These children had more pride in their cultural background, had more self-confidence, and were much more cooperative with others after viewing the program. Coinciding with this study was a study done on white American children who were found to be more accepting of racial and cultural difference after viewing Sesame Street for two years. (Greenfield 42)

Bishop Tutu was profoundly moved when he first viewed television. "It was not the innovative technology that was amazing, but the shock of seeing a white person smile and speak in a respectful tone to blacks." (Aasenge 69). Jim Henson's display of creatures that were all respectful towards one another demonstrates the same fundamental idea of equality. In countries where segregation and hate are the dominant themes in society, seeing interracial companionships ignites a passion for human dignity. Harry Belefonte wrote these haunting words of Jim:

". . .But unless you have had the experience of sitting in a village in war-ravaged Guatemala, or a humble, box-like room in the wretched South African township of Alexandra, or in a dust-covered hovel on a Native American reservation, or in the tin shacks that house the thousands who live desperate lives in East Kingston Jamaica, or in an overcrowded, below-poverty-level dwelling in a Ghetto in New York, Chicago, or Detroit, among people whose lives are dominated by their bitter struggle for existence and some bit of dignity, unless you’ve seen from these places the looks on the faces of small children as they watched Sesame Street or the Muppets, you’ll never really understand what Jim and his colleagues have done for millions of children all over the world, children who have never smiled, nor dared to dream, had it not been for Jim Henson. I come from those places; I know these faces. Through them I came to fully appreciate Jim." (Finch ix)

The lessons Jim Henson taught had no boundaries, they were international messages made for international audiences with the underlying hope that through them the world could become a little better. Even countries whose views and beliefs were much different from those of the United States aired his programs. "Fraggle Rock" was the first American program to be shown in the former Soviet Union. (Durret 81) His message of peace and unity was heard in more than 100 countries through Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock, and The Muppet Show. (Durret 69)

Jim Henson taught key issues of cooperation by creating worlds that could not exist otherwise. Ernie could not sleep if Bert was mad at him. The Fraggles could not have lived if they tormented the Doosers, whose constructions were their food supply. And the Muppet band wouldn’t ever have survived Manhattan life if they did not pool their talents and work as a group. In all of Jim Henson’s shows friendships never ended due to jealousy, conflicts were never resolved with violence, and feelings were never intentionally hurt. Through the enchantment of his productions children observed how every action an individual takes has an effect on others, and that working together is the key to peaceful survival.

Television as a medium may have physically reached out to many people’s homes, but it was the characters that touched the hearts of the viewers so deeply. The heart remembers a little green frog and a very vain pig finding completion in one another and falling in love. It remembers the arms of a huge hairy monster wrapping around a child on Sesame Street and stimulating laughter. It also remembers two roommates of complete opposites becoming best friends.

Having grown up in a time period without extended military conflicts, or the threat of military drafts, a sense of false security has set into the American children of the late twentieth century that violence cannot reach us personally. But the seeds of prejudice, suspicion, and violence continue to be sown. Only the battlegrounds have changed. They have come home to our streets, our schools, our churches and our lives. Jim Henson realized the threat of such personal violence, and sought to send his message directly to the hearts of those who could change it. His productions have captured the hearts of many and left with them a lasting vision of peace. Therefore I leave to you, the reader, the last words Jim Henson left this world,

"Watch our for each other.
Love and forgive everybody.
It’s a good life, enjoy it!"