On the one hand, the idea of old Sesame Street shows having inappropriate behavior conjures up the worst of politically correct pearl-clutching.
On the other hand, a lot of humor that was deemed mainstream and acceptable in the early '70s is considered sketchy at best today. Times change. That's not necessarily a bad thing. It's just jarring when our noses get rubbed in it.
Originally shared by +Yonatan Zunger:
Things I did not realize: In 2007, the Children's Television Workshop released a bunch of old Sesame Street episodes from the early years on DVD, as "Sesame Street: Old School." And when they released them, they had warnings on them that they were intended for adults only.
Seriously, WTF? According to the show's executive producer, the show we grew up with (heck, the show I learned English from) sometimes "modeled the wrong behavior" and would not be considered appropriate today. (Interview with her: http://nyti.ms/pyBmOe) Cookie Monster would be edgy today; they probably couldn't create Oscar the Grouch at all.
I have no words for how weird this is. Fortunately, we have +TheFineBros to help us discover this fact, and also show a bunch of YouTubers reacting to classic Sesame Street, including the part where we discover that Kermit has some unresolved anger issues.
OK, maybe old Sesame Street was a little weird sometimes, but you know, it's not necessarily bad for kids to be aware that sometimes people get angry.