Sesame Street international co-productions
Sesame Street international co-productions are adaptations of the American educational children's television series Sesame Street but tailored to the countries in which they are produced. Shortly after the debut of Sesame Street in the United States in 1969, television producers, teachers, and officials of several countries approached the show's producers and the executives of the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), renamed Sesame Workshop (SW) in 2000, about the possibility of airing international versions of Sesame Street. Creator Joan Ganz Cooney hired former CBS executive Michael Dann to field offers to produce versions of the show in other countries.
The producers of these shows developed them using a variant on the CTW model, a flexible model of production based upon the experiences of the creators and producers of the U.S. show. The model consisted of the combination of producers and researchers working together on the show, the development of a unique curriculum, and extensive
History
A few months after the 1969 debut of
Many years later, co-creator Joan Ganz Cooney recalled, "To be frank, I was really surprised, because we thought we were creating the quintessential American show. We thought the Muppets were quintessentially American, and it turns out they're the most international characters ever created".[3] Michael Dann, a former CBS executive whom Cooney had hired as a CTW vice-president and her assistant, was assigned to field offers from other countries to produce their own versions of Sesame Street. Dann's appointment led to television critic Marvin Kitman stating, "After he [Dann] sells [Sesame Street] in Russia and Czechoslovakia, he might try Mississippi, where it is considered too controversial for educational TV".[4][note 1]
By summer 1970, Dann had made the first international agreements for what the CTW later called "co-productions". 38
As of 2006, there were 20 active "co-productions".[3] By its 50th anniversary in 2019, 190 million children viewed over 160 versions of Sesame Street in 70 languages.[8][9] In 2005, Doreen Carvajal of The New York Times reported that income from the co-productions accounted for U.S.$96 million.[10] Cole stated, "Children's Television Workshop (CTW) can be regarded as the single largest informal educator of young children in the world".[11] Studies conducted on the effects of several co-productions (Mexico in 1974, Turkey in 1990, Portugal in 1993, and Russia in 1998) found that viewers of these shows gain basic academic skills, especially literacy and numeracy, from watching them.[12]
In 2001, Sesame Workshop introduced Sesame English, a series focused on teaching children and their families the basics of the English language and on familiarizing them with some aspects of American culture. As of 2009 it aired in several countries, including Japan, Korea, and Italy.[13] In 2003, in response to the epidemic of AIDS in South Africa, the co-producers of Takalani Sesame included the first preschool AIDS/HIV curriculum. They created the first HIV-positive Muppet, Kami, to confront the stigma of HIV and AIDS in South Africa. According to the documentary The World According to Sesame Street, the reaction of many in the U.S. surprised Sesame Workshop. Some members of Congress attacked Sesame Street, Sesame Workshop (previously, the CTW), and PBS. According to co-producer Naila Farouky, "The reaction we got in the U.S. blew me away. I didn't expect people to be so horrible ... and hateful and mean".[14] The controversy in the U.S. was short-lived, and died down when the public discovered the facts about the South African co-production, and when UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and American televangelist and conservative activist Jerry Falwell praised Sesame Workshop's efforts.[14]
Gettas explained that what he called "Sesame Street's unprecedented appeal abroad"[15] was its broad appeal and adaptability to other cultures. Gettas stated, "Here is a program that speaks to them in their own language, on their level, and with respect for their intelligence".[15] According to Cooper Wright, the Sesame Workshop's vice-president of International Co-Productions in 2006, the "mission" of the co-productions was to "help children reach their highest potential".[3] The producers were further galvanized to accomplish this goal after the events of September 11, 2001. Cooney stated, "Our producers are like old-fashioned missionaries. It's not religion they're spreading, but it is learning and tolerance and love and mutual respect".[3]
Production
The earliest international versions were what then-CTW vice-president Charlotte Cole called "fairly simple",[1] consisting of dubbed versions of the show with local language voice-overs and instructional cutaways. Dubbed versions of the show continued to be produced if the country's needs and resources warranted it.[16] They utilized a variant of a flexible model called the CTW model, developed by the producers and creators of the original show, to create and produce independently produced preschool television shows in other countries.[1] The Workshop recognized that the production model developed in the U.S., which reflected its needs and culture at the time, served as a framework for other countries that wanted to repeat it. Its inherent flexibility was attractive to producers in other countries, who saw the model as "a methodological approach that is neither doctrinaire nor culture-bound"[17] that could be used to achieve different results in different countries. According to the 2006 documentary The World According to Sesame Street, the producers of the co-productions repeated the "experiment"[3] undertaken by the original U.S. show, but adapted it to each specific situation. In 1969, the producers of the original show depended upon government and foundation funding, but as Sesame Workshop CEO Gary Knell stated in 2009, the U.S. funding model would not necessarily be effective in countries with different economic and political structures.[16] All co-productions share elements with the American show, but because of their different needs, no two are exactly alike. According to Gettas, the producers of the programs would "rely on variants of the CTW model to help them create programming that faithfully reflects the linguistic, cultural, social, or religious diversity of their native lands".[17]
The need for preschool education in each country was assessed through research and interviews with television producers, researchers, and educational experts, which paralleled what the producers of Sesame Street did in the late 1960s. Then they convened the experts in a series of meetings, held in the individual countries, to create and develop a curriculum, the show's educational goals, and its set and characters,[18] as was done in 1968 in the U.S.[19] Finally, they held a series of meetings, both at the CTW offices in New York City and in the individual countries, to train the co-production team in the CTW model. Writing seminars were also held in New York.[3]
The co-productions consisted of unique characters, sets, and curricula designed to meet the needs of their own children. Cole reported that the goal of the co-productions was to provide children in each country a program that reflected their country's culture, local values, and educational priorities. She stated that this cultural specificity was the reason for the co-productions' success, popularity, and educational impact.[14] The co-productions combined universal curriculum goals that were common around the world with educational content that specifically addressed the needs of children in each country.[20] Another goal of the international co-productions of Sesame Street was, as executive producer Lutrelle Horne stated in 1987, the improvement of "the overall quality of a country's television". He added, "We give a country a model of how television can be used effectively to address people's needs".[21]
U.S. cast members
When countries were not able to afford creating original co-productions, the Workshop provided alternatives for them.[25] They created Open Sesame, a series with no specific cultural references in it and, as Horne described, "universally acceptable material".[18] The show was also broadcast on U.S. military bases. The Workshop's library of Muppet skits, short films, and animations were sold to many countries and were either broadcast in English or dubbed in the local language. According to Gikow, it often served as the basis for the creation of new material for their own co-productions.[18] As of 2009, the Workshop opened its entire library of episodes, short films, and animations created all over the world so that poorer countries could use and adapt them for their purposes.[25]
Co-productions
1970s
The first international co-production of Sesame Street was
Beginning in early 1973,
In 1973,
The final two co-productions of the 1970s, both made in 1979, occurred in Kuwait and Spain. The Kuwaiti show, Iftah Ya Simsim, which ran until 1990, was the first of its kind in the Arab world. It used Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), and was broadcast in 22 Arab countries. The show continued to be well-known decades after it went off the air. It returned in 2013, and had similar goals and objectives as the original version, including the use of MSA.[30][31] Barrio Sésamo, made in Spain, featured over the years such characters as Caponata the hen, Don Pimpon, Espinete the pink hedgehog, and Perezgil, a snail character who was able to hide a thousand and one things in his shell.[32] One of the show's Muppet characters, Dr. Valentin Ruster, was based upon Dr. Valentín Fuster, a native Spaniard who worked at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. Dr. Fuster's likeness was created to educate children in Spain about exercise and eating healthy.[33]
1980s
Also in 1983,
In 1989,
1990s
Norway's co-production, entitled Sesam stasjon, began filming in 1990. The Russian co-production Ulitsa Sezam (Улица Сезам) debuted in 1996. No longer on the air,[21] one of its curriculum goals was to prepare Russian children to live in a "new open society".[20] Poland's Ulica Sezamkowa, which also premiered in 1996, has been since replaced by dubs of various Sesame Workshop programs and has changed its name to Sezamkowy Zakątek. In 1998, the Chinese co-production of Sesame Street, Zhima Jie, was created. An auto mechanic became the head writer of this show, broadcast in Mandarin Chinese, because there were few people with experience in writing for children in the country.[24][26] It has aired in 40 local markets, comprising forty percent of all Chinese homes.[29] Its curriculum emphasized aesthetics.[38] The Chinese puppeteers were trained by Kevin Clash and Caroll Spinney.[3] Also in 1998, a fifteen-minute version of the Israeli show was dubbed in Arabic and renamed Shara'a Simsim; this Palestinian co-production promoted children's sense of national identity.[27][30]
2000s
In 2000, Egypt's co-production, entitled Alam Simsim (عالم سمسم), began to air throughout the Arab world and was broadcast in Arabic.[26][30] Its curriculum focused on literacy, math, cognitive and social skills, girls' education, the environment, and health. The show was sponsored by its patron, Egyptian First Lady Suzanne Mubarak. A study conducted in 2004 showed that the show's efforts to educate Egyptian children about health were substantially influential.[39]
South Africa aired Takalani Sesame, also in 2000; it focused on AIDS education with the creation of the first HIV-positive Muppet, Kami, who was declared a UNICEF "Champion for Children" in 2003.[40][41] In 2005, a study was conducted about the show's impact on AIDS education in South Africa; it found that viewers exposed to Takalani Sesame demonstrated more knowledge and awareness about HIV, AIDS, and its treatment. The study also found that the show had a wide audience, even in communities without good access to electricity.[42]
In 2003,
2004 saw the premiere of the
In 2005, Sisimpur aired in Bangladesh. This co-production's goal was to improve school achievement and decrease drop-out rates for children before the third grade.[24] This difficult co-production, which was beset by political difficulties and severe flooding that delayed production, was depicted in the 2006 documentary The World According to Sesame Street.[3] Galli Galli Sim Sim (Devanagari: गली गली सिम सिम) is the Hindi language adaptation of the series which aired in India from 2006 to 2018.
In 2008,
2010s
Nigeria produced its own version of Sesame Street, called Sesame Square, in 2010. Previously, they aired the U.S. version. Funded in part by a grant from the U.S. government, the show focused on AIDS, malaria nets, gender equality, and yams. It also featured the HIV-positive Muppet Kami from the South African co-production.[51]
After an absence of ten years, and almost 30 years after the 1983 movie
2020s
In February 2020, a show called
Sesame Workshop introduced two
See also
Footnotes
Notes
- ^ a b c Cole et al. p. 148.
- ^ a b Gettas, p. 57.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Knowlton, Linda Goldstein and Linda Hawkins Costigan (producers) (2006). The World According to Sesame Street (documentary). Participant Productions.
- ^ a b c Davis, pp. 209–210.
- ^ Guernsey, Lisa (22 May 2009). "How Sesame Street Changed the World". Newsweek. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
- ^ "When was Sesame Street first broadcast in Australia?". November 14, 2023. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
- ^ Geoghegan, Tim; Lane, Megan (6 November 2009). "Why did Britain fall out of love with Sesame St?". BBC News Magazine. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
- ^ Wallace, Debra (6 February 2019). "Big Bird Has 4,000 Feathers: 21 Fun Facts About Sesame Street That Will Blow Your Mind". Parade. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
- ^ Bradley, Diana (27 July 2018). "Leaving the neighborhood: 'Sesame Street' muppets to travel across America next year". PR Weekly. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
- ^ Carvajal, Doreen (12 December 2005). "Sesame Street Goes Global: Let's All Count the Revenue". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
- ^ Cole et al., pp. 169–172.
- ^ Cole, pp. 169–172.
- ^ a b c d Gikow, p. 255.
- ^ a b c Cole et al., p. 147.
- ^ a b Gettas, p. 55.
- ^ a b Gikow, pp. 252–253.
- ^ a b Gettas, p. 56.
- ^ a b c d Gikow, p. 260.
- ISBN 0-679-41203-4.
- ^ a b Cole et al., p. 156.
- ^ a b c Gikow, p. 257.
- ^ Gikow, p. 262.
- ^ Cole et al., p. 164.
- ^ a b c d Gikow, p. 261.
- ^ a b c d e Gikow, p. 256.
- ^ a b c d Cole et al., p. 149.
- ^ a b c d Cole et al., p. 153.
- ^ Potempa, Philip (4 April 2014). "Offbeat: 'Canadian Sesame Street' Basil Bear now museum memory". NWI.com. Munster, Indiana: The Times Media Company. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
- ^ a b Cole et al., p. 152.
- ^ a b c d e Gikow, p. 259.
- ^ Ghazal, Rym (8 October 2013). "Plans are well advanced for the popular children's show Iftah Ya Sim Sim to make a comeback to TV". The National. Abu Dhabi. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
- ^ a b c d Gikow, p. 254.
- ^ "Meet Dr. Valentin Ruster, Barrio Sesamo's Resident Muppet Doctor" (Press release). New York: Mount Sinai Hospital. 27 August 2012. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
- ^ Cole et al., p. 159.
- ^ Cole et al., pp. 158–159.
- ^ Carballo, Bibsy M. (April 19, 2010). "Batibot coming back with a bang". Philippine Star. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
- ^ "Smart launches 'Batibot' app, the first learning app". Manila Bulletin. 14 August 2015. Archived from the original on 22 August 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
- ^ Cole, p. 155.
- ^ "The Impact of Alam Simsim's Health Education Outreach Initiative" (PDF). Cairo, Egypt: Social Planning, Analysis and Administration Consultants (SPAAC). October 2004. pp. 1, 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 January 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
- ^ Gikow, p. 258.
- ^ "HIV-positive Muppet appointed as "Champion for Children"" (Press release). New York: UNICEF. 24 November 2003. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
- ISBN 978-1-138-80690-0.
- ^ "Studio Shooting of Hikayat Simsim's Season Finale". Albawaba News. Amman, Jordan. 14 June 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
- ^ Farmer, Ben (30 November 2011). "Sesame Street to be broadcast in Afghanistan". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
- ^ "How to get to 'Sesame Street' in Afghanistan". USA Today. Associated Press. 30 April 2004. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
- osce.org. 7 December 2004. Retrieved 2023-04-26.
- ^ "Bert and Ernie make Cambodia debut". C21 Media. 12 August 2005. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
- ^ a b Rutherford, Fiona (22 July 2010). "Elmgrove children branch out into new Sesame Tree". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
- ^ Moynihan, Jason (13 January 2007). "Sesame Street's coming to town!". The Jakarta Post. Archived from the original on 14 August 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
- ^ Murray Hiebert; Ted Osius; Gregory B. Poling (September 2013). A U.S.- Indonesia Partnership for 2020: Recommendations for Forging a 21st Century Relationship (PDF) (Report). Rowman & Littlefield. p. 47. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
- ^ "A yam-packed 'Sesame Street' is tailored for impoverished Nigerian children". Fox News. Associated Press. 23 August 2010. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
- ^ Landreth, Jonathan (14 December 2010). "'Sesame Street' Ready to Return to China". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
- ^ Farmer, Ben (30 November 2011). "Sesame Street to be broadcast in Afghanistan". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
- ^ "Pakistan's Sesame Street U.S. funding is withdrawn". BBC News. 5 June 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
- ^ "U.S. ends funding for Pakistani "Sesame Street"". CBS News. Associated Press. 5 June 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
- ^ Ahlan Simsim, Sesame Street, 2019, retrieved 2020-06-26
- ^ Beech, Hannah (December 19, 2020). "'R' is for Rohingya: Sesame Street Creates New Muppets for Refugees". The New York Times. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
- ^ Romo, Christine; McFadden, Cynthia; Schapiro, Rich (December 17, 2020). "Sesame Street unveils Rohingya Muppets to help kids overcome 'unthinkable horrors'". NBC News. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
- ^ Linnane, Rory; Volpenhein, Sarah (October 21, 2022). "Meet Sesame Street's new Muppets, on screens now thanks to Milwaukee's Rohingya community". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
References
- Cole, Charlotte F.; Richman, Beth A.; McCann Brown, Susan A. (2001). "The World of Sesame Street Research". In Fisch, Shalom M.; Truglio, Rosemarie T. (eds.). "G" is for Growing: Thirty Years of Research on Children and Sesame Street. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Publishers. ISBN 0-8058-3395-1.
- Davis, Michael (2008). Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street. New York: Viking Press. ISBN 978-0-670-01996-0.
- Gettas, Gregory J. (1 December 1990). "The Globalization of Sesame Street: A Producer's Perspective". Educational Technology Research and Development. 38 (4). Kluwer Academic Publishers: 55–63. S2CID 61149333.
- Gikow, Louise A. (2009). Sesame Street: A Celebration—Forty Years of Life on the Street. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal. ISBN 978-1-57912-638-4.
External links
- Sesame Workshop
- "Around the World", Sesame Workshop's section about international productions