Word: elmo
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...must admit that America is no worse off for the Tickle Me Elmo dolls; they are just this year's leading symbol of the unabashed capitalism that plagues every American December. One company is surely much richer for producing the toy that turned parents into larger, more insistent versions of the whining children for whom they were buying the dolls. I can even dismiss my curmudgeonly opinion that dolls shouldn't talk, giggle or move on their own--that human imagination should be more important than technical ingenuity--in the face of the techno-addicted, video-game-actuated children that...
...question remains: Why Elmo? It is the cuteness, the big eyes that haunt me; sometimes you can't help but love the guy. Like the barrettes and the baby-doll dresses that have come and gone from the collegiate fashion scene, maybe Elmo is another form of nonconfrontational resistance to the push of competition and academic rigor. A stuffed animal on a college bed is the sign that more matters than classes, term papers and internships, but it doesn't send a clear picture of what exactly is more important. The Elmo craze has shown that even cuteness and harmless...
There is more to Elmo than supply-demand curves or limited editions. In the culture of cynicism that we live in, Elmo has broken through as an icon, maybe even a hero. He is not a hero in the way I wish America would dream--he is not courageous, committed or visionary in any traditional sense. He is cute, ready to learn and caring, but he is not strong. Elmo isn't the "Sesame Street" character I would want to consult about my course selections (I trust Grover...
Despite the fact that I wish his prominence could be dismissed as an excellent product prediction, I think Elmo has really become a role model for the millennium. He is properly a symbol of wonder for the end of the 20th century, a figure of endless wonder at a world that unfolds before him. Perhaps Elmo, always energetic about exploring the unknown, is the proper role model for us as we face the complex problems like social security and Medicare that face our country and the complicated advances like the Internet that hint at the future. Perhaps Elmo...
Maybe that is why Elmo worries me; I oppose him because he seems so hard to oppose. Elmo is cute, but he is really second-rate, an easy symbol for people to cling to. At the inauguration, Clinton and others were unclear on where the bridge to the 21st century will lead exactly; and spoke in foggy phrases and labels. Washington seems to think that, like Elmo, they can be stylish and pull a cute thing and replace any real details. No wonder the committee thought Elmo would be a great addition to their party...