Being Elmo

Last night, Weston was all ready for bed.  I laid him down in his crib, and quietly realized that Elmo wasn't in his crib with him.  Curious George was (his other favorite), but Elmo was still downstairs.  I said nothing, hoping that he wouldn't notice.  He plopped on his belly, stuck his butt up in the air and I draped his blanket on top.  I said goodnight, but suddenly, Weston sat up looked around and said, "Elmo?  Elmo?"  After retrieving it, I gave it to Weston and he gave him an adorable hug and laid down right on top of him.

I've been thinking quite a bit lately about Kevin Clash, the voice of the beloved Elmo, and his recent allegations of having had underage sex with teenage boys.  Normally, I would just mentally file it away under "News that's a bummer" and carry on.

However, Weston totally loves Elmo, and has for quite sometime.  It's not something that either Nate or I have ever encouraged; he, like millions of other little kids, almost innately LOVES the furry red creature.  A couple of months ago, Nate and I watched the documentary called Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey, which is about Clash's life and the history of Elmo's existence.  Admittedly, I cried during several parts (especially the part where children from Make A Wish Foundation ask to see Elmo), but I was most touched when I realized that probably what my son most loves about Elmo is..well, love.

“I knew Elmo should represent love. Kissing and hugging.” —Kevin Clash, in Being Elmo.  

Whoopi Goldberg captures the essence of Elmo the best in the film: “The thing that people love about Elmo is, he needs them. There’s a feeling that they can do anything as long as they have their Elmo with them. I attribute this to Kevin because of his embodiment of this character.”

I've read a couple of articles and posts about parents making different decisions about their handling of Elmo.  This one took their Elmo doll out of the diaper bag.  She didn't seem to be sure why she did it, but admitted it was probably ridiculous.  I agree that it was ridiculous.  As sad as it is, there are way too many child abuse stories, many of them involving famous people and institutions--the Catholic church, Jerry Sandusky and Penn State, Warren Jeffs and the Fundalmental Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  But I don't cover my ears or Weston's at the mention of any of these places because of their connections with child abuse.

James Poniewozik from Time wrote this:

"As a parent, I get that the connection between a small child and the voice and image of a beloved character is intimate. (Conversely, I know from experience there are many, many reasons to avoid the loud, baby-talking furball that have nothing to do with anyone’s sex life.) But the operative word here is character. Small kids have a relationship with Elmo, not his unseen puppeteer. And parents, as grown-ups, should be able to distinguish between actor and character, reality and fiction, just as we do all the time with movie actors. The idea that parents would deprive their kids of a character because it now makes them feel icky—anymore than they would boycott Alice in Wonderland because of past allegations about Lewis Carroll, say—boggles my mind. (Likewise the idea that an Elmo toy or video suddenly becomes more or less wholesome depending on the employment status of the person moving his mouth.)"

He points out that parents who want to forget Elmo because it makes them feel uncomfortable are doing their children a disservice.  I'm of the same mindset.  Elmo will stay in our house.

However, he also makes the argument that kids have a relationship with Elmo, not his unseen puppeteer.  I don't know that I agree with that statement.  Elmo was a character on Sesame Street before Clash's time, and it was Clash who turned him into the character that kids love today.  I could be wrong, but Clash seemed to bring something to Elmo's character that was unique and inimitable.

Time will tell the fate of Elmo.  In the meantime, we'll continue to cycle through the same 4 or 5 episodes of Elmo's world on the youtubes.com, and Elmo will continue to be Weston's reading buddy, snuggle buddy, and source of comfort.