USA: New documentary studies social impact of international Sesame Street productions

A new documentary on Sesame Street seeks to explore the drama and complexities inherent in the production of international versions of this popular children's television program. "The World According to Sesame Street", which world premiered in competition at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, follows productions in Bangladesh, Kosovo and South Africa to examine how producers from New York's Sesame Workshop take the American Sesame Street and localize it for different countries. Using the behind-the-scenes method and following the localization process of the various Sesame Street programs, the documentary depicts the cultural and production challenges faced by producers while working in complex political situations. The film was co-produced by Linda Goldstein Knowlton and Linda Hawkins Castigan, their first foray into independent documentary production. In an interview, the filmmakers reflected on the process of making "The World According to Sesame Street". Knowlton said that one of the motivations to make the film was to see how effective the Sesame Street versions were internationally. "In a certain way, I think a lot of people in the United States take Sesame Street for granted in a way. It's this icon, it's here, it's been here, it's always entertaining children, it's always teaching children but people think of it as Muppets and they kind of take it for granted. What was really powerful for us to see around the world was how seriously the people there take it. It's a huge tool, it's a really successful tool for them to try and make their children's lives better," said Knowlton. Costigan explained the duo's directorial choice of focusing on Sesame Street productions in Bangladesh, Kosovo and South Africa, when they had a range of countries to pick from. In the case of South Africa, they were keen to show the process of spreading HIV / AIDS awareness through Sesame Street programming, while in Bangladesh they had the opportunity to follow the Sesame Street production from scratch. "There was just starting their Bangladeshi co-production. So, it meant that we were going to be able to be a part of and document meetings regarding curriculum, regarding topics, regarding how Muppets were going to be made, what kind of street there were going to have, and animations and songs, and we thought what an incredible opportunity to document this from start to finish. So, Bangladesh for us was a no-brainer. And then there were also going to be starting the Kosovo production and we thought this is really incredible. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to show the other kind of work that Sesame does, in a post conflict situation," said Costigan. One of the criticisms that the film has received is that it spends a lot of time exploring the Sesame Street production discussions and the "Sesame Workshop" in conference rooms, instead of showing more of the on-field production in various locales. "Sesame Workshop" is the non-profit educational organization behind Sesame Street that puts the proceeds it receives from sales of all its Sesame Street products back into development of the show and its international productions. Knowlton defended their choice of showing lengthy discussions by saying that they wanted to show the political context of different Sesame Street versions. She said that a lot of people don't realize that even the American Sesame Street began as a direct response to the civil rights movement and that there was an important political context of the original Sesame Street. "It [the American Sesame Street] really was in direct response to the civil rights movement. There was a mixed race class, it was a very new, provocative idea. We felt it was really important to show that same political history and political context in each of these countries that actually a lot of people don't know that much about -- Bangladesh and Kosovo and the seriousness of what's happening with HIV and AIDS in South AFrica. So, we had a lot of material to work with and we made a choice of how to interweave the context, otherwise the impact of what they were doing in each of these countries might not have made as much difference to the viewer," said Knowlton. While Castigan said that she first found the intensive discussions behind different international versions of Sesame Street tiring and tedious, but she also realized that that method worked and helped in putting across the desired message to children. Both film-makers were impressed by the impact that Sesame Street has had in myriad countries and they feel that the Sesame Street tradition is going to continue to make a positive difference globally. "The World According to Sesame Street" will be available on DVD on October 24 and will also air the same day on Independent Lens on PBS, to coincide with United Nations Day.

ITN Source | October 21, 2006

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