Watching Sesame Street last night, and at the end is “Elmo’s World.”
Elmo inhabits a surrealistic 3-d world which stylistically represents a crayon drawing.
Only yesterday did I learn the horrible truth.
Elmo made his world. The crayon motif isn’t just decoration. Elmo actually drew his world with crayons and now inhabits it.
Elmo not being the brightest star in the sky didn’t do the best job, and a lot of the world is just hastily scribbled. Inhabitants like Mr. Noodle can’t even comb their hair. The furniture, windowshades, and computer are all alive.
But, Elmo made his world and everything in it.
I’m not sure how to interpret this:
Is this an argument for creationism? Is Sesame St. trying to show us that if even a half-wit like Elmo can create a working (if barely,) Universe then an omniscient God would be more than capable of creating our universe?
Is it suggesting that God, like Elmo is a furry red half-wit?
Is it an argument against creationism suggesting that the complex interractions and fundamental interconnectedness in the universe as we know it cannot be manufactured out of whole cloth (or crayon,) without severe and dramatic consequences (i.e. Mr. Noodle?)
Is it a moral warning, like Frankenstein, suggesting that there are some things that neither man nor muppet was meant to do? Are the failings of Elmo’s world a sign of his Hubris?
If you are going to indulge in creationism why use crayon? Are we suggesting that in Elmo’s World the fundamental building blocks of matter are not quarks and muons, but colored wax manufactured by the Crayola corporation? Won’t the folks at Fermilab be surprised when crayons start shooting out of their particle accelerator?
Elmo’s world has no sun, so I don’t understand how it maintains equilibrium. Doesn’t this violate the 2nd law of thermodynamics?
Some of the inhabitants of Elmo’s world don’t appear to be made out of Crayon particles. Elmo himself, Mr. Noodle, Goldie the Goldfish, all seem made out of actual matter. Did Elmo draw them too? Did he use better crayons? perhaps a magic marker? Who drew Elmo? Could he have just drawn himself?
How does God feel about upstart muppets delving into his exclusive divine duties?
I just don’t understand why a child-analog chosing to dwell in a world that they made up is a good thing. One would think that they would encourage more heathy coping mechanisms.
What disturbed me the most the last time I saw Elmo in his little world was that his TV was arguing with him. Now, I’ll put up with that kind of crap from my beloved computer, but any TV that acts up is heading for a future as a pile of melted plastic and shards of glass. Or maybe I only think that because I got almost no sleep last night.
In any case, I think there’s an especially deep question implied by the OP: Did Elmo draw himself? (and by parallel, did God draw himself?) When I watched Sesame Street as a little Dragonblink he didn’t have a “world” yet, in fact he wasn’t even a major character, so he existed before his little crayonned paradigm. Could he have drawn himself in the greater reality of Sesame Street itself?
“What’s happening? Elmo sees a bright light. Elmo sees fire and brimstone. Where is Elmo going? Elmo is going down. Elmo sees a red guy with horns and a pitchfork. Why is this man poking Elmo in the ass? Elmo doesn’t like being poked in the ass with a pitchfork.”
Maybe Elmo’s world has a superheated core and a resiliant crust which can heat the land without breaking it open. I would have at least given him that much credit, Scylla.
Perhaps his world is a parallel dimension which became reality through a fluxuation within the space/time continuum.
Remember though, that Elmo’s name can be respelled “mole.” Perhaps this is a warning to Avogadro’s fans everywhere that trying to understand the universe will only lead to its destruction.
[simon voice]
“Would you like to see some of my droar-ings?”
[/simon voice]
That reminds me of the kids’ book Harold and the Purple Crayon where Harold drew his world as he went along. He got hungry, he drew 6 pies and ate them. He didn’t finish them, and not wanting to waste, he drew a hungry deer and rabbit to eat them. He got the itch, he drew a hooker. That sort of thing. Very good book.
(Actually, I made up the part about the deer and rabbit. It was a deer and aporcupine).
[ul]
[li]How many angels (furry, red, halfwit angels) can dance on the head of a crayon?[/li][li]If Elmo is omnipotent in his universe, can he draw a crayon-creature so heavy that he himself couldn’t lift it? If not, how can he be omnipotent?[/li][li]Do you suppose it took Elmo seven days to draw his universe? Were they 24-hour days, or is the length of the primeval “Elmo-days” unknowable?[/li][li]Does Elmo have a holy book? Does he have a prophet? Are the Ten Commandments written in crayon?[/li][li]I’m guessing that hell for a crayon creature consists of two layers of wax paper and a hot iron. How does the Elmo canon address this?[/li][/ul]
If Elmo did create Mr. Noodle, how many versions do you think he created, that didn’t work, or that died hideous death’s (a la current cloning technology). Do you think Dorothy the fish and Dolly the sheep having similar names is just one big coincidence? I think not.
One thing I’d like to see is some of the outtakes from Elmo’s World (You have to imagine the Elmo voice):
“Goddamn it! I forgot my FUCKING line.”
Director: “CUT!”
Elmo: “Finally. This damn fish smells like Rosita’s crotch. C’mon girls, lets make an Elmo Sandwich.”
“Mr. Noodle, get your shit together. I brought you into this goddamn show and I can send you right back goddamn out!”
“Everybody take five. I gotta check out the SDMB.”
Sesame Street wants you to think Elmo is God. That’s been their plan all along. They’re trying to get you to join their cult.
A CULT I tell you!
Elmo attracted children from all over. Near or Far, Elmo was the craze. The makers of Sesame Street were woried for a bit when their cult rivals “Pokémon” came out with their trading cards and tv shows.
But alas, they failed to gain control of the cult underworld, and Elmo ruled once more. Soon though, Sesame Street wasn’t content with only children, but wanted parents, adults, as well. That’s when they came up with theirsexy elmos over at Sesame Place. They’re drawing you in Scylla. Beware of the Sesame Street conspiracy.
[sub]Yes, I have had all together way too much caffeine today.[/sub]
