Page 2 May 13, 2021
Entertainment
‘Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame
Street’ Review: What the TV Taught
By Ryan Rojas for cinemacy.com
Big Bird, Bert & Ernie, Kermit the Frog
and Cookie Monster are as timeless today
as they were when they debuted on “Sesame
Street” in 1969. But what I didn’t know
about these lovable muppets was the incredible
story behind the seminal children’s TV
show’s creation, which the new documentary
Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street
reveals. The road that was taken by television
producers and educators to create this
one-of-a-kind children’s program was radical,
as they set out to create an education show
that would answer: what if a show loved
kids instead of sold to them? Could TV help
kids? Could it be used to teach?
This became “Sesame Street,” which
changed the culture and has been cherished
by children still to this day. Whether you do
or don’t know much about the show, Street
Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street (based
on the New York Times Bestselling Novel)
should be required watching to see how art
and altruism can go together to change the
world for the better.
At 1 hour and 47 minutes, Street Gang
centers around the radical reason of why the
show was created: as a way to help teach
basic education skills such as reading and
counting to impoverished inner-city Black
and minority children at a time when nothing
like it had been done. It was a daring notion,
and the doc introduces the main people
behind the show’s development such as Joan
Cooney. The female television producer who
was responsible for putting the show on the
air, Cooney shares how she worked with the
Federal Government’s Office of Education to
create the “Children’s TV Workshop,” a group
of educators and TV producers that would
create an entirely new style of children’s
educational show.
The biggest debt that Street Gang wishes to
pay here is to Jon Stone, who we learn was the
visionary and central force for what “Sesame
Street” the show would become. Motivated
by the disillusionment that the Vietnam War
placed on the country, as well as a disgusted
response to overt consumerism in children’s
TV shows, Stone was not only responsible for
pioneering “Sesame Street”‘s mix of education
and entertainment, but for its daring decision
to set the show in a gritty New York street
environment (versus a fantasyland or suburban
setting which was more popular), with the
Sesame Street, courtesy of Screen Media Films.
Ryan Rojas
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Fraud Watch: Avoiding COVID-19
Related Medicare Scams
(BPT) - Medicare fraud is not a new issue
and long predates the pandemic, but during
times of crisis, scammers often get more aggressive
and creative with targeting seniors.
Scammers have taken ample advantage of the
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for payment or their Medicare number and
other personal information. Now, like always,
guard your Medicare card.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
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Medicare covers the COVID-19 vaccine, so
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To protect yourself from Medicare fraud,
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know what steps to take to protect yourself.
Fraudsters use various methods to approach
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or target you through unsolicited emails,
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While actual scams may vary, there are
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for the vaccine, so you should never have to
pay for the shot itself or to get on a waitlist.
When you do see a trusted health care provider
or verified COVID-19 vaccine administrator,
bring your red, white, and blue Medicare
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Seniors
See Film, page 4