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Thinking Too Much #1: Of Muppets and Men
On Friday, the parental units and I went to see The Muppets. I'm not going to post a real review of the film; I'll leave that in more capable hands. Instead, the following is the first part of a (hopefully) ongoing series called Thinking Too Much, in which I take a piece of popular culture and give it far more analysis and consideration than it really deserves. I can't guarantee that what I write will always make sense, but I will endeavor to at least make it entertaining.
A quick caveat before we start: While I'm a fan of the Muppets and Jim Henson's work in general, I'm far from an expert on either one. Feel free to make corrections or clarifications in the comments.
The thing that really struck me about this movie is the male leads. There are two of them, a set of brothers named Gary (Jason Segel) and Walter (Peter Linz) who are the best of friends and do everything together. But what makes it unusual is that Walter is a muppet and Gary is not.
This isn't quite as odd as it sounds initially. One of the conceits of the Muppets, in any medium, is that there's nothing out of the ordinary about the puppet members of the cast. Kermit is just like any other frog; he just happens to have a talent for music and a love of show biz. Likewise, Miss Piggy is an ordinary pig who loves the limelight, Fozzie is an ordinary bear who loves telling terrible jokes, and so forth. And it's likewise assumed that the more human-like puppets (the Swedish Chef, Statler and Waldorf, Bert and Ernie, etc.) are humans who just happen to look a little different from the norm.
(On a side note, do we ever see non-puppet animals in the Muppetverse? I can't think of any, unless you count Elmo's pet goldfish on Sesame Street.)
As far as I know, however, we've never before seen muppets and non-muppets in the same family, and it's more than a little jarring. One immediately wonders if this is supposed to be a normal thing within the context of the film's world... and while it's not stated outright, the answer seems to be "no." The beginning of the movie is a montage of moments from Gary and Walter's childhood, and while it seems remarkably pleasant and trauma-free, it's clear from the outset that Walter is Different, and he knows it. He stops growing at age four (if not earlier, I forget), and we see him fantasizing about being taller when he's unable to get onto a roller coaster at the county fair. Then, one day, Walter sees a rerun of The Muppet Show on TV, and is instantly hooked, becoming the show's #1 fan and fantasizing about joining Kermit et al. on stage. Again, nothing is stated outright, but it's not too hard to see that what's going through Walter's head is "These people are like me."
Think I'm reading too much into this? Wait until we get to the end of the movie's second act. But first, a bit of context: Walter, Gary, and Gary's longtime girlfriend Mary have been working with the Muppets to put together a telethon and buy back the theater in which The Muppet Show was originally performed. The production is putting a lot of strain on the brothers and their relationship. Walter has been welcomed in by the Muppets, but is torn between his dreams of belonging and his loyalty to Gary. Gary, on the other hand, wants to support his brother, but in the process is alienating his girlfriend. When Gary stands Mary up on their tenth anniversary, she finally gets fed up and leaves, leaving the following note in their hotel room:
Gary,
I've gone home.
I love you, but you
need to decide,
are you a man...
or a muppet?
Mary XXX
This prompts Gary and Walter to (separately) sing a soul-searching ballad asking that very question, accompanied by a muppet version of Gary and a human version of Walter (the latter played by Big Bang Theory star Jim Parsons). In the end, they conclude that Gary is a man and Walter is a muppet, and while they still love each other dearly, their lives will be on different paths from this point on.
The musical number is charming and heartfelt, but has larger implications than just the two of them. It makes explicit what the rest of the film has implied up to this point: that, in the context of this world, a "muppet" isn't merely a member of a particular comedy troupe, but an entire class of people.
Suddenly, all kinds of questions spring up. Are muppets a racial minority in this world, like in Greg the Bunny? There's no indication that Gary and Walter aren't biological siblings, so was one of their parents a muppet? Are they both biracial, with only one of the two brothers able to "pass" as non-muppet? Or is muppet-ness a congenital condition, like dwarfism or albinism? And in either case, doesn't that make The Muppet Show kind of... an uncomfortable concept in and of itself? After all, no one would dream of putting on a variety show exclusively starring little people and calling it The Midget Show, or having an all-Asian cast and calling it The Asian Show. In-universe, is this hilarious and heartwarming cultural institution actually exploitation??
Ah, but there's more to it than that, isn't there? In every incarnation of The Muppet Show, muppets aren't just the stars; they're the producers, the directors, the writers, and all the other behind-the-scenes personnel. Aside from the week's celebrity guest, there's nary a non-muppet to be seen. In that respect, The Muppet Show must be incredibly empowering to its fabric-American viewership. It's a show by minorities, for minorities, but that remains appealing to viewers of every gender, race, creed, color, and physical composition. Even in the real world, that's pretty damn rare.
And now the word "muppet" is starting to seem like even more of a nonsense construct than it already is, so I think it's time to call an end to the first, and hopefully not last, installment of Thinking Too Much. Thank you.
A quick caveat before we start: While I'm a fan of the Muppets and Jim Henson's work in general, I'm far from an expert on either one. Feel free to make corrections or clarifications in the comments.
The thing that really struck me about this movie is the male leads. There are two of them, a set of brothers named Gary (Jason Segel) and Walter (Peter Linz) who are the best of friends and do everything together. But what makes it unusual is that Walter is a muppet and Gary is not.
This isn't quite as odd as it sounds initially. One of the conceits of the Muppets, in any medium, is that there's nothing out of the ordinary about the puppet members of the cast. Kermit is just like any other frog; he just happens to have a talent for music and a love of show biz. Likewise, Miss Piggy is an ordinary pig who loves the limelight, Fozzie is an ordinary bear who loves telling terrible jokes, and so forth. And it's likewise assumed that the more human-like puppets (the Swedish Chef, Statler and Waldorf, Bert and Ernie, etc.) are humans who just happen to look a little different from the norm.
(On a side note, do we ever see non-puppet animals in the Muppetverse? I can't think of any, unless you count Elmo's pet goldfish on Sesame Street.)
As far as I know, however, we've never before seen muppets and non-muppets in the same family, and it's more than a little jarring. One immediately wonders if this is supposed to be a normal thing within the context of the film's world... and while it's not stated outright, the answer seems to be "no." The beginning of the movie is a montage of moments from Gary and Walter's childhood, and while it seems remarkably pleasant and trauma-free, it's clear from the outset that Walter is Different, and he knows it. He stops growing at age four (if not earlier, I forget), and we see him fantasizing about being taller when he's unable to get onto a roller coaster at the county fair. Then, one day, Walter sees a rerun of The Muppet Show on TV, and is instantly hooked, becoming the show's #1 fan and fantasizing about joining Kermit et al. on stage. Again, nothing is stated outright, but it's not too hard to see that what's going through Walter's head is "These people are like me."
Think I'm reading too much into this? Wait until we get to the end of the movie's second act. But first, a bit of context: Walter, Gary, and Gary's longtime girlfriend Mary have been working with the Muppets to put together a telethon and buy back the theater in which The Muppet Show was originally performed. The production is putting a lot of strain on the brothers and their relationship. Walter has been welcomed in by the Muppets, but is torn between his dreams of belonging and his loyalty to Gary. Gary, on the other hand, wants to support his brother, but in the process is alienating his girlfriend. When Gary stands Mary up on their tenth anniversary, she finally gets fed up and leaves, leaving the following note in their hotel room:
Gary,
I've gone home.
I love you, but you
need to decide,
are you a man...
or a muppet?
Mary XXX
This prompts Gary and Walter to (separately) sing a soul-searching ballad asking that very question, accompanied by a muppet version of Gary and a human version of Walter (the latter played by Big Bang Theory star Jim Parsons). In the end, they conclude that Gary is a man and Walter is a muppet, and while they still love each other dearly, their lives will be on different paths from this point on.
The musical number is charming and heartfelt, but has larger implications than just the two of them. It makes explicit what the rest of the film has implied up to this point: that, in the context of this world, a "muppet" isn't merely a member of a particular comedy troupe, but an entire class of people.
Suddenly, all kinds of questions spring up. Are muppets a racial minority in this world, like in Greg the Bunny? There's no indication that Gary and Walter aren't biological siblings, so was one of their parents a muppet? Are they both biracial, with only one of the two brothers able to "pass" as non-muppet? Or is muppet-ness a congenital condition, like dwarfism or albinism? And in either case, doesn't that make The Muppet Show kind of... an uncomfortable concept in and of itself? After all, no one would dream of putting on a variety show exclusively starring little people and calling it The Midget Show, or having an all-Asian cast and calling it The Asian Show. In-universe, is this hilarious and heartwarming cultural institution actually exploitation??
Ah, but there's more to it than that, isn't there? In every incarnation of The Muppet Show, muppets aren't just the stars; they're the producers, the directors, the writers, and all the other behind-the-scenes personnel. Aside from the week's celebrity guest, there's nary a non-muppet to be seen. In that respect, The Muppet Show must be incredibly empowering to its fabric-American viewership. It's a show by minorities, for minorities, but that remains appealing to viewers of every gender, race, creed, color, and physical composition. Even in the real world, that's pretty damn rare.
And now the word "muppet" is starting to seem like even more of a nonsense construct than it already is, so I think it's time to call an end to the first, and hopefully not last, installment of Thinking Too Much. Thank you.