Beware the Yuppies

During the 1980s, a new species emerged.  They could be easily spotted by their V-neck sweaters, their disenfranchised outlook on life, and their affluent wealth.  The baby boomer generation were no longer cute, numerous babies.  They were now thirtysomething.  They had grown into young, urban professionals.  They were the "yuppies."

And they were starting to multiply.

Raised by a generation of hippies, the yuppies sought structure and meaning in their lives.  Many of them found lives as lawyers, brokers, and professors, earning high-paying salaries and unsure of what to do with themselves.  To the non-yuppies, yuppies were self-absorbed and unsatisfied with their lives, despite the fact that they had found themselves in positions that many Americans would consider to be the ultimate dream.  A well-structured family living in a peaceful neighborhood would make almost anyone comfortable.  But the yuppies needed more.

The quintessential depiction of yuppie life in popular culture was the drama thirtysomething, emphasis on drama.  This allowed us a look into these creatures lives, allowing others to experience the problems that they encounter in their daily lives.  I would direct you to a specific episode, but honestly, all you need to understand their lifestyle is the opening theme, which I've dubbed "Suffering in Suburbia."

"MuppeTelevison" was not only an extension of The Muppet Show.  It set out to skewer current television trends.  So of course, they were going to comment on this growing culture, and they did so with the pitch-perfect parody "Hurtingsomething."

Prepare to be tortured.

The premise was simple: take thirtysomething and replace the cast with giant monsters.  In all forms of Muppet media, the monsters are used to represent some aspect of humanity.  In Sesame Street, monsters are children trying to get a handle on the world around them.  In The Muppet Show, monsters are our sins, pushed to the extreme.  In Fraggle Rock, monsters are those who abuse power.  And now, monsters are yuppies.

The monsters Anthony and Fern don't act like previous Muppet monsters.  They don't snarl or destroy or speak in mono-syllabic grunts.  They are intelligent and insightful and they just happen to snack on humans now and then.  In the first sketch, as Anthony and Fern prepare for bed, Fern shrieks when she discovers a tiny human that has crawled into the sink.

Anthony catches the tiny lawyer in a glass and proceeds to jokingly scare Fern with it before releasing it outside.  They then have a long conversation about how Anthony's immaturity trivialized Fern's fears, which only adds to the stress of her daily struggles as an independent woman.

It's time for our nightly in-depth conversation about our feelings.

In a later sketch, Anthony reveals that his therapist as instructed him to stop bottling up his feelings in "mason jars" and storing them away.  Fern provokes him into getting angry when she starts to cry before he has a chance to reveal the things she does that bothers her.  He can't stand that he has to walk on eggshells whenever he wants to propose a change in their behavior.

Oh, and they spend this whole conversation eating humans.

This is probably full of carbs, but I'm too angry to let that bother me at the moment.

This is exactly the issue most people have with yuppies.  They take their miniscule issues with their relationships or what have you and blow them into such big proportions that they forget about all the other people who have life much worse than them.  In a world of comfort, these monsters have to create their own problems.  That isn't to say their problems aren't real.  It's just that sometimes it helps to look at the bigger picture.

 Maybe you should spend more time worrying about the fact that your brain is exposed.

Most "MuppeTelevision" parodies were just brief, one-joke ideas based on puns.  But "Hurtingsomething" was inspired.  It showed us that as we evolve, your monsters evolve as well.  The new monsters were the ones who spent their days using complex metaphors to complain about their state of ennui.  Yuppie culture has changed over the years, but there are still elements of these monsters in today's age.  If you think you are or are becoming a yuppie yourself, just remember: at least you aren't currently being consumed by a giant monster.

Ruby Monster: Be Yourself

During the '80s, Sesame Street attempted to increase the presence of their female characters by inventing a slew of "new faces."  This involved pushing background characters to the forefront and creating "girl versions" of established characters.  And so, a new female puppeteer was hired.

Enter Camille Bonora.

Newcomer Camille Bonora took on the responsibility of performing many of these female counterparts, leaving her with very little original characters.

She took on the mantle of Forgetful Jones' girlfriend, Clementine,...

...played another vampire obsessed with counting, Countess von Backwards,...

...portrayed Juliet Monster, who was just as neurotic as Telly,...

 ...and found her biggest role in Meryl Sheep, another dramatic performer similar to Placido Flamingo.

Camille was stuck with pale imitations of already well-known Muppets, so this ploy did little to help the situation.  Yes, there were more girls now.  But they were all one-note characters without any depth or unique qualities, making the whole exercise pointless.

But she had one character who stood on her own.  One that couldn't be easily described as "[Muppet name], but a girl."  It was a new monster who could carry episodes on her own, without the aid of other characters.  Like a breath of fresh air, Ruby Monster moved onto Sesame Street.

The original light orange girl monster on Sesame Street.

In what appears to be Ruby's very first appearance, she meets with Gina as they examine the contents of their handbags.  Each note that they have similar items (combs, address books, tissues, etc.) but after they are done comparing, Ruby picks up her handbag and starts playing with it like a toy truck.  And then we knew we were seeing a new kind of Muppet.

Because handbags are boring if they don't go "Vrooom!"

Ruby was going to be the girl that proved it was okay to not do "girly" things just because they were expected of you.  If she wanted to play with trucks, no one had any right to stop her.  Her most famous appearance is her role in the song "Guys and Dolls," spoofing the musical of the same name.  Here, Herry Monster shows off his love of playing baseball and playing with dolls, while Ruby enjoys her stuffed animals and trucks.

The clip doesn't hit you over the head with its message.  It's just observing that children have favorite toys and they decide what they like based on their own personalities.  There is no need for gender roles to make an appearance.  These kids know what they like and they do it.

Ruby had another passion as well, and that was her desire to understand how the world works.  But she wasn't just content with asking questions.  She needed to experience things first hand, so she would often conduct scientific experiments.  In one episode, she spends a whole day standing in the rain, trying to find out how wet she will get.

Spoiler Alert: She gets soaked.

In another, she tries to find out if it is possible to tell if the sun is rising without using her eyes.

The answer is yes, but I'll let you figure that one out by yourself.

Ruby may not have been the smartest monster on the street, but she was aware of her limitations and could cleverly devise ways in which to find the solutions to her problems.  She was teaching children to be self-reliant.  When she developed an interest in music, she discovered a way to participate with top musicians, even though she had to keep practicing her instrument in order to get really good.

Unfortunately, Ruby never caught on as a major character, despite her great qualities and unique personality.  It's not very clear why she faded into the background, but it's sad that she did.  Later female Muppets would get a lot of flack for being "too girly," stating that they only perpetuate stereotypes rather than subvert them.  Ruby presented a great counter to that argument and would probably be very welcome today.

For Ruby, things weren't divided into "boys' stuff" and "girls' stuff."  It wasn't as if she was just a tomboy who shunned girly things.  In fact, in one episode, she imagines growing up, being a mother, going on a shopping spree.  But she also imagines being a veterinarian and driving a car.  She doesn't distinguish between these dreams, because these are just what she enjoys doing.

And with her fashion sense, it's a good thing she has other pursuits.

Ruby was exactly what Sesame Street needed.  Camille Bonora left the show in 1997, so it's highly unlikely we'll see Ruby ever again.  Fortunately, the current cast has followed in her footsteps and continued encouraging children to be themselves.  Her independent spirit lives on.

Good night, sweet, strong princess.