Favorite Fictional Characters, #393: Oscar the Grouch

In the happy-go-lucky, brightly-colored neighborhood that is Sesame Street, the sun shines a lot. People buy fruit and learn numbers and listen to Elmo squeak his vacuous drivel and wonder if Big Bird is a lunatic who believes in a mythical giant mammoth. (I very nearly included Snuffleupagus in this slot. Because if you're going to have an imaginary friend, why not a mythical giant mammoth? I also nearly included the Swedish Chef, but that's The Muppet Show, not Sesame Street. I digress.) It's a happy place, The Street, when Mr. Hooper isn't dying. It's a place of joy and learning and friendship.

But there's a darker side to this utopia, where the sun doesn't quite reach and the colors fade to browns and blacks and drab greens. This part of the neighborhood is just as important as the sunny side of the street, just as gravid with lessons for the preschoolers in the audience. This is where Oscar the Grouch lurks in his trash can. "Grouch" refers to both his species and his affect, Oscar being a caustic, pessimistic soul. And yet, despite his downtrodden status, Oscar is a valued and respected equal member of the community, worthy of dignity even as he resides in filth. There was some controversy around this in the early years of Sesame Street, in the early 1970s when racial relations, especially in urban areas, were strained to the breaking point. While Jim Henson and his team intended Oscar to represent the socioeconomic diversity of the American city, and to indirectly teach children that their less-fortunate peers still deserved love and friendship, there were some voices who regarded Oscar as a negative stereotype of urban poverty and the resigned acceptance of injustice.

That's a lot of baggage to assign to a shaggy green Muppet. That said, Oscar is a critical and often overlooked part of the Sesame Street gang. Representation matters, and maybe it's all to the good for kids to be able to see a grumpy, unkempt, yet ultimately worthy character who might feel more familiar than the cheerier sorts. A side note: we entertained Oscar as a potential name for our youngest during his gestation. Though we eventually went in another direction, the little guy did end up with a couple of stuffed Oscar the Grouches that are still with him all these years later. So, you keep on loving your trash, Oscar. To each his own.