Memoir of a Great Liberal Experiment

In the year of the historic moon-landing, American children were gifted with the educational programme on television named Sesame Street. It revolutionized children’s television in the US and soon became one of the brands of ‘American Values’ in the polarized world. The affectionate muppets in the show were symbols of love, tolerance and cooperation; but above all, they were believed to have inculcated the spirit of individuals’ freedom and dignity amongst school children. The adapted versions of Sesame Street were produced and became popular in more than twenty countries in the next twenty years. In each of these countries, Sesame Street was redesigned and rescripted to suit local culture and history without compromising on its core values. Thus, the television show was an important tool of creating American cultural hegemony in the bipolar world.