Sesame Street: A Transnational History [Paperback]

Sesame Street: A Transnational Historytells the story of how the American TV show became a global brand. Based on archival research across seven countries, the book demonstrates howSesame Street, from the very beginning, was a commodity assertively marketed all over the world. Author Helle Strandgaard Jensen deftly examines the sophisticated sales strategies crafted to promote the show-and why they did not always work. Seeing the sales from the perspective of both the vendor and potential vendees, the book lays bare a cultural clash of international proportions rooted in divergent approaches to childhood, education, and television production that are still around today.InSesame Street: A Transnational History, author Helle Strandgaard Jensen tells the story of how the American television show became a global brand. Jensen argues that because the show's domestic production was not financially viable from the beginning,Sesame Streetbecame a commodity that its producers assertively marketed all over the world.Sesame Street: A Transnational Historycombines archival research from seven countries, bolstering an insightful analysis of how local reception and rejection of the show related to the global sales strategies and American ideals it was built upon.Contrary to the producers' oft-publicized claims ofSesame Street's universality, the show was heavily shaped by a fixed set of assumptions about childhood, education, and commercial entertainment. This made sales difficult asSesame Streetmet both skepticism and direct hostility from foreign television producers who did not share these ideals. Drawing on insights from new histories about childhood, education, and transnational media, the book lays bare a cultural clash of international proportions rooted in divergent approaches to children's television. In doing so, it provides a reflective backdrop to the many ongoing debates about children's media.In contrastl��