My Summer Lair Chapter #160: Of The Many TV Shows That Make Up The Children’s Television Revolution…Which Are Your Favourites?
History lesson kids! David Kamp latest book is Sunny Days: The Children’s Television Revolution That Changed America.
To recap some of the children’s TV shows covered in this book and our conversation…
Sesame Street which premiered on November 10, 1969.
Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood started right before the Street on February 19, 1968.
The Electric Company powered up on October 25, 1971.
Finally:
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids Hey, Hey, Heyed on September 9, 1972 while Schoolhouse Rock debuted on January 6, 1973. Shoutout to Three Is a Magic Number. Yes. That’s my jam.
I consumed all of those shows and I adored all of them. And I mean that’s an impressive run and it’s not even a full complete picture: the book mentions so much more. Kamp astutely calls it an Era of Enlightenment Jr.
And what’s amazing about Sunny Days is that it’s not a shrine to nostalgia. It doesn’t just look back for the sake of looking back. What makes the book relevant is that it looks ahead. This is about our future as much as it is about our past. It is the sobering recognition we were once good coupled with a tantalizing invitation to be good again.
Think about this for a second: Sesame Street…Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood on PBS got federal funding. We invested in the emotional well-being of children and equipped at-risk kids teaching them how to read, understand their emotions and the value of imagination and play. Can you even imagine that happening now with our political landscape? We’re barely feeding them right now.
So…if we were good once…it’s entirely possible for us to be good again. Sunny Days are here if you want em…John Lennon is right: War is over! If you want it.
David Kamp @ W • T • F
Host & Photography Sammy Younan
Recorded: Wednesday October 14, 2020 at 1:00pm
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