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Kermit Culture: Critical Perspectives on Jim Henson's Muppets
By the end of its five-year run on television, The Muppet Show had transformed its motley cast from fistfuls of felt to multi-media celebrities. Sophisticated and highly individuated, each of the Muppets embodied a conventional character type from classic television comedy. Kermit functioned as straight man to the majority of the show's jokes. Miss Piggy, the resident diva, evolved from first season chorus girl to full-fledged megastar. A Costello to Kermit's Abbot, Fozzie peddled his vaudevillian shtick to a tough audience, but his genuine sweetness made him lovable even when his jokes were lame. These essays represent the work and ideas of a global community of scholars and Muppet enthusiasts, providing a unique perspective on just how Kermit and the rest of the frogs, dogs, bears, and chickens became cultural icons with influences reaching far beyond the world of 1970s television comedy.
- GenresNonfictionEssays
235 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
11 people are currently reading
120 people want to read
About the author
Jennifer C. Garlen
15 books39 followersA former English professor, Jennifer now writes about classic movies for Examiner.com and her own blog, Virtual Virago. She has degrees in English from Agnes Scott College, Georgia Southern University, and Auburn University. She also writes introductions to literary classics and works in popular culture studies.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 14, 2010
A much-needed critical and academic examination of the Muppets. There are a few duds (such as the essay about Statler and Waldorf from a ridiculously Freudian sexual lense) but most of the essays are interesting and accessible. I particularly enjoyed the examination of the Muppets as performers, and also the intersection of Muppets and commerce. The essay on the British-ness of the show is also helpful in calling attention to the fact that the Muppet Show was actually a British television export, underwritten by the same guy who gave us The Avengers and The Prisoner.
The book is not without flaws. It's scope is limited in several ways, particularly the lack of availability of many Muppet productions. The final two years of The Muppet Show, as well as the entire run of Muppets Tonight have not been released on DVD, and this absence shows. Muppets Tonight is particularly important, because it is really the only Muppet project that is directly comparable to the original series. I think that, with the increased availability of that show, many of the ideas expressed in this book will require revision or clarification.
The most jarring problem with Kermit Culture is the lack of original research. Of course, this is academia, this is critique, etc...but every single essay rests fundamentally on the work of Christopher Finch, who wrote the two definitive (and only) books on the making of The Muppet Show and on Jim Henson, respectively. These two books are very useful, but are not enough material. Quotes and information are recycled again and again by the authors, all originating with Finch. Perhaps an unavoidable limitation, given the lack of other books about the Muppets. But the reporting of one writer (who is clearly affectionate and close to his subjects) is not a firm enough foundation for a serious critical examination.
The book is not without flaws. It's scope is limited in several ways, particularly the lack of availability of many Muppet productions. The final two years of The Muppet Show, as well as the entire run of Muppets Tonight have not been released on DVD, and this absence shows. Muppets Tonight is particularly important, because it is really the only Muppet project that is directly comparable to the original series. I think that, with the increased availability of that show, many of the ideas expressed in this book will require revision or clarification.
The most jarring problem with Kermit Culture is the lack of original research. Of course, this is academia, this is critique, etc...but every single essay rests fundamentally on the work of Christopher Finch, who wrote the two definitive (and only) books on the making of The Muppet Show and on Jim Henson, respectively. These two books are very useful, but are not enough material. Quotes and information are recycled again and again by the authors, all originating with Finch. Perhaps an unavoidable limitation, given the lack of other books about the Muppets. But the reporting of one writer (who is clearly affectionate and close to his subjects) is not a firm enough foundation for a serious critical examination.
August 28, 2023
Pretty good for the first book on the vastly under-researched area of Muppet theory, but the quality of the essays compiled varies a lot. Some of them are overwrought with academic jargon whilst others read like a wiki entry. But even they have some interesting ideas and the rest of the essays make it overall worth the read.
December 2, 2025
i am so muppet pilled after this research paper but this book really helped with with a lot of my analysis!
September 30, 2012
As with all books of essays, readers will find essays that they think are fantastic and other essays that are not quite as good. This was a good book. I thought that the contributors had a good working knowledge of the Muppets, which I find to be a cause of frustration in many of the pop culture books I've read. (I sometimes get the feeling that the contributors are given overviews or summaries of the subject, because they tend to reference the same things using the same words. It does not seem that they come organically from the source.) I also thought there was a variety of examples used in here, so the editor did a good job of thinking of the finished product (the only thing I thought was repeated too much was the "Sex and Violence" reference in the first season).
My only real criticism, though, has to do with the more academic tone of the book. Granted, this was a critical look of a lowbrow source, but the academic jargon should've been diluted. Another related issue was that the essays tended to follow an academic formula, which has been adopted from a scientific model which is very exposed. I don't want someone so explicitly telling me their theory and how they're going to prove it. Such naked structure doesn't work with art. There was also a lack of simple persuasiveness to many of the essays. They relied instead on presenting research and following a scientific method.
My only real criticism, though, has to do with the more academic tone of the book. Granted, this was a critical look of a lowbrow source, but the academic jargon should've been diluted. Another related issue was that the essays tended to follow an academic formula, which has been adopted from a scientific model which is very exposed. I don't want someone so explicitly telling me their theory and how they're going to prove it. Such naked structure doesn't work with art. There was also a lack of simple persuasiveness to many of the essays. They relied instead on presenting research and following a scientific method.
March 3, 2012
This book gets off to a good start, the first essay, "How to Become a Muppet; or The Great Muppet Paper" by Ben Underwood is a great kick-off, discussing how audiences become one of the Muppets. The next two: "The Muppets as a Metaphor for the Self" and "Stuffed Suits and Hog-Wild Desire" are hard to get through: the former reads more like a psychology textbook and the latter like a Freudian criticism by the most dirty minded English teacher you ever had. Then it picks up, focusing as Muppets as part of the fringe (and Alice Cooper--I don't remember that episodes, but as the Muppet Show originally aired when I was tiny, it was hard to know for sure), and then into aspects of Puppetry, character analyses of Gonzo and Piggy, the Muppets as actors, and the original three films' part in the quintessential American stories of the road trip and journey abroad and to the big series. If you like the Smart Pop series of books on television and books, 80% of this book would fit right in. (
If you're constitutionally capable of doing so, I'd read the first essay, then skip straight to part two Adaptation and Performance.
I should mention that this book is from 2009, and therefore predates The Muppets (2011). I can't help but wonder if Jason Seigal et al read it, however, as parts of it had me nodding and going "yes, that's why the movie worked".
If you're constitutionally capable of doing so, I'd read the first essay, then skip straight to part two Adaptation and Performance.
I should mention that this book is from 2009, and therefore predates The Muppets (2011). I can't help but wonder if Jason Seigal et al read it, however, as parts of it had me nodding and going "yes, that's why the movie worked".
October 9, 2013
I thought this book was really interesting. The different essays explore different aspects of the Muppet culture. One is the about influence of Shakepeare on the Muppets. Another talks about Miss Piggy as one of the first strong female characters on television. You see that there was really so much attention to detail on the Muppet Show, even though it usually seemed like there was a lot of chaos if you were watching it. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys the Muppets.
April 8, 2012
Dry, dry, dry. Only the inherent zaniness of the subject matter saves this from the dusty mien of academia. I'm giving it 3 stars because it is amusing on those few occasions the essayists' childlike love of the chaos that is the Muppets breaks through the formalized structure and jargon of the academic paper.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews