Team Sassypants

REMEMBERING JIM HENSON

20 years ago yesterday, the world lost its most heartwarming source of inspiration, innovation, imagination, and education (what a combo) - Jim Henson. I personally would not be the same person without his contributions to popular culture and connections to my childhood. I honestly might as well be a Muppet.

But what most don’t know is that Henson was also a visionary artist and filmmaker as his artistry began to bloom. I had the privilege of learning more at the Smithsonian a few summers ago through the traveling exhibition Jim Henson’s Fantastic World, where his early works including concert posters, experimental films, and puppet prototypes were all on display. It was the first time I got to know then man beyond the Muppets, and it was nothing short of amazing.

An element on exhibit that really piqued my interest was a project Henson composed for broadcast on NBC’s Experiments in Television - an hour that the network set aside every Sunday for young filmmakers to pretty much do whatever they wanted. A practical unknown, Henson created a cultural collage called “Youth ‘68: Everything’s Changing… or Maybe It Isn’t” that compiled interviews with youth, elders, and musicians, b-roll footage of everyday people and concerts and gatherings and processes, quotes from poets and literary works, and fluttering special effects later seen on Sesame Street; somehow falling into a linear, storytelling fashion that encompassed the nation’s divided sentiments on music, education, economy, generation gaps, technology, war, peace and love.

The film has rarely (and by that I mean rarely) been shown since its original broadcast in 1968 because of rights and intellectual property issues with respect to music clips and literary quotes used in the film, but I had the privilege of catching it at the first screening since its original broadcast at 92Y Tribeca last year. It was life affirming for so many reasons, and yet another Henson vessel that made my appreciation for his work and ties to my soul further amplified. I wish I could share it’s revelatory magic and message with everyone. The clip I stumbled upon may not be up for long, but therein lies a taste of the Youth ‘68 canon for your enjoyment.

“When I was young, my ambition was to be one of the people who made a difference in this world. My hope still is to leave the world a little bit better for my having been here. It’s a wonderful life and I love it.”