Among the Halo 5/ Collection and Watch Dog prank news you may not have noticed the shot Sesame Street fired against video games on Friday.
Produced as Sesame Street Explores National Parks in partnership with the National Park Foundation, Sesame Street released a video featuring Zachary Levi and Bert that urges everyone to put down their phones and close their computers and go for a walk on this “Lovely Sunny Day.”
The video begins with Levi posting a picture to Facebook of the park that says “It’s a perfect day at the park.” Which he follows by specifically targeting Bert to come outside and go to the park, but Bert is still conflicted… until pigeons are mentioned, when Bert exclaims, “PIGEONS, oh boy!” and leaves to join his friend.
And then the singing starts.
“Every day I sit right there
Sit and stare and check my Facebook, Email, Instagram
Chatting with my friends and making plans.
But on days with lots of sun
I say goodbye to everyone online
And say hello, cuz I know there’s a place where all the
Bees are always buzzing ’bout the flowers they have seen.
And every tree is trending,
I don’t miss my little screen, because
The sky won’t need a filter
And the birds tweet just to say:
You should really take a walk on this lovely
sunny day.
In the park I reconnect
Take some time to self-reflect
Yo, this Snapchat is going to be cray!
No hashtag selfie, put that thing away.
The pigeons make it feel like home
Follow me and we can can roam
Across the grass and see
That now we’re running faster than 4G!
On the playground there’s a million games to play.
We don’t need a fancy tablet with a
retina display.
Because…
The Bees are always buzzing ’bout the flowers they have seen.
And every tree is trending,
I don’t miss my little screen, because
The sky won’t need a filter
And the birds tweet just to say:
You should really take a walk on this lovely
sunny day.
Just look up and there will be
Bright blue skies, don’t need a
Weather app to tell you that.
Subscription to this cloud is free.
Bees are always buzzing ’bout the flowers they have seen.
And every tree is trending,
I don’t miss my little screen, because
The sky won’t need a filter
And the birds tweet just to say:
You should really take a walk on this lovely
sunny day.”
Levi and Bert run through the park singing about the bees and flowers, gaining followers both animated bluebird–that literally tweet at them–and real person alike who put away their technology to sing and dace with the two.
But at 1:31 Sesame Street makes a deliberate dig at the Oculus Rift. Grover is walking around wearing the device when Levi goes and takes it off his head saying, “We don’t need a fancy tablet with a retina display.”
Outside, we can run faster than 4G and can look at the world around us without filters, so let’s not take a #selfie and let’s just enjoy the world around us.
This is not the first time Sesame Street has spoken out against staying inside and, presumably, playing video games. In 2009, Jason Mraz made a video with Elmo about going outside that is a remake of his hit song, “I’m Yours” with the chorus, “I won’t stay inside, no more, no more. It cannot wait, let’s go outdoors.”
The Sesame Street website even has a special page urging parents to take their kids outside that features nature videos, an educator guide, video tips to use as companions with the featured ones, and nature words.
Although Sesame Street has a point about the necessity to go outside, there have been multiple studies on the positive effects video games have on children, such as last year’s study by the American Psychological Association that said video games (even the violent ones) boost children’s learning, health, and social skills, as well as hand-eye coordination, critical thinking, and decision-making skills. So perhaps we all need to just find a happy medium—have fun playing outside and inside.
