He was quickly changed to green and his trademark gruff voice (Caroll Spinney) and backhanded compliments were soon a society norm for kids and adults alike. I remember watching and loving Oscar when I was 3 or 4 years old. (1980). Even today, when babysitting the neighbours 2 year old, I love to catch up with Oscar, giving Gordon, Maria, Elmo, Big Bird (that hack), or a kid a dirty shoe or worm sandwich. Oh the memories! 42 years this guy has had to live in a trash can.
The economy was tough back then with only Mr. Hooper having a legit business. The Count had a prostitution ring, and Luis, well his fix-it shop always looked a little shady. Snuffy looked whacked out, which is a normal occurrence in poverty stricken neighbourhoods. Today, the economy is still tough, Mr. Hooper is dead, and the Stereotype-thinking and Hate still occur on Sesame Street. I recently read that the City of NY raised Oscar's property tax by 13% over the past few years yet still hasn't eliminated the problem of roaming dogs (Barkley) and other animals in that area. Perhaps Oscar is just a guy down on his situation. In 1969, if times had have been better economically, Oscar may have been Oscar the Awesome, or Oscar the Happy. It's just too bad that Prejudice has lasted all of these years. At least 1 guy had it right:
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