Muppet or a man
Are you a muppet or a man? We are all aware of the iconic song titled “Man or Muppet” from one of the many Muppet movies. This article will dive into the deeper meaning of each category in order to explain the complexity of human life.
What really is a “muppet”? Well, according to Dictionary.com, muppet is “slang for a stupid person.” Wow. Didn’t expect that in the second paragraph of this article, did you? I don’t really like that definition very much, so I made my own. I would define a muppet as a weird felt puppet thing that has earned an entire movie franchise.
Now that we have somewhat of a grasp on the term muppet, let’s define man. I think there are two possible definitions here, one of them being “male” and the other definition being something along the lines of “mankind.” I would like to stick to the second definition for the sake of my argument and inclusivity, but I will unfortunately be exploring both sides.
Let’s look further at the aforementioned “Man or Muppet” song. I would like to think that this song uses my definition of a muppet and the idea that the term man is synonymous to mankind. In The Muppet Movie, the felt puppet Walter and his human brother—I don’t know how that is possible—sing this crazy duet about whether they are muppets or men. We have eyes. We know the answer. According to my definition, a person absolutely cannot be a muppet because a muppet is made out of felt. So, with my definition, this song is saying that you are either a felt puppet thing or a part of the human race. Um, O.K., moving on.
According to the dictionary definition, however, we are all muppets. Have you ever met a person who is not stupid? No? I didn’t think so. But if we look at this song thinking that muppet equates to “stupid person” and man is male, then this song is disgusting—with this mentality, the song basically states that you are either a man, or stupid. Um, ew. To my lovely she’s, they’s, and anyone in between that doesn’t identify as male, this song is offensive. I don’t think I can stand for that. Let’s just hope that’s not how it is meant.
It is not just me thinking about this song’s true significance. When asked their opinion on the anthem, Sarah Sharples, a fabulous English major here at Geneseo, said this: “It’s a fascinating modern-day take on the philosophical questions posed by our world’s most renowned thinkers, from John Locke to Gottfried Leibniz... who are we? Why are we here? And, most importantly, are we muppets, or are we men?”
As a fellow member of the human race, I beg you to consider whether you identify more as a muppet or a man. That being said, if you identify as a felt puppet, I have questions.
Well, this article was one heck of a ride and I think we ended up off the rails. If you didn’t like the chaos of this article—or, heck, if you did—come write for the opinion section of The Lamron.
