Muppet Diplomacy: Children’s Media and Global Cultural Policy (Spring 2022)

Muppet Diplomacy addresses how global, socio-political issues are communicated via children’s media and how fictional, lovable characters have been deployed across borders as advocates. From Elmo and his father Louie defining racism in the wake of the George Floyd protests in the United States; to Kami, an HIV-positive Muppet in South Africa promoting global health initiatives; to Noor and Aziz, sibling Rohingya Muppets living in a refugee camp in Bangladesh. Children’s media serves as a dynamic platform for international representation and peacebuilding opportunities.