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Kermit Culture
Critical Perspectives on Jim Henson’s Muppets
Edited by Jennifer C. Garlen and Anissa M. Graham

ISBN 978-0-7864-4259-1
appendix, notes, bibliographies, index
235pp. softcover 2009

Description
By the end of its five-year run on television, The Muppet Show had transformed its motley cast from fistfuls of felt to multi-media celebrities. Sophisticated and highly individuated, each of the Muppets embodied a conventional character type from classic television comedy. Kermit functioned as straight man to the majority of the show’s jokes. Miss Piggy, the resident diva, evolved from first season chorus girl to full-fledged megastar. A Costello to Kermit’s Abbot, Fozzie peddled his vaudevillian shtick to a tough audience, but his genuine sweetness made him lovable even when his jokes were lame.

These essays represent the work and ideas of a global community of scholars and Muppet enthusiasts, providing a unique perspective on just how Kermit and the rest of the frogs, dogs, bears, and chickens became cultural icons with influences reaching far beyond the world of 1970s television comedy.

About the Author
Jennifer C. Garlen is a lecturer in English at the University of Alabama-Huntsville. Anissa M. Graham is an instructor in the English Department at University of North Alabama.



Table of Contents & Excerpts

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