NO! DON'T!
Honestly I was just curious what people's first instinct is when putting on a glove puppet – (I'm talking about the Emu-like variety whose muzzle requires a whole hand, not the Sooty-like arm-waving variety) – because mine has always been to have the puppet turn towards me, then face the front again and open its mouth like it's going wow, and I wondered if this was a universal instinct or if some people immediately went crazy and started chewing the air with it, and what might this might say people, so I was looking for an image or short clip to accompany this question and I had vague memory of a puppet show called Pipkins whose unorthodox look might fit the bill. I looked it up and found this, but it is cursed, so do not watch it. The Ancient Greeks had a word with no English equivalent, meaning crime or sin or pollution or stain, but I can't remember what is, just please do not watch this. Please do, if you like, post in the comments what your first instinct is when donning a beaked glove puppet, because I'm genuinely interested, but please do not ask where this show is meant to take place, or in what, or who furnished whatever it is, or what lesson it's trying to teach, or why Hartley Hare has those Donald Trump reverse eye shadows, or what... or what... or what the puppets are even made of... because that would mean you had watched the video. And you must not watch the video.
Is this "Folk Horror"?
But it's in a city. Is it in a city?
Don't answer.
Don't watch it.
(Post Script: Once my spirit had recovered, I researched the career of long-suffering presenter Wayne Laryea and learnt he hosted another kid's show called Zig Zag which I also vaguely remember. I looked that up, but the first clip I found turned out to be not from that show, but an American show with the same name which is, remarkably, even more mind-scouringly whatever that Greek word mean sthan Pipkins. So PLEASE just answer the nice question about puppets and DO NOT WATCH THIS EITHER!)
I watched Pipkins regularly as a small child, but could remember very little about it other than Hartley Hare and how manky he looked. Seeing the horrific truth now, I can only imagine that my brain wanted to block out the trauma.
ReplyDeleteJust a guess, but maybe the 'reverse eye shadows' are supposed to evoke the lighter patches of fur around hares' (and many other animals') eyes? I mean, they don't really look like them, but given the overall quality of craftsmanship, ine could hardly expect them to.
ReplyDeleteYes, I watched a bit. I have to admit the Greek word that came first to mind was not infection-poison-whatever, but 'meta.' Way to break the paradigm, weird British 1970s kids' TV.
It does seem to be showing off, without doing anything actually impressive.
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