Elmo is an interesting study in the evolution of Sesame Street for many reasons. Big Bird was created to be the avatar of the children watching, and there is an interesting generational shift around the show as Big Bird become such a symbol of the establishment that children stopped seeing themselves in Big Bird and a new "child advocate" niche opened up for Elmo to fill. For Mr. Spinney, getting a puppet into that role was an intentional design choice, and for Mr. Clash getting a puppet into that role was a lightning-in-a-bottle lucky moment in the zeitgeist shift and creative renewal of the show. Arguably the show would not have survived if it didn't showcase Elmo as it did, given whatever that generation shift was that happened.
I would hope that there are entire Anthropology and Sociology graduate theses devoted to that shift, because it is fascinating to this lay observer.
I would hope that there are entire Anthropology and Sociology graduate theses devoted to that shift, because it is fascinating to this lay observer.