A new video shows Andrew Garfield having an emotional conversation with Elmo de Sesame Street about the loss of his mother and his thoughts on the meaning of grief. Garfield’s many roles include starring The Amazing Spider-Man, The social network, Summit of the mountain and Tick, Tick… Boom!the latter two earned him Oscar nominations for Best Actor. Sesame Street is known for approaching difficult subjects in a way that helps children understand them better.
In an official video Helmet account X, the Sesame Street character asks Garfield how he is. When Garfield says he’s doing “OK,” Elmo encourages the actor to talk about what’s on his mind. Garfield then tells Elmo that he is thinking about his mother, who passed awayand how he misses her. He then tells Elmo that it’s okay to miss someone, and that the sadness you feel is a gift, showing that you truly loved the person who passed away. Garfield’s comments on grief can be found below:
You know, that sadness is kind of a gift, it’s a lovely thing to feel, because it means you really loved someone when you miss them. And when I miss someone, I remember, when I miss my mother, I remember all the affection I received from her. All the hugs I received from her.
Garfield then explained how whenever he remembers his mother, it makes him feel close to her. He also said that when he remembers his mother, he can both miss her and celebrate her life. At the end of the video, Garfield revealed that Elmo was his mother’s favorite character in Sesame Street. Check out the rest of Garfield’s discussion in the comments and video below:
It makes me feel close to her when I miss her, in a strange way. So I’m happy to have all the memories of my mom, and the joy she brought me, and the joy she brought my brother, and my dad, and everyone she knew. Everyone around you. So when I miss her, I remember it’s because she made me so happy. So I can celebrate her and miss her at the same time.
What Garfield’s conversation with Elmo means for viewers
The actor’s words show how pain means you really loved someone
In the video, Garfield was able to speak honestly about how important his mother was to him and how much he misses her. By talking about how grief is a reminder of how important love is, it shows that his mother is still making an impact on him. In November 2021, Garfield made an appearance on The Last Show with Stephen Colbertwhere he talked about how his grief over his mother’s death was the “unexpressed love” that he was no longer able to share with her.
Although death is a difficult topic to talk about with children, Sesame Street I’ve covered this before. After the death of Will Lee, who played Mr. Hooper in the series, the series creators decided to have the character die in the series. This led to an important episode where the human characters had to explain to Big Bird, as well as young viewers, why Mr. Hooper had left.
Our opinion on Garfield’s conversation with Elmo
A lesson for viewers of all ages
Although Sesame StreetThe main target audience of is children, viewers of all ages can take something away from Garfield’s conversation with Elmo. One of the reasons the video is so moving is how honest the Spider-Man alum is being about his feelings of grief, making it relatable to anyone who has lost someone. By launching the video on X, it also shows that Sesame Street knows how important this message is for viewers of any age.
Source: Helmet/X
One of the longest-running children’s television shows in the world, Sesame Street debuted in 1969 and still airs episodes to this day. The show uses puppets (courtesy of Jim Hensen’s Muppets), animation and live-action to bring a series of educational segments to children, always maintaining a comedic and sincere tone.
- Release date
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November 10, 1969
- Seasons
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53
- Creator(s)
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Joan Ganz Cooney, Lloyd Morrisett, Jim Henson