why is elmo a monster

i was thinking about the monstrosity of elmo when i saw "elmo grows up" rehearsals in front of the staples center whilst walking in to BEA.

elmo, you see, never actually grows up. this is what is truly monstrous about him. it isn't the red fur, or the odd body-shape. plenty of animals have red fur and odd bodies and do not qualify as monsters.

elmo is a mosnter because he is stuck in this one mindset, this one moment in time. he never ages. he never grows. he lives in a moment that he'll never escape.

though he is not a dangerous, nor particularly scary monster, he qualifies as monstrous because of that simple fact. imagine what it must be like, to be six for thirty years. to always look forward to someday when you'll grow up, but to never actually reach that day.

all elmo's friends age around you. every year new friends arrive, but they too shall outgrow elmo's moment in time.

children's television, like baboons, can be quite scary if you think about it a while.