Sesame Stret is a series that's not afraid to show real world issues in a way kids can understand. Since World Autism Awareness Day is next Thursday April 2. let's talk about the debut of Julia, who's autistic. This episode starts with Big Bird meeting Elmo, Abby, Alan, and their new friend Julia. She doesn't seem responsive to Big Bird saying hello until Alan says she has autism. He then tries befriending her, but has difficulty doing so. This episode is just great. Sesame Street is a show that knows how to be inclusive, and that is very apparent here. The message of the episode is about how being friends with others is not easy, and it's just about taking the time to know each other. Big Bird is essentially a representation of the audience. He's genuinely trying to get along with Julia. However, since he's not familiar with autism, he often asks questions on how to hang with her. I like this given how Big Bird, while pretty level headed, is also innocently naive, and thus would be likely to ask questions so that he can hang with her without problem. It's also a good thing that the characters go out of their way to explain autism to Big Bird, and say it's not his fault. I also like how autism isn't overly generalized. They specifically mention how Julia is like this, and she's still a good friend. Speaking of Julia, she's a very likable character. She displays certain behavioral patterns typically associated with autism, such as being really into her passions, flapping her hands around, and being very sensitive to loud noises. However, what's given more emphasis is her love of art and play . She likes to paint, play boing tag, and has an adorable doll named Fluffster. She does genuinely like Big Bird even if she can't express it properly. So, how does this episode end? Well, when Julia gets scared by the loud noises and calms down because of Alan, she gives Big Bird a flower to make him happy. Before that, he talks to Elmo and Abby and they say he's a good friend and it's not his fault. Later on, they all play together. This episode is just really good.
Review of Meet Julia
