Jennifer C. Garlen is an independent scholar in Huntsville, Alabama, where she teaches courses on literature, film, and popular culture for lifetime learning programs. Anissa M. Graham is a senior lecturer in the English department at the University of North Alabama where she teaches courses in writing and literature.

Table of Contents

Preface

Part One : Audience Participation

How to Become a Muppet; or, The Great Muppet Paper

BEN UNDERWOOD

The Muppets as a Metaphor for the Self

GIDEON HABERKORN

Stuffed Suits and Hog-Wild Desire

LYNNE D. SCHNEIDER
The Muppet Show Re-Forms the Fringe

ANISSA M. GRAHAM

Part Two : Adaptation and Performance

From Muppetry to Puppetry

JENNIFER STOESSNER

The Muppets and Shakespeare

HUGH H. DAVIS

"Starring Kermit the Frog as Bob Cratchit": Muppets as Actors

GINGER STELLE

A Rainbow for the 21st Century: The Muppets' Wizard of Oz and the Reimagination of the American Myth

ALISSA BURGER

Gonzo, (the Great) Cultural Critic

JENNIFER C. GARLEN

Part Three : Theories and Strategies

The American Journey Narrative in the Muppets Movies

TARA K. PARMITER

It's Time to Get Together for Some Sex and Violence on The Muppet Show?

KATHLEEN E. KENNEDY

"British to a Fang, British to a Whisker": Reconsidering The Muppet Show's National Identity

RAYNA DENISON
The Muppet Show as Educational Critique

JULIE G. MAUDLIN

The Uniquely Strong but Feminine Miss Piggy

MARYANNE FISHER and ANTHONY COX

Muppets and Money

ANDREW LEAL

Appendix: The Muppet Show
About the Contributors
Index