''Jalan Sesama'' is the Indonesian adaptation of the American children's television series, ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...

''. The series was produced by Creative Indigo Productions in association with

Sesame Workshop Sesame Workshop (SW), originally known as the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), is an American nonprofit organization and Television station, television company that has been responsible for the production of several educational children's ...

. On 13 April 2020, due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the series re-aired on TVRI as part of '' Belajar dari Rumah'' programming block sponsored by

Ministry of Education and Culture A ministry of education and culture is a cabinet position in the governments of several nations. In some nations the ministry of education and the ministry of culture are separate departments; in others, the ministry of education and culture al ...

History

In March 2006, the series was created with funding by the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

government through

USAID The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an agency of the United States government that has been responsible for administering civilian United States foreign aid, foreign aid and development assistance. Established in 19 ...

, which totaled US$8.5 million. Filming for the series took place in

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

beginning in May 2007. A total 156 episodes were planned. Mohammad Zudhi acted as the series educational consultant. The series debuted on 18 February 2008 on

Trans7 PT Duta Visual Nusantara Tivi Tujuh (previously PT Duta Visual Nusantara), operating as Trans7 or TRANS7 in all caps (stylized TRɅNS, 7, pronounced ''Trans Tujuh'' in Indonesian, formerly known as TV7) is an Indonesian free-to-air television b ...

. A

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

to accompany the show, Jalan Sesama Magazine, was scheduled to release in April of the same year.

Content

The program's set resembles an Indonesian neighborhood, with clay-tiled houses, a snack cart, and a motorcycle taxi stop. Traditional forms of performance, including

gamelan Gamelan (; ; , ; ) is the traditional musical ensemble, ensemble music of the Javanese people, Javanese, Sundanese people, Sundanese, and Balinese people, Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussion instrument, per ...

and

wayang ( , ) is a traditional form of puppet theatre play originating from the Indonesian island of Java. The term refers both to the show as a whole and the puppet in particular. Performances of wayang puppet theatre are accompanied by a ''gamel ...

, were included in segments. The pilot episode showed the characters preparing for, and later partaking in, a celebration for the opening of a new library. Guest stars in the first season included Hetty Koes Endang, Titiek Puspa, Gilang Ramadhan, and Surya Saputra.

Messaging

''Jalan Sesama'' teaches watchers about diversity, environmental awareness, and positive character building. The show avoided mentions of religion for its first season, due to the topic's sensitive nature. Season 3 of the series focused on the environment, and included information on how to prepare for natural disasters. Season 5 of the show had creativity as its main theme.

Characters

*Momon - A 5-year-old yellow

monster A monster is a type of imaginary or fictional creature found in literature, folklore, mythology, fiction and religion. They are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive, with a strange or grotesque appearance that causes Anxiety, terror ...

boy who is very neat and loves drawing and counting. *Putri - An active and extroverted young girl who is always asking Momon for help. *Tantan - A wise

orangutan Orangutans are great apes native to the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia. They are now found only in parts of Borneo and Sumatra, but during the Pleistocene they ranged throughout Southeast Asia and South China. Classified in the genus ...

that settles every dispute on Jalan Sesama. *Jabrik - A baby

rhinoceros A rhinoceros ( ; ; ; : rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant taxon, extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family (biology), famil ...

that is always complaining and laughing. *

Elmo Elmo is a Muppet character on the children's television show ''Sesame Street''. A furry red monster who speaks in a high-pitched falsetto voice and frequently refers to himself in the third person, he hosts the last full 15-minute segmen ...

- introduced in the show's third season

Episodes

The series consisted of about 52 half-hour episodes each season, with a total of 156 episodes over three seasons.

Impact

A 2010 study found that children who watched the program showed greater improvements in cognitive skills, cultural awareness, environmental awareness, health and safety knowledge, literacy, mathematics, and social development than children who had not watched the program.

References

{{Sesame Street international 2000s Indonesian television series 2008 Indonesian television series debuts 2010s Indonesian television series 2010 Indonesian television series endings Indonesian children's television series Indonesian-language television shows Indonesian television series based on American television series Sesame Street international co-productions Puppetry in Indonesia