Fraggle Rock
Fraggle Rock was a 1980s television show featuring underground Muppet (part marionette and part puppet) creatures called Fraggles who inhabit an subterranean society without hierarchy or laws. Creator Jim Henson, described by colleagues as a "gentle anarchist,"[1] intended the show to promote "world peace" and "international understanding." In fact, Fraggle Rock ended up being the first U.S. television show to be broadcast in the Soviet Union, perhaps playing some small part in tearing the Iron Curtain. According to Henson's daughter, "'Fraggle Rock' emphasized notions of community, environmentalism (and) spirituality."[2]
The Fraggles live underground and, as one character emphasizes, "Fraggles don't have any bosses [...] We each lead ourselves and we all lead each other." He then launches into a song describing their egalitarian ethos:
For you can never, ever, ever/
You can never, never, never/
be the boss/
of someone else./
No, you can never, ever, ever/
You can never, never, never/
be the boss/
of someone else![3]
Muppet Wiki explains the fictional history of how ancient fraggles went from a hierarchical society to "anarchy."
Ancient Fraggles fed on cave mushrooms. They were bald and wore hats to keep their heads warm. In contrast to their modern-day anarchy, the ancient Fraggles had leaders, laws (one of which forbade laughter), and prisons.
A prophecy held that a great and wondrous Fraggle named Blundig would one day come to rule the Rock. When Blundig finally showed up (during the reign of Fishface Fraggle), she made the revolutionary suggestion that Fraggles should abandon the idea of leaders in favor of each leading himself and all leading each other. It was she who invented the "dance your cares away" lyrics of the Fraggle Rock Theme, which were immediately recognized as an inspiring concept and ushered in a new era in Fraggle history.[4]
There have been various spin-offs and reboots of the show since the 1980s.
