It Matters | Kathryn H. Ross: On ‘Blue’s Clues’ and Hope

Readers, last time we spoke I was waxing poetic about a miniseries that meant a lot to me both as an artist, a writer, and a person of color. Thanks to a summer off and plenty of projects, I’ve had some time to really think about what I wanted to say when I got back to you. As we know, 2021 isn’t necessarily shaping up to be less stressful than 2020. It’s improved in some ways, certainly, and there have been some real moments of light and levity, but there has also been a lot of loss, pain, destruction, and worry. In short, these unprecedented times don’t seem to be going back to “precedented” any time soon. That said, I spent a lot of time over the summer thinking about what’s important to me. I went big scale and small: who I want to be, what I want to do, how I view the world, and what I hope for the future. And that’s where I’ve landed for this month’s column: Hope.

If you’ll remember, my last column was all about the Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier that ran from March to April of this year. As part of my review, I mentioned an artist the show had exposed me to: singer-songwriter Curtis Harding. His song, “On and On” was featured in the final episode of the series, and I absolutely loved it. So, naturally, I went to look Harding up and needless to say, I became a fan. A little over a month later, Harding released a new song called “Hopeful.” Thick with soulful sounds that seem to swelter and personify struggle (this song honestly sounds like it should be part of the soundtrack of a documentary on the Civil Rights Movement and the music video is just that for our times), Harding’s “Hopeful” transported me back to the summer of 2020 when Black Lives Matter was reaching a pitch and the country was paying attention to systemic oppression and racism in a way that it never really has before. Apart from the iconic sound, the song’s lyrics take us even deeper to the mindset of working through and in the midst of oppression to reach a better future. I would like to take it step further and offer that the oppression we might attach this song to doesn’t have to only be racial: it can be anything that oppresses any part of humanity, whether that’s seeing the crisis in Afghanistan unfold, the aftermath of the latest earthquake in Haiti, the unceasing effects of the pandemic that personal “freedoms” are helping to linger, or the horrific scenes coming to us from the Texas border where Haitian immigrants are…being treated like Black people have long been treated in this country.

These lyrics in particular speak to me (emphasis added):

“By the time he hears, your cries will turn into cheers
No fears just hold on tight
Because the darkness will be over by the end of the fight
With doubt and fear, jealousy
All the things that cause casualty
To your soul let it go
Most of all be hopeful (hopeful!)”

Be hopeful. It’s something I’m trying to do and be more. It’s something I’m trying to be intentional about. Most importantly, it’s something I’m trying to notice: where and when hope arises.

This is where Blue’s Clues comes in. A couple of weeks ago a video came out that quickly went viral: It was of Steve Burns, the first host of the beloved kid’s show Blue’s Clues (1996), and he was just talking. The video was a little over two minutes and very simply had Steve speaking to viewers (who, like me, are now grown up) about his pretty abrupt exit from the show in 2002 and the how, why, and what’s he doing now? of his exit. Now, Blue’s Clues was one of my favorite shows as a child and it was something that I kept on the periphery of my life (though I didn’t always notice it’s stayed so close to my heart over the years). In fact, I wrote a poem last summer inspired by Blue and Steve and how they would “skidoo” (leap or jump) into pictures hung on the walls of their home and go to another place entirely. In my poem I imagined myself “skidoo-ing” into the paintings hung around my room to escape the pandemic. I imagined being small again when the heaviness of this world didn’t touch me. I was having a pretty nostalgic moment in that piece.

So, when Steve Burns popped up on that video on a random Tuesday earlier this month, it was a moment of purity, light, and happiness for me, and seemingly, all of social media.

I know this probably seems like a big reaction. Maybe it is.

But it got me to thinking: why was that moment so healing and emotional for me and so many others? Why did it fill me with joy and what was undeniably hope?

The answer is simple: I wasn’t expecting it.

In fact, such a video was the last thing I would even think to expect this year or ever. I should mention the video was part of a commemoration of 25 years of Blue’s Clues. But the point still stands: I didn’t expect it. I wouldn’t have expected it. I had no idea this year was any sort of anniversary of the show and why should I? Why would I, now in my twenties, even have that on my radar?

Regardless, the video dropped and it impacted me. It provided a moment of happiness and closure to a wound I didn’t even know I had. Watching it? Seeing such a kind, familiar face say he missed me and never forgot me? It was just what I needed and it came at a time when I really needed it the most.

So, why does that matter? Because it showed me that good things can and do come out of the blue.

And if such things can come out of the blue, why shouldn’t we hope for them? Why shouldn’t we expect them? Why shouldn’t we rest assured that more of those moments are on the horizon both on a personal level and a global one? And to take it a step further, why shouldn’t we be the vehicles that help make hope happen?

Maybe that looks like getting in touch with someone you’ve fallen out with. Someone you thought you’d never speak to again but still care for and miss. Maybe an honest acknowledgment about some pain, or even simply, an “I miss you” or “I never forgot you” or “I hope you’re okay” would be enough to bring hope and healing in a dark place. Maybe it’s reconnecting with family members or friends from your past. Maybe it’s sending a nice note in the mail to someone who really needs it. I know all of this probably sounds and feels daunting, but if you got any sort of stirring in your heart while reading it, maybe that means it’s exactly what you should do.

I guess what I’m saying is that I think the past year and a half we have all gotten very used to bad news. We’ve all gotten used to the worst case scenario and we’ve fallen into a place where we expect the worst in almost every situation. When good things come—when good, small, hopeful, delightful things come—we run the risk of missing them. Did Steve’s video end suffering in the world? No. Did it address anything that really immediately matters? Not really. But it did introduce something: hope. And if the social media response to the video is any indication, hope makes a major difference.

Personally, that little video was further confirmation of what Harding sings about and what I believe God asks us to do: remain hopeful. It was a moment away from fear and grief and jealousy and fatigue. It was a moment to smile. It was a moment of reconnecting with my innocence, and it rippled. I shared that video with my mom, my sister, my friends, my cousins, and on, and each time the reaction was the same: watery eyes, a huge smile, and the exclamation that that video was just what they needed at that particular time.

What if we could have moments like that every day? What if we came through for people when they needed it most but were least expecting it? What if we remained hopeful and looked at life through eyes that notice hope when it comes? It wouldn’t fix all of our problems, but I think it would change us from the inside out, and that alone might make it a little easier to live in these times.