I like fan theories. I’ve liked them for a long time. But I think it’s crucial for any fan theorist to embrace the ideas put forth by Roland Barthes in his 1967 essay “The Death of the Author”. Specifically, the idea that it is not up to the author to interpret their text but that, once put into the universe, an author loses the ability to explain the meaning of their work.
Why does this matter to fan theories? Because I think there is this irritating tendency for people to try to deny a fan theory based on something that an author, writer, director or actor has said. Or, even worse, to say a fan theory was “confirmed” because someone involved in the original work, usually a film, said they agree with it.
For examples of this, google fan theory confirmed or fan theory debunked or something along those lines. (This Buzzfeed article is a nice example of this frustrating trend.)
Before I go on—including how this relates to Kermit the Frog—I should define fan theory. You may recall (or you may be learning for the first time) that I have written what I consider to be the ultimate definition of fan theory:
a form of contemporary critical theory, in which the audience analyzes the text and creates a new interpretation that explains “what really happened,” creating a separate narrative aside from or within the narrative.
All right, it’s time to talk about the Kermit the Frog did 9/11 fan theory.
Did Kermit the Frog Do 9/11?
The short answer is yes. Yes, Kermit the Frog either directly or indirectly caused 9/11 in the Muppet Cinema Universe — and because of the arguments made by Roland Barthes, there’s nothing anyone can say to prove otherwise.
Now, the long answer.
According to the Wikipedia entry for the 2002 made-for-TV Muppet movie It’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie:
The movie was filmed after the September 11 attacks; one scene, set in a version of 2003 where Kermit was never born, shows the Twin Towers visible in the background. This was due to the photo background mural being created prior to the attacks.[2] Years after the film’s release, this detail gained viral attention, inspiring jokes that the creation of Kermit the Frog somehow indirectly led to 9/11.
To be clear: this is a fan theory. The intended interpretation of It’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie is unequivocally not that, in the It’s a Wonderful Life parallel universe of The Muppet Cinematic Universe where Kermit the Frog was never born, 9/11 did not happen and it’s because of something Kermit did.
Here is Kermit, visiting this parallel universe to see Miss Piggy, with the World Trade Center behind him.
I consider it to be a perfect fan theory for a few reasons:
- “Kermit did 9/11” is not the intended interpretation of the narrative
- “Kermit did 9/11” explains what happened, not what will happen. It is based on the text in its entirety but is not a prediction for a future Muppet film.
- “Kermit did 9/11” has clear evidence to back it up.
According to Know Your Meme (a website which is great for this kind of thing), the director of It’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie has repeatedly tried to set the record straight on this one:
On May 21st, 2014, the film’s director, Kirk Thatcher,[2] replied to a deleted post by Twitter user named @BradFraggle and appeared to respond to a question about the Twin Towers’ inclusion by saying, “No. It implies that the background cycloramas/translights that were available in Canada were more than a year old…” (shown below, left), implying the Twin Towers’ inclusion was simply an error in filming rather than an intentional choice. He repeated the explanation to another Twitter user two years later.[10]
Meanwhile, the Muppets fandom Wiki has this paragraph:
When Kermit travels to an alternate universe in the November 2002 TV movie It’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie, the Twin Towers can be seen outside Miss Piggy’s apartment window. According to director Kirk Thatcher, their appearance was not meant to imply that Kermit is somehow responsible for the destruction of the towers, but simply “the background cycloramas/translights that were available in Canada were more than a year old.”[1][2]
There are a few conclusions one can take from this:
- Kirk Thatcher doesn’t have much of an imagination, at least when it comes to Kermit the Frog causing 9/11.
- The people who’ve been editing the Wikipedia page for It’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (which, I swear, does not include me; I’ve never edited it) apparently don’t think Thatcher’s POV matters when it comes to Kermit causing 9/11.
- The editors of the Muppet fandom Wiki, meanwhile, do value Thatcher’s opinion.
- Points 1 and 2 suggest the editors of Wikipedia, or at least this particular Wikipedia page, respect the argument laid out by Roland Barthes in 1967.
But wait. What if there was never any kind of 9/11 in the Muppet Cinematic Universe?
This is the only other explanation I can think of. As far as I know, 9/11 has never been depicted or directly referenced in any Muppet film or television series.
So did Kermit cause 9/11, or did 9/11 never happen in any of the Muppet timelines?
Yes, Kermit did 9/11. Or did he?
So in conclusion: everyone who wants to talk about fan theories should read “The Death of the Author” by Roland Barthes. You can find it in his collection of essays Image-Music-Text.
And yes, it is for these reasons that I believe that Kermit the Frog caused 9/11 in the Muppet Cinematic Universe, either directly or indirectly, regardless of what anyone else says.