Julie Klausner most recently appeared on The Bat Segundo Show #330. Ms. Klausner is most recently the author of I Don’t Care About Your Band
Condition of Mr. Segundo: Dodging dubious-minded vegans.
Author: Julie Klausner
Subjects Discussed: [List forthcoming]
EXCERPT FROM SHOW:
Correspondent: I actually wanted to ask you of your keen interest in the Muppets.
Klausner: Yes.
Correspondent: You know, I was very interested in this. You have a great affinity for Miss Piggy.
Klausner: Yes.
Correspondent: But you have a problem with the Miss Piggy-Kermit wedding — particularly the line, “What better way could anything end. Hand in hand with a friend.” You insist that this represents Kermit’s preference for guys, or going out with the guys, instead of having a commitment.
Klausner: Sort of. Or that he, in other words, how he feels about her deep in his heart is almost like how he feels about Fozzy.
Correspondent: Yeah, but…
Klausner: That she’s a friend of his more than anything else. And that she’s not special, I guess.
Correspondent: But you’ve developed an entire theory about your life based off of this. And this caused me some confusion.
Klausner: It’s normal, right?
Correspondent: Well, well, I mean, I want to just poke holes in this.
Klausner: Sure. Poke away.
Correspondent: First of all, you have Miss Piggy voiced in a high-pitched tenor by Frank Oz.
Klausner: Frank Oz. The great, the great Frank Oz.
Correspondent: Yes. And Kermit the Frog by Jim Henson.
Klausner: M’hmm. Rest in peace.
Correspondent: Depending upon how obsessive a Muppets fan you talk to, it’s kind of a bromance thing more than a romance thing.
Klausner: Interesting. Interesting.
Correspondent: So therefore your whole childhood theory may very well be….
Klausner: About a man in drag.
Correspondent: …despoiled by what was going on underneath the Muppets.
Klausner: That’s interesting. So let me ask you this. Do you think of Miss Piggy as a man in drag? Or do you think of her as a lady?
Correspondent: I think of her as a wonderfully poly-gender, polysexual queen.
Klausner: That’s a beautiful answer!
Correspondent: But I’m just wondering if this had occurred to you. Because you’ve seen The Muppet Movie so many times.
Klausner: Oh my god. I love the Muppets. And I’m a huge fan of the Muppets. And my interpretation of the relationship between Kermit and Miss Piggy is — I mean, it’s obviously cheeky. I’m not going to go around and be like, “Children shouldn’t watch this filth! It’s going to give them bad ideas!” But I remember identifying with their relationship as being very — it resembled a lot of the dating experiences that I had. Which is that I was always chasing this sort of skinny guy that was more interested in his friends and his projects and his band or his show than me. And it’s interesting this way to think of Miss Piggy as a drag queen. As Frank Oz. Because drag queens are sort of hyperfeminine in that glamorous jewelry and perfume. And fabulous performers. And all of it.
Correspondent: I’ve seen that karate chop deployed in the Castro.
Klausner: I’m sure you have. And you know what? I don’t even know where the target was. But it was probably well deserved.
The Bat Segundo Show #330: Julie Klausner (Download MP3)