Sunday, July 15, 2018

WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR? (2018) *** ½


In the early ‘60s, Fred Rogers ditched the seminary for a career in public television.  It’s hard to imagine what the world would’ve been like if he went into the priesthood.  He certainly got his message of positivity to a wider audience on PBS than in any church.  As a person who was practically raised in front of a TV, some of my earliest memories of television come from Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood.  Because of that, I felt it was my duty to see this documentary in the theater.

Mr. Rogers’ secret was that he didn’t look down on children.  He treated them as an equal.  Even though they were small, he realized their feelings and emotions were as big as any adult’s.  This seems simple and obvious now, but in the ‘60s, it was something of a radical approach.

He also tackled important, often painful subjects in a frank way.  Bobby Kennedy’s recent assassination was dealt with in a truthful and straightforward manner that young and old could understand and appreciate.  The amazing thing is that the messages from his earliest shows are still relevant today, over fifty years later.  (King Friday wants to build a wall.)  

We also see Rogers singlehandedly saving public television as we know it.  In the late ‘60s, Nixon wanted to drastically slash public television’s budget.  Rogers’ impassioned plea was so moving that the curmudgeonly senators all but place the money in his hands.  That just goes to show what a positive effect the man had on not just kids, but adults too.

The film acknowledges the fact that Rogers more or less became an old stick in the mud in his later years.  That probably had more to do with the way the world had grown more cynical to his teachings over time.  However, his influence left a mark on generations to come and won’t be forgotten any time soon. 

No comments:

Post a Comment