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