With Infinity War, Deadpool, Black Panther, and Incredibles 2 already in the bag so far this year, Ant-Man and the Wasp out today and Aquaman down the pipe…there is certainly no shortage of hero fare to choose from in 2018. While keeping up with the continual expansion of the Marvel and DC cinematic universes becomes more and more daunting, there is a much less assuming hero making the rounds at the box office this summer.
It’s incredibly difficult to have grown up in America over the last 60+ years without having at least heard of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Starting in the 1950s Fred Rogers made it his personal mission to use television as a positive medium for children. Won’t You Be My Neighbor? follows Rogers’ career for half a century and brings new context to his work 15 years after his death.
Director Morgan Neville has been making high quality documentaries for the past two decades and his latest effort may just be his masterpiece. On the surface, Mr. Rogers may seem like something of a character but this documentary shows the exact opposite. Using interviews with Fred’s wife Joanne, his children Jim and John, several of his colleagues in television and even world renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma, Neville paints an intimate portrait of a man who is exactly the way he depicted himself on camera. The combination of archive footage and personal stories provided insight into Fred’s character as a man and served to reinforce his position as an ambassador for children.
At the outset of his career, in an almost prophetic way, Fred understood the massive potential and influence inherent in television but believed that the reliance on advertising and merchandising was an obstacle to education. On track to become and ordained minister, he put his seminary education on hold to pursue a TV career in which he could use the medium to affect positive change in the lives of children. In his very first week of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood in 1968, he tackled topics like the Vietnam War and presented it to kids in a way they could understand more acutely. The primary focus of the documentary was to take a step back and analyze his approach and his goals when it came to teaching children.
While he may have been unassuming, his position within the public broadcasting and educational programming community was immense…not to mention his incredible popularity with children and families. Only two years into his show, Rogers appeared before the US Senate Subcommittee on Communications to speak against proposed budget cuts aimed at public television funding. In a brief six minutes, he perhaps did more for public television than anyone else.
After a brief sabbatical from his children’s show, Rogers tried his hand at similar programming aimed at adults. Met with less enthusiasm, he often questioned himself but had faith in his mission. He returned to the Neighborhood and continued to make educational and emotionally aware programming for children until 2001. After being diagnosed with stomach cancer late in 2002, he underwent unsuccessful surgery in January of 2003 and passed away from his illness on February 27, 2003.
His profound legacy has lived on in the hearts and spirits of several generations. Countless honors and awards have been bestowed on him during his life and after his death as well. As an ordained minister, Reverend Fred Rogers was able to reach a vast congregation and preach a message of tolerance, acceptance and love, without any overt branding of Christianity. In a world that continues to become increasingly divided, an examination of his methods and his messaging couldn’t come at a better time. A much needed reminder that a little kindness goes a long way.
Recommendation: For anyone who has seen or even heard about Mister Rogers, this is a must see movie. It isn’t as hard hitting as some documentaries that have risen to prominence in recent years, but it’s wonderfully put together. If you happen to have children who didn’t get a chance to ever see the Neighborhood, this is an excellent opportunity to introduce them to a true legend and pioneer.