Mr. Rogers

By: Anton Massopust III

Take everything you know about children’s television and forget about it. That’s Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.

In the new documentary, “Won’t You Be My Neighbor,” about Mr. Rogers, we learn about one of the guiding forces to many children and helping their development. The documentary covers interesting aspects that you didn’t know about the children’s television personality. Fred Rogers was going to become a minister but took a vacation before being ordained. He then discovered a little thing called television and decided it could be a great tool for childhood education. Before returning to the Seminary, he got involved in public television in Pittsburgh.  He was the first to do an educational kids’ program without fancy masks and jumping through hoops. He introduced everyone to Daniel Tiger, who in many ways was his alter ego. Mr. Rogers voiced all 10 puppets including King Friday, X the Owl, Lady Elaine Fairchild, Henrietta Pussycat, etc.

We also find out a lot about Mister Rogers’ backstory. As a small boy, he was very ill and spent a lot of time inside while everyone else was playing. When he developed Mister Rogers Neighborhood, he tackled hard subjects that no other television show would touch with a ten-foot pole. These subjects included racism, death, war, assassination, etc. As a Minister, he preached in his own way. He felt that children needed to hear the truth about these subjects and he never talked down to kids. 

Mr. Rogers single-handedly saved PBS programing when President Nixon wanted to cut their budget to divert the funds to the Vietnam War. The rest of it, I’ll let you discover on your own. This is a well-made wonderful documentary. It’s told through interviews and footage that Fred Rogers made throughout his career. There were interviews with his castmates, his sons, and his widow. Keep a big box of tissues handy. It’s very heartfelt and moving. We need more people like Fred Rogers today.