My neighborhood is your neighborhood too

Love thy neighbor, love thyself. Mr. Fred Rogers managed to preach this simple yet direct theme throughout his entire career. As he stated in Morgan Neville’s film “Love is what keeps us together and afloat,” I felt a sense of comfort wash over me like my mom had just hugged me. It’s something about the confidence in his words that struck me. At the end of the day people just want and need love, and Mr. Rogers preached that in every program he wrote.  

The Filmbar Movie theater is in its second week of running the documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor? The film focuses on the life and career of Fred Rogers, one of television’s most influential stars in his lifetime. Rogers believed television to be a great way to connect with others. 

“What we see and hear on the screen is what we become,” Rogers said while looking right into the camera as if he was there on a stage and speaking to an audience. He looked calm, but his stare was still intense. I looked around and saw that everyone was glued to the screen, hanging on to his every word. The power he had over the room, even though he wasn’t there, was obvious. I looked back at his calm face, waiting to see what he would say next.

For a man who joined the television industry on impulse, Rogers had a long and successful career. After postponing his ordainment, Rogers started writing his own education programs.

His most famous show was Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, which originally aired in 1968. Throughout the show, he tackled topics like death and divorce. He even explained horrific events that occurred in the real world through his stories. Through characters like Daniel Striped Tiger, King Friday XII and Cousin Steven Owl, Rogers conveyed how a child could deal with insecurities or sadness. More importantly, the Neighborhood of Make-Believe taught viewers how important and special it was to be themselves.

One of those children was Rashad Shabazz, who watched the show his entire childhood. To Shabazz, Rogers’ way to connect with others is needed now more than ever.

“I think one of the main reasons that he is so important right now is because of the level of openness and empathy he displayed,” said Shabazz, It’s very difficult for us to see ourselves in other people and respond with other with a sense of kindness and humanity. That is a lost art, and he did that very well.”

The theater was quiet when the film ended. Only Rogers’ gentle voice accompanied by his piano filled the dark room.  People started to shuffle out quietly, mumbling along the way. I waited until the end with Shabazz and his guest Mia Payraudeau. They were holding hands, looking blankly at the screen.

“I think silence is one of the greatest gifts we have.” Rogers had said. We sat in the sad but comfortable silence, remembering a man whose kindness could never be forgotten. It was, as I think Rogers would describe, a beautiful silence.

I broke the silence. I went to talk to them about Fred Rogers. We talked about Neville’s documentary, which highlighted the highs and the lows of this man’s life. It was witty, sometimes funny, and at the end you made you cry. Like I said, it left you thinking in a beautiful silence.  

Mister Fred Rogers’ Neighborhood was only one of the ways Rogers influenced the world. He used his status to teach the importance of love, no matter how dark life can get. Television these days is loud, demanding, and sometimes hateful. But to Rogers, television could be a way everyone could be united by something as simple as a story.

In his own words, “TV has the chance of building a real community out of an entire country.”

For questions, contact the reporter at ldiethel@asu.edu.