I don't often do reviews, but I'll make an exception for this one. We saw A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood this afternoon and cannot recommend it enough.
Go see it. Bring tissues. Bring a box.
It won't be the story you're expecting. It's better. It's needed.
It's the story of what happens when we collide with unrelenting kindness. Told through the eyes of a cynical, investigative journalist. The article that this film is based on is an amazing text piece. The way it has been adapted into film is remarkable. The framing structure alone is excellent.
The film shares a lot with its catalyst. It is unassuming. It isn't showy. It takes it's time. There's a point in the film where you experience with the characters a moment of complete silence. If you know Mr. Roger's story, you probably know why.
I guarantee it will stick with you long after you leave the theater.
If you need to feel a little better about the world, go enjoy the afternoon or evening. It's worth it.
Showing posts with label Mr. Rogers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mr. Rogers. Show all posts
Sunday, November 24, 2019
Sunday, November 25, 2018
Won't You Be My Neighbor?
"I believe that Jesus gave us an eternal truth about the universality of feelings. Jesus was truthful about his feelings: Jesus wept, he got sad; Jesus got discouraged; he got scared; and he reveled in the things that pleased him. For Jesus, the greatest sin was hypocrisy. ... Jesus had much greater hope for someone like [a tax collector or prostitute] than for someone who always pretended to be something he wasn't."
Jamie and I recently watched the documentary Won't You Be My Neighbor? regarding the life and work of Fred Rogers, better known as Mr. Rogers, of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood fame. And I cannot recommend this documentary enough. I was never a Mr. Rogers kid, but as I've mentioned before, I wished I could have been. We didn't have access to PBS in Buna and only got to watch it when we would go on trips. As a young child, I know I would have been more drawn to Sesame Street, but I'm becoming more and more of a fan of Mr. Rogers. The more I learn about him, the more I appreciate him and see what I missed.
If you do watch Won't You Be My Neighbor? make sure to have a handkerchief ready. Now I know I'm a sentimentalist, but everyone I watched the film with admitted that they were at the point where if they made a noise, it was going to be a full on ugly cry. What fascinates me about this is that there is not the typical format of building to an emotional climax. There's not that one moment that makes you cry. The payoff of the emotional storyline built through the film. Rather, you cry at the little moments. You cry because of how pure his life and mission was. At how much of a truly extraordinary human being he was. As the New York Times editorial review put it, "Often people are moved to tears by sadness, but occasionally people are moved to tears by goodness." Such is the case with this film and his life.
One thing I greatly appreciated in the film was how it handled Mr. Rogers' faith. An ordained minister, Mr. Rogers viewed his television program as the outlet for his mission. He was fiercely protective of children. They were his mission in life and he saw television as a great medium to reach them.
In research after the film, I came across the quote above from Mr. Rogers, which stood out to me, particularly in light of our continued study around the Prodigal Son. How the divide even goes to how we handle feelings. The divide in truth and hypocrisy. Of emotional intelligence versus emotional hypocrisy.
Emotional intelligence is a term that has been gaining strength over the past twenty-plus years. It refers to the capability of individuals to recognize their own emotions and those of others, to discern between different feelings and to label them appropriately, to use that information to guide their behavior, and to be able to manage or adjust one's emotions to adapt to changes and achieve one's goals. It's emotional honesty and empathy. The idea of recognizing emotions as an important part of our lives and working with them, not pretending that they don't exist or suppressing them so far down as to never surface. And over this period of twenty-plus years, there have been many studies showing the benefits of a higher emotional intelligence including greater mental and physical health.
It's that idea of tearing down the mask we present to society and getting to the true person underneath. Of working to reach the point where the mask is no longer necessary. To where there is no pretense. I think that's why Mr. Rogers liked working with children. There is no pretense there. No guile. Children are honest to a fault, and emotionally expressive to a fault, though they may not know how to process it. It was this honesty that he celebrated.
"And here is the radicalism that infused the show: that the child is closer to God than the adult; that the sick are closer than the healthy; that the poor are closer than the rich and the marginalized closer than the celebrated."
Jesus would even indicate this. "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God." "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
The older brother and the pharisee so often forget this. The are so concerned with appearances, with not lowering themselves, not debasing themselves, that their own refusal to bend gets in their own way and the way of others. You see this in the film where Mr. Roger's insistence that every child be told that they were deserving of love and attention simply because they existed was seen as the root of the problems with the modern generation. He was blamed for the "everyone gets a trophy" and entitlement mentality. A reminder that from the perspective of the older brother or pharisee, works are the ultimate measure. You have to do something that merits praise or affection. That merits kindness or attention.
And this is so hard to break through and so damaging, for it requires a complete reversal of the mentality of the elder brother. It requires an understanding that what they did would never be good enough. That such works were never the standard.
That's why Mr. Rogers would say that Jesus had more hope for the tax collector or prostitute. It was easier to show them their need. When someone starts reaching bottom, they tend to look up, to look for assistance. When someone believes they are already at the top, they are already good enough, they tend to only look down or inward.
I think we see an interesting variation on this idea in the story of the Good Samaritan. For me, it always helps to remember that this parable came in direct response to someone asking Jesus what they greatest commandment was. And Jesus would answer to love God and to love your neighbor. While that generally sounded appropriate to everyone listening, the pharisees in the audience wanted one point of clarification - "who is my neighbor?"
The pharisees wanted a neat box tied around who their responsibility to love covered. Fellow Israelites would be certain. Showing hospitality to foreigners and travelers was to be expected. But surely Jesus could not expect them to love a Samaritan, or worse, a Roman.
Jesus responds with a familiar story that I've written about before. He tells of a Levite and a priest that pass by the injured man and worry more about themselves. What will happen to me if I touch this man? Will I be defiled? What has he done to deserve such a fate? It's important to note that both the Levite and the priest could not imagine themselves in the man's position. They could not empathize enough to see his need for assistance, so they crossed on the other side of the road to avoid him.
The Samaritan on the other hand worried about what would happen to the man if he did nothing. Perhaps, the Samaritan could imagine himself in a similar situation. He knew the treachery of the road and saw how it could have easily been him in that fate.
From the story, we see that the only response to Jesus' question at the end, asking who was the neighbor to the man who feel to robbers, is "he who showed mercy on him." We see that all we come in contact with are people who are our neighbors. And we have the opportunity to be neighborly in response by being the ones who show mercy and love.
Fred Rogers always asked "won't you be my neighbor?" It's an invitation to be one of the people he cared about and prayed for. From my research into his life, once you came into his circle, you were continually in his thoughts and prayers. You were in his life. You were his neighbor and he was going to be the one who showed mercy and love. It was a deliberate and thoughtful choice on his part. And it should be for each of us.
So for my part, I ask you - won't you be my neighbor?
Fred Rogers
Jamie and I recently watched the documentary Won't You Be My Neighbor? regarding the life and work of Fred Rogers, better known as Mr. Rogers, of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood fame. And I cannot recommend this documentary enough. I was never a Mr. Rogers kid, but as I've mentioned before, I wished I could have been. We didn't have access to PBS in Buna and only got to watch it when we would go on trips. As a young child, I know I would have been more drawn to Sesame Street, but I'm becoming more and more of a fan of Mr. Rogers. The more I learn about him, the more I appreciate him and see what I missed.
If you do watch Won't You Be My Neighbor? make sure to have a handkerchief ready. Now I know I'm a sentimentalist, but everyone I watched the film with admitted that they were at the point where if they made a noise, it was going to be a full on ugly cry. What fascinates me about this is that there is not the typical format of building to an emotional climax. There's not that one moment that makes you cry. The payoff of the emotional storyline built through the film. Rather, you cry at the little moments. You cry because of how pure his life and mission was. At how much of a truly extraordinary human being he was. As the New York Times editorial review put it, "Often people are moved to tears by sadness, but occasionally people are moved to tears by goodness." Such is the case with this film and his life.
One thing I greatly appreciated in the film was how it handled Mr. Rogers' faith. An ordained minister, Mr. Rogers viewed his television program as the outlet for his mission. He was fiercely protective of children. They were his mission in life and he saw television as a great medium to reach them.
In research after the film, I came across the quote above from Mr. Rogers, which stood out to me, particularly in light of our continued study around the Prodigal Son. How the divide even goes to how we handle feelings. The divide in truth and hypocrisy. Of emotional intelligence versus emotional hypocrisy.
Emotional intelligence is a term that has been gaining strength over the past twenty-plus years. It refers to the capability of individuals to recognize their own emotions and those of others, to discern between different feelings and to label them appropriately, to use that information to guide their behavior, and to be able to manage or adjust one's emotions to adapt to changes and achieve one's goals. It's emotional honesty and empathy. The idea of recognizing emotions as an important part of our lives and working with them, not pretending that they don't exist or suppressing them so far down as to never surface. And over this period of twenty-plus years, there have been many studies showing the benefits of a higher emotional intelligence including greater mental and physical health.
It's that idea of tearing down the mask we present to society and getting to the true person underneath. Of working to reach the point where the mask is no longer necessary. To where there is no pretense. I think that's why Mr. Rogers liked working with children. There is no pretense there. No guile. Children are honest to a fault, and emotionally expressive to a fault, though they may not know how to process it. It was this honesty that he celebrated.
"And here is the radicalism that infused the show: that the child is closer to God than the adult; that the sick are closer than the healthy; that the poor are closer than the rich and the marginalized closer than the celebrated."
Jesus would even indicate this. "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God." "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
The older brother and the pharisee so often forget this. The are so concerned with appearances, with not lowering themselves, not debasing themselves, that their own refusal to bend gets in their own way and the way of others. You see this in the film where Mr. Roger's insistence that every child be told that they were deserving of love and attention simply because they existed was seen as the root of the problems with the modern generation. He was blamed for the "everyone gets a trophy" and entitlement mentality. A reminder that from the perspective of the older brother or pharisee, works are the ultimate measure. You have to do something that merits praise or affection. That merits kindness or attention.
And this is so hard to break through and so damaging, for it requires a complete reversal of the mentality of the elder brother. It requires an understanding that what they did would never be good enough. That such works were never the standard.
That's why Mr. Rogers would say that Jesus had more hope for the tax collector or prostitute. It was easier to show them their need. When someone starts reaching bottom, they tend to look up, to look for assistance. When someone believes they are already at the top, they are already good enough, they tend to only look down or inward.
I think we see an interesting variation on this idea in the story of the Good Samaritan. For me, it always helps to remember that this parable came in direct response to someone asking Jesus what they greatest commandment was. And Jesus would answer to love God and to love your neighbor. While that generally sounded appropriate to everyone listening, the pharisees in the audience wanted one point of clarification - "who is my neighbor?"
The pharisees wanted a neat box tied around who their responsibility to love covered. Fellow Israelites would be certain. Showing hospitality to foreigners and travelers was to be expected. But surely Jesus could not expect them to love a Samaritan, or worse, a Roman.
Jesus responds with a familiar story that I've written about before. He tells of a Levite and a priest that pass by the injured man and worry more about themselves. What will happen to me if I touch this man? Will I be defiled? What has he done to deserve such a fate? It's important to note that both the Levite and the priest could not imagine themselves in the man's position. They could not empathize enough to see his need for assistance, so they crossed on the other side of the road to avoid him.
The Samaritan on the other hand worried about what would happen to the man if he did nothing. Perhaps, the Samaritan could imagine himself in a similar situation. He knew the treachery of the road and saw how it could have easily been him in that fate.
From the story, we see that the only response to Jesus' question at the end, asking who was the neighbor to the man who feel to robbers, is "he who showed mercy on him." We see that all we come in contact with are people who are our neighbors. And we have the opportunity to be neighborly in response by being the ones who show mercy and love.
Fred Rogers always asked "won't you be my neighbor?" It's an invitation to be one of the people he cared about and prayed for. From my research into his life, once you came into his circle, you were continually in his thoughts and prayers. You were in his life. You were his neighbor and he was going to be the one who showed mercy and love. It was a deliberate and thoughtful choice on his part. And it should be for each of us.
So for my part, I ask you - won't you be my neighbor?
Sunday, April 22, 2018
Heroes for My Children #1 - Mr. Rogers
I have to confess that growing up I was not a Mr. Roger's Neighborhood kid. For one thing, we lived in an area that was not served by a PBS affiliate. That is sadly still true. The closest PBS affiliate comes from Lake Charles and has a very weak signal. When we did visit locations with a PBS station, I was much more of a Sesame Street kid. I loved the action, the colors, the characters of Sesame Street and did not really get exposed to Mr. Roger's Neighborhood at all. And I've still never seen a full episode.
"Would you be mine?
Could you be mine?
Won't you be my neighbor?"
I'm learning more about it and have been intrigued by the Won't You Be My Neighbor? documentary. And what I'm discovering as an adult and parent is what a blessing Fred Rogers truly was. Man, we could use more people like him.
His story is fascinating. Mr. Rogers got into television because he was determined to change it. He was convinced television could be used to nurture, educate, and enrich those who would watch and listen, particularly young viewers. He was a Presbyterian minister who was not interested in preaching; rather, he lived out his faith as a shining example. He refused to play a character on his show, because he knew that being genuine was more valuable.
"One of the greatest gifts you can give anybody is the gift of your honest self. I also believe that kids can spot a phony a mile away."
Through his show, he was determined to bring love and acceptance to every child, especially the lonely, the sick, the alienated, and those struggling to understand or fit in the world around them. He made accommodations to his show to make sure that his viewers understood this. When one young girl wrote in requesting that he audibly announce when he was feeding the fish because she worried about his fish (she was blind), he made sure to incorporate a verbal acknowledgement to each show. He wanted to teach children to love themselves and others, and to address common fears with comforting songs and skits. He took a trip to a children's hospital to show kids a hospital is not a place to fear. He recorded special messages after the assassination of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, as well as during the Gulf War (which was re-aired during the invasion of Iraq).
"When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.'"
His show was also very progressive in its "radical kindness." In the height of racial segregation amid fights to keep public swimming pools divided, Mr. Rogers made Francois Clemmons a recurring character on his show, Officer Clemmons - one of the first African-Americans to have a recurring role on a kids television program. Mr. Rogers would sit with Officer Clemmons with their feet in a wading pool talking and singing songs. As an uncompromising pacifist, Mr. Rogers used his first week of programming to highlight his antiwar beliefs. This would also come up again in 1983 with a skit on the nuclear arms race and in discussions of the Gulf War.
"We live in a world in which we need to share responsibility. It's easy to say 'It's not my child, not my community, not my world, not my problem.' Then there are those who see the need and respond. I consider those people my heroes."
He essentially saved public broadcasting with an impassioned speech 1969 to the Senate Subcommittee on Communications, resulting in an increase in funding from $9 million to $22 million. Interestingly, he also was a key witness for the use of the VCR to timeshift, or to watch programs at another time beyond their airing.
"My whole approach in broadcasting has always been 'You are an important person just the way you are. You can make healthy decisions.' ... I just feel that anything that allows a person to be more active in the control of his or her life, in a healthy way, is important."
I do want to address one meme that is going around. There is a story that is being shared that about both Mr. Rogers and Captain Kangaroo presenting them as war heroes. The particular rumor for Mr. Rogers is that he was a combat marine in Vietnam with over twenty-three confirmed kills and that his sweaters were to cover his tattoos. This rumor is not true. Mr. Rogers never served in the armed forces, going directly from college to media.
And please understand me when I state that our veterans are heroes and there sacrifices should be recognized. But Mr. Rogers story does not need anything added to it to make it more acceptable or more heroic. He does not need some traditionally masculine aspect added to make him a better man. Mr. Rogers is a hero and a great man because of his quiet and unassuming nature which he poured into his work.
"When I say it's you I like, I'm talking about that part of you that knows life is far more than anything you can ever see or hear or touch. That deep part of you that allows you to stand for those things without which humankind cannot survive. Love that conquers hate, peace that rises triumphant over war, and justice that proves more powerful than greed."
That we all could be more like Mr. Rogers.
"Would you be mine?
Could you be mine?
Won't you be my neighbor?"
I'm learning more about it and have been intrigued by the Won't You Be My Neighbor? documentary. And what I'm discovering as an adult and parent is what a blessing Fred Rogers truly was. Man, we could use more people like him.
His story is fascinating. Mr. Rogers got into television because he was determined to change it. He was convinced television could be used to nurture, educate, and enrich those who would watch and listen, particularly young viewers. He was a Presbyterian minister who was not interested in preaching; rather, he lived out his faith as a shining example. He refused to play a character on his show, because he knew that being genuine was more valuable.
"One of the greatest gifts you can give anybody is the gift of your honest self. I also believe that kids can spot a phony a mile away."
Through his show, he was determined to bring love and acceptance to every child, especially the lonely, the sick, the alienated, and those struggling to understand or fit in the world around them. He made accommodations to his show to make sure that his viewers understood this. When one young girl wrote in requesting that he audibly announce when he was feeding the fish because she worried about his fish (she was blind), he made sure to incorporate a verbal acknowledgement to each show. He wanted to teach children to love themselves and others, and to address common fears with comforting songs and skits. He took a trip to a children's hospital to show kids a hospital is not a place to fear. He recorded special messages after the assassination of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, as well as during the Gulf War (which was re-aired during the invasion of Iraq).
"When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.'"
His show was also very progressive in its "radical kindness." In the height of racial segregation amid fights to keep public swimming pools divided, Mr. Rogers made Francois Clemmons a recurring character on his show, Officer Clemmons - one of the first African-Americans to have a recurring role on a kids television program. Mr. Rogers would sit with Officer Clemmons with their feet in a wading pool talking and singing songs. As an uncompromising pacifist, Mr. Rogers used his first week of programming to highlight his antiwar beliefs. This would also come up again in 1983 with a skit on the nuclear arms race and in discussions of the Gulf War.
"We live in a world in which we need to share responsibility. It's easy to say 'It's not my child, not my community, not my world, not my problem.' Then there are those who see the need and respond. I consider those people my heroes."
He essentially saved public broadcasting with an impassioned speech 1969 to the Senate Subcommittee on Communications, resulting in an increase in funding from $9 million to $22 million. Interestingly, he also was a key witness for the use of the VCR to timeshift, or to watch programs at another time beyond their airing.
"My whole approach in broadcasting has always been 'You are an important person just the way you are. You can make healthy decisions.' ... I just feel that anything that allows a person to be more active in the control of his or her life, in a healthy way, is important."
I do want to address one meme that is going around. There is a story that is being shared that about both Mr. Rogers and Captain Kangaroo presenting them as war heroes. The particular rumor for Mr. Rogers is that he was a combat marine in Vietnam with over twenty-three confirmed kills and that his sweaters were to cover his tattoos. This rumor is not true. Mr. Rogers never served in the armed forces, going directly from college to media.
And please understand me when I state that our veterans are heroes and there sacrifices should be recognized. But Mr. Rogers story does not need anything added to it to make it more acceptable or more heroic. He does not need some traditionally masculine aspect added to make him a better man. Mr. Rogers is a hero and a great man because of his quiet and unassuming nature which he poured into his work.
"When I say it's you I like, I'm talking about that part of you that knows life is far more than anything you can ever see or hear or touch. That deep part of you that allows you to stand for those things without which humankind cannot survive. Love that conquers hate, peace that rises triumphant over war, and justice that proves more powerful than greed."
That we all could be more like Mr. Rogers.
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