Must See Movie: A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

If A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood doesn’t earn Tom Hanks an Oscar, I will be not just surprised, but deeply dismayed.

 

Hanks resurrected the man without making him a saint or a hero — something Fred Rogers himself would find satisfying, I hope.

 

I discovered Fred Rogers very late in life–less than a year ago, in fact. By discovered, I mean actually watched Mister Rogers Neighborhood on Amazon Prime for the first time ever. So, to me he isn’t old news, he’s new news. And I love him deeply and dearly.

 

When the show originally aired, I was already a teenager, so a kids show just wasn’t on my radar.

 

Oh, I’d heard of Fred Rogers, of course. He’d become part of our culture in the same way Star Trek did. I knew who he was and that he was much loved.

 

Which is why I decided to sit down one evening this past year to watch a few of the earliest episodes (back when they were filmed in black and white). I got hooked. So I watched the later ones, too, the ones filmed in color.

 

And my first thought was, this is what television should have been from the get go: a medium that helps inform and civilize (heal) people. Instead, it became the boob tube, a place where people watch actors and (these days) moderators misbehave in countless unbecoming ways. Instead of helping build toward a more gentle, understanding peaceable populace, entertainment usually throws a camera lens in the opposite direction.

 

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood is a movie about a humble but noble man whose sole goal was to help children develop emotional intelligence skills that could carry them through life in ways that honor them and the people they come into contact with.

 

Fred Rogers was a civilizing influence.

 

Mister Rogers reminds me in many ways of someone else I did know personally: actor DeForest Kelley, another humble, noble guy whose presence was a blessing.

 

These two men were quintessential gentlemen. They paid close, intimate attention to the people they were with. They could sense your challenges but refused to view them as brokenness. They liked people just the way they were. We’re all survivors. We’re all resilient and courageous enough, or we wouldn’t still be here!

 

Contrast this (just for a moment) to what you see in the Oval Office and too many other public and private places these days. Now, move on. Quickly. Don’t dwell on it or waste a lot of energy bitterly regretting what is. Just acknowledge that what you see these days is what needs to change. There’s far too much pain and self-inflicted wounding on display.

 

Fred Rogers would likely view the current occupant of the White House as a deeply troubled man and leave it at that. He’d pray for him.  And he’d probably cry for him. (Fred Rogers was a Republican and an ordained Presbyterian minister.) I presume he wouldn’t vote for him, since the two are polar opposites when it comes to the way they treat others.

 

Fred Rogers was a vegetarian. He couldn’t bring himself to eat anything that had a mother. He was that in tune with suffering. Koko the Gorilla watched his show and, when she met him, she took off his shoes (because that’s what he did every day on his show) and cuddled him. She knew good folks when she saw them. So do you.

 

I want to become as good a human being as Fred Rogers was. This means watching my tongue when I’m commenting on The Orange One, and not swearing when I’m frustrated. It means turning over a new leaf and returning to the person I was before I went to Hollywood and learned how to make such good use of the F word.

 

It means remembering that every interaction has the potential to change a life for good or for ill, just by fully showing up and paying attention. Listening. Truly hearing and understanding instead of formulating a response or a rebuttal while the speaker is still speaking.

 

It’s okay to let silence happen between comment and response. It’s okay to care and to show it.

 

In fact, it’s crucial to show it.

 

The movie isn’t a morality play, or a sermon. It’s a prayer, a whisper, an inviting gateway to another way of behaving and belonging.

 

I want to be as attentive, compassionate and love-ly as Fred Rogers and DeForest Kelley.

 

It’s a tall order, but I’m going to give it my best shot from now on…

 

For those of you who have seen the movie and wondered (as I did) what the reporter wrote about Fred Rogers in Esquire magazine, here’s a link to it: https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a27134/can-you-say-hero-esq1198/

 

For the rest of you haven’t seen the movie yet, I hope the Esquire article convinces you to go see it. If you haven’t met Mister Rogers up close and personal, you’re missing out. This movie will give you that opportunity. Please don’t pass it up!