This WON'T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR? Clip Offers a Behind-The-Scenes Look at MISTER ROGERS' NEIGHBORHOOD
“Love is at the root of everything. All learning. All parenting. All relationships. Love or the lack of it. And what we hear and see on the screen is part of who we become.”
I have so many fond memories of sitting in front of my TV when I was a kid and watching Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. The man behind that series, Fred Rogers, taught so many valuable lessons to help kids grow up to be decent human beings. It's kinda sad that kids these days don't get to grow up with this kind of show in their lives.
If you grew up watching the show, you might be interested to know that there's a documentary that's been made called Won't You Be My Neighbor. This doc gives us an intimate behind-the-scenes look at the classic series and the lasting legacy that Fred Rogers left behind.
Today we have a clip from the series to share with you that features producer Margy Whitmer talking about how the low-budget quality of the show didn't matter. It was the core values of the show that the people connected with. You can watch that clip below. Here’s the synopsis for the doc:
With his gentle voice and heartfelt words of wisdom, Fred Rogers served as a compassionate surrogate father for generations of American children who tuned in to public television. He believed in love as the essential ingredient in life and was able to assist kids through difficult situations armed merely with handmade puppets suggesting tolerance and acceptance. An ordained Presbyterian minister, Mr. Rogers made speaking directly and openly to children his life’s work, both on and off his long-running show. He was at the forefront of a movement devoted to meeting the specific needs of children and was considered a radical back then for saying, “I like you just the way you are.”
Animated sequences are peppered between archival footage of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and interviews with Fred Rogers’s family, friends, and colleagues. Examining Rogers’s legacy, Academy Award–winning director Morgan Neville (20 Feet from Stardom) offers a deliberate and beautiful tribute to an authentic human being and provides a much-needed salve for these often-fraught times.
Won’t You Be My Neighbor? premiered at Sundance and it will hit theaters on June 8, 2018.