6 minute read
A beautiful life
Sarah Harding takes a look at the new movie A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood, starring Tom Hanks, which tells the story of Fred Rogers.
Tom Hanks’ latest film brings to life a story about the American children’s television personality, Fred Rogers. From 1968 to 2001, Rogers entertained millions of American children on his show Mister Rogers’ Neighbourhood. He encouraged children to talk about their feelings and proved that this could be achieved without gimmicks or sophistication. Rogers used puppets whose mouths didn’t move and sang self-written songs, to let children know they were special. Often, he would simply talk down the barrel of the lens in a slow and purposeful way to engage with his audience – children over three decades were captivated.
Whilst Irish audiences might not be familiar with Rogers, and therefore not fully appreciate the film, it is the character of the real Fred Rogers that certainly has something to teach us all. He was an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church, and although he never talked explicitly about God on his show, his life of faith resonated so strongly in who he was and what he said that children and parents, over many years, were challenged and changed by encountering him.
The story
The film is based on a true story and is set in 1998 when Esquire journalist, Lloyd Vogel, is tasked with interviewing Fred Rogers for a short piece on American heroes. Lloyd is an investigative journalist who is scathing of the assignment and, not believing that Rogers could be that good and kind in real life, sets about trying to write an exposé piece that will uncover the truth.
Lloyd does discover the real Mr Rogers, but he finds out that he is exactly the same person as the one on screen, and a lasting friendship ensues. Fred’s agent tells Lloyd, “He loves people like you…”, clarifying, “broken ones”. Lloyd is a damaged character, having had a difficult background and ongoing issues with his father. Rogers completely catches Lloyd unawares by sincerely caring, turning most questions directed at him back to the journalist. The plot explores many themes, like forgiveness, kindness and mental health; it’s the sort of film that you will be thinking about long after it is over.
Space for silence and listening
Although Tom Hanks puts in a stellar performance as Mr Rogers, it is the real footage of Fred, available on YouTube, that I found particularly compelling. In many ways Rogers was ahead of his time. Long before the invention of the internet, social media and smartphones, which have undoubtedly contributed to our distracted, hurried and informationoverloaded society; Rogers recognised the importance of space for silence and listening. To watch this unfold on screen is actually quite jarring, simply because it appears so alien, not only to how other films are shot, but also to real life.
There is a lovely scene when Fred meets Lloyd for the first time. He is in the middle of filming and is already frustrating the director and production staff because he has taken a long time to talk to a small boy, with health issues, who is visiting the set. They are now long past the schedule and as the director calls for action, Fred spies Lloyd waiting for him and immediately strides over, hand outstretched. He does not hurry his introduction, but takes time to let Lloyd know that he is welcome, his visit has been keenly anticipated and he is looking forward to spending time talking to him.
Lloyd is taken aback by such sincerity and kindness, as well as the level of space and focus that Fred has bestowed on him, a stranger. In real life, the character of Lloyd Vogel is based on the journalist Tom Junod (his article is still available to view on Esquire’s website and is well worth a read). Tom’s friendship with Fred lasted until Rogers’ death five years later, but Tom testifies to his persistent effort to remain interested in Tom’s life, sending him over 70 (lengthy!) emails in that time.
Rogers’ comments on the need for silence resonate even more powerfully today, “I’m very concerned that our society is much more interested in information than wonder; in noise rather than silence… how do we encourage reflection?”
He was passionate about creating space for other people and knew the value this had on others, “If we can be present to the moment, to the person that we happen to be with…that’s what’s important.”
Mental health
Another area in which Fred was ahead of his time was in regard to mental health. He recognised the importance of developing good mental health in children, which would then impact on their adult lives. In one scene Fred has to put up a tent and struggles with it for several minutes. The director wants to re-shoot it for a cleaner take, but Fred prefers to leave it, commenting, “Children need to know that adults struggle with things too.”
Above all he identified the need for children to talk about their feelings, and so on the show he didn’t shy away from raising big issues like divorce, death, bullying, anger and sadness. All of this was done in a slow, deliberate manner, almost as though Rogers had an audience of one and was engaging through the camera solely with that one child. He would often end his shows by saying, “There’s no one in the whole world like you, and I like you, just the way you are.”
One of the most poignant moments of the film is when Lloyd Vogel’s family are at his father’s bedside, knowing that he doesn’t have long to live. Fred, who has come to visit, senses the awkwardness and says, “You know, death is something many of us are uncomfortable speaking about. But to die is to be human. And anything human is mentionable. Anything mentionable is manageable.”
Tom Hanks
The real Fred Rogers © Getty Images
Faith
Fred’s wife, Joanne, was keen that the scriptwriters didn’t portray Fred as a saint, because she knew he wasn’t one. The actress playing her is able to get this across, insisting that Fred worked hard at developing a love for others, namely by reading Scripture, praying for people by name and writing letters.
It is humbling to be reminded that Fred Rogers didn’t have a superhero power to show kindness and love to others – he was intentional in his behaviour because he was disciplined to spend time and effort developing his character. He had an attitude of gratitude for his life, despite enduring some difficult obstacles of isolation and bullying growing up. In another moving scene, when Fred takes Lloyd out to a restaurant, he suggests they take a minute to stop, think and give thanks for all the people who have shaped their lives, people who have “loved you into being”. The restaurant goes quiet and everyone pauses for a whole minute – the power of this silence on screen is profound.
The life of Fred Rogers should be inspirational to us all, particularly as people of faith. His Christian character was so marked, so utterly different, that it stood out, even peculiarly, to everyone. Perhaps our challenge is to ponder the following words by Rogers and consider what other people see when they look at us: “It’s easy to fall into the trap of believing what we do is more important than what we are when of course the opposite is true. What we are ultimately determines what we do.”
