Its a sad day in the neighborhood. Mr Rogers R.I.P.

"no, Mr Johnson"

"oh."

Me too.

If you think Lady Fairchild was scary, you obviously never met my granny (the one who told leching Clark Gable to fuck off etc).

Yowsa. I don't think Bob Keeshan is dead, but can anyone confirm?

What Dan, Nicole, etc. have said. The man was well groovy. Never saw him as a dad figure since I was lucky enough to have a good one, but he was one friendly guy, and that was grand. :-)

Fred McFeely Rogers

"It was meow meow humiliating and degrading. First he meow meow said dirty stuff to me. When I asked him to leave me alone, he got even more meow meow mad. So I was forced to give him a meow meow hummer."

This news is so sad. I never get teary at a CNN story usually, but Mr. Rogers was a Pittsburgh institution. A family friend worked with him. We'd always watch the credits for her name when we were little.

I remember more recently surfing tv sometime after Sept. 11 and catching his show--after the initial shock at him having gray hair, I was fascinated by how matter-of-fact and soothing he was in addressing fear. (though it seemed a bit silly that I was bored enough to watch a children's show)

He didn't have that whole cutesy condescending attitude with kids that most shows have. He was very genuine and caring. R.I.P. :-(

At the Morrissey concert my sister said that Morrisey looked like Mr. Rogers [cardigan sweater]

I reckon it's Tony Hart.

Is it a sort of Sesame Street-like thing?

As corny as the show was (and yes, I did laugh *at* it and was all cynical and said it was crappy and all) it was also wonderful. To see an adult male who cared enough about kids that he was willing to look and act a bit odd in order to be endearing was pretty amazing.

I hope that wherever his soul has passed on to that there are songs and rainbows and make-believe lands for him to explore with all of the children that will welcome him with open arms.

couldn't have said it better myself. RIP. ;'(

In a telephone interview, I think on Fresh Air, he was asked about his daily routines. The one thing that stands out in my memory is that he got up every morning and went downstairs, where he had built a swimming pool under his home, and he swam laps, naked.

For some reason I found that incredibly endearing (though I am also thoroughly convinved that he was without any genitals - because, well, I just can't picture him in that way).

I wish I could see videotape of him doing the voices for the land of make-believe!! One imagines the guy's so plain vanilla but then you realize he has all the f;in weird characters right under the surface of his skin

-- anthony easton (anthonyeasto...) (webmail), May 21st, 2006 4:44 AM. (anthony) (later) (link)

Me too. Especially when he got to "I end the program by saying, 'you’ve made this day a special day by just you being you. There’s no person in the whole world like you, and I like you... just the way you are.'"

Most people have heard of Koko, the Stanford-educated gorilla who could speak about 1000 words in American Sign Language, and understand about 2000 in English. What most people don’t know, however, is that Koko was an avid Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood fan. As Esquire reported, when Fred Rogers took a trip out to meet Koko for his show, not only did she immediately wrap her arms around him and embrace him, she did what she’d always seen him do onscreen: she proceeded to take his shoes off!

these people at the zoo, they lied about koko, completely.

Jesus, I loved Mr. Rogers. I remember the day he died. My brother came in my room and told me he had. Then we sat about 5 minutes in somber silence. What a sad day. What a good man he was.

Oh he could have been a good man, alright, but look at the generations of children he spoiled by telling them they were special. Take it away, Wall Street Jounral douchebag:

Don Chance, a finance professor at Louisiana State University, says it dawned on him last spring. The semester was ending, and as usual, students were making a pilgrimage to his office, asking for the extra points needed to lift their grades to A's.

"They felt so entitled," he recalls, "and it just hit me. We can blame Mr. Rogers."

Fred Rogers, the late TV icon, told several generations of children that they were "special" just for being whoever they were. He meant well, and he was a sterling role model in many ways. But what often got lost in his self-esteem-building patter was the idea that being special comes from working hard and having high expectations for yourself.

[...]

Signs of narcissism among college students have been rising for 25 years, according to a recent study led by a San Diego State University psychologist. Obviously, Mr. Rogers alone can't be blamed for this. But as Prof. Chance sees it, "he's representative of a culture of excessive doting."

Prof. Chance teaches many Asian-born students, and says they accept whatever grade they're given; they see B's and C's as an indication that they must work harder, and that their elders assessed them accurately. They didn't grow up with Mr. Rogers or anyone else telling them they were born special...

Now that is some stupid shit. Long live Mr. Rogers.

there were plenty of generations of kids before the ones last spring who grew up with mr rogers. I'd say the last 15 years of graduating classes grew up with him. so Professor Chance is a dumbass.

what a douche

http://msunderestimated.com/Ermey.jpg
picture: don chance

Immigrants more likely to work harder, take less shit for granted than entrenched ruling class

Film at ALL FUCKING DAY EVERY DAY

Update: May be the fault of a person on television, not you, the fucking parents.

y (attitude of entitlement) = C + x1 (exposure to mr. rogers)

R = .00000000001

I thought Asian/Pacific Islanders was a strange choice for his example since, statistically, they're outpacing pretty much everybody in everything when it comes to education.

Also yeah, middle class white kids in feeling entitled shocka.

maybe mr chance should consider the larger picture of how a media climate which panders to the lowest common denominators of base human instinct twenty-four hours a day across every medium imaginable has turned the human race into a batch of brain-damaged sheep unable to read or write much less think for themselves, and then read the article about him bitching about children's teevee, and realize the children's teevee from three decades ago is actually more conducive to intelligent discourse than his phoned-in brain farts from the ivory tower

How does "you are unique" translate to "never take a C from your dickhead professor". That's a long bridge.

if Prof Chance gave me a C i'd set him of fucking fire, and I don't think Mr. Rogers ever condoned that

phoned-in brain farts from the ivory tower

the new spoken word album by ned raggett

Mister Rogers was never broadcast here in Australia and yet the same sense of entitlement seems to be pretty pervasive among the very same generation of kids.

Around the time that he died, I came across a link to a quote by Fred Rogers on another board where he proclaimed himself a supporter of punk rock music. Saying something to the effect that he thinks young people deal with a lot of problems and punk rock music was a valid response and way to channel adolescent frustration. He said that when he was a young man and was having problems with his parents, he would channel that into his piano practice by playing very aggressive and chaotic and he likened that to what punk rockers were doing today (then). He topped it all off by saying that if he was a young person today that would probably be a punk musician too! It was just clueness and well meant enough to be endearing and it stuck with me when I read it, but I've had no luck tracking it down online so far today.

He was a giant of a man. Preternaturally meek and gentle; preternaturally fearless. Read the Esquire interview from several years back. And that moment at the daytime Emmys! And yet he never came off as condescending, self-righeous, dogmatic, judgmental.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCYn21GriYI

Right here. Wow.

the new spoken word album by ned raggett

Hmmm.

This is really fucking stupid. The culture of entitlement is a direct result of the fact that college students are less likely these days to have any interaction with the "real world" until after they graduate. Personally, I'm all for this trend. Let them entitle their way into post-grad jobs at McDonald's while those of us with our feet planted a little more firmly in reality snag the jobs that'll pay us sweet money for not thinking that we should just have everything handed to us on a silver tray.

I was so scared that this thread was revived to tell us that Mr. Rogers had died again.

i keed, messr, i keed.

xpost

Let them entitle their way into post-grad jobs at McDonald's while those of us with our feet planted a little more firmly in reality snag the jobs that'll pay us sweet money for not thinking that we should just have everything handed to us on a silver tray.

http://www.abarnett.demon.co.uk/images/irony.gif

touche

Of course, you realize that I'm speaking as someone who has yet to find that high-paying job which I so richly deserve.

http://www.avclub.com/articles/mister-rogers-neighborhood-greatest-tv-show-ever,91882/

http://www.esquire.com/features/can-you-say-hero-esq1198

happy birthday!

I miss having you in the world, Fred Rogers, but I'm gladder every day that you were here when you were.

http://www.esquire.com/features/can-you-say-hero-esq1198

― j., Thursday, February 13, 2014 3:29 PM (5 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this is one of my favorite things that i have ever read

Tom Hanks -- not Eddie Murphy -- to play Mr. Rogers. #OscarsSoWhite #PBS pic.twitter.com/b5zrcs0upJ

— Dennis Perrin (@DennisThePerrin) January 29, 2018

the only reason people made up the legend of mister rogers having been a sniper in vietnam is because they are terrified that someone like him actually existed and he forcefully dares you to be a better person. so theyre just cynical as hell and also fuck all the people making pedophile jokes about him upthread, closest person i can think of to an actual saint

also he told me i wouldnt get sucked down the bathtub drain and that was a big help

A colleague of mine is one of the most absolutely inspirational humans I know. She keeps a framed photograph of Fred Rogers on her desk. That's not a coincidence. He was by every account and measure, an exemplary human being.

This is lovely and makes me sad and inspired in equal measure:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HV_kxc9PxrQ

I would truly love to see this in the theater, but if my reaction to the trailer (as to so many Mr. Rogers clips) is any indication, I'm not sure I'm comfortable sobbing that much in public.

seriously

omg i'm really looking forward to watching this at home when it shows up on streaming and bawling my eyes out

Considering actually taking the risk of seeing it at the theater. I hope they pass out Kleenex like they do 3D glasses in other movies.

Seriously, the Senate video, I've seen it I don't know how many times, gets me every time. That Davy Rothbart story on This American Life? Just thinking about it gets me choked up. There's no way I'm not bawling my way through this thing.

i hear the film's technique is the really pedestrian talking-heads & clips template

Yeah, that's pretty well demonstrated in the trailers. But thanks for the scoop!

i hear your mom's technique is really pedestrian too xp

well i think yr mom's technique ... nah i'll be a good neighbor

morbz don't sweat the technique

O noes, Mr. Rogers doc is not a dazzling cornucopia of groundbreaking visual delights, F-

apparently there's a story about a gay actor on the show that might put a dent in Fred's sainthood...

ok: clemmons is gay and rogers urged him to stay in the closet. clemmons holds no grudge over this, and rogers actively spoke about the aids crisis on his show in the '80s

spoiler i guess

Yeah, Fred could've told me the same thing and I'm pretty sure I'd have regarded it as the sagest advice I've ever received in my life. Next.

Well, I'd have stopped short of the "marry a woman as a cover" part, admittedly.

Keep at it, Morbs. I know you have what it takes to dredge up some nuclear-grade dirt on this monster.

Won't you please,
Won't you please,
Please won't you be my oppressor?

my best friend and i were both creeped out by the show as kids; thx bye

bye!!!

https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--4AhQOoMW--/c_scale,f_auto,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/orz8myqdorfattixqgjp.jpg

yes! i'm sure they preferred Soupy Sales and Chuck McCann too

my best friend and i were both creeped out by the show as kids; thx bye

― the ignatius rock of ignorance (Dr Morbius), Thursday, June 7, 2018 9:26 AM (eight minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Somehow both unsurprising and revelatory.

has the meaning of 'bye' changed recently or

Eh, I generally employ it as a prelude to a dramatic 'and another thing...!'

The show was a little saccharine. And felt like it was trying to manifest some Waltonseque fantasy. But it never struck me as condescending, or, well, terribly creepy. Maybe he should have got his cock out a time or two.

He has been my #1 hero ever since my early 20s. My favorite moment is the Emmys speech '97. And nude greeting in the Esquire piece, naturally. Oh and flipping the bird.

Are you talking about morbs?

oh wait I misread this whole exchange never mind

Morbz is currently my #6 all time

Turned out to be quite a bit less of a shameless tearjerker than I was expecting. Still, audiences going to it are acting out of the same impulse that they do going to see, say, Marley & Me. Only the death in this case is the death of decency, gentility, etc.

What does that mean? People are seeing it to be sad at something sad because it's sad and shows something that is missed because it should be missed?

In a nutshell.

I mean, I don't know when decency died, but it's dead and it'd be nice to have it back.

If we could have just one thread where we all agree to refrain from '(thread subject) is garbage' posts, I guess I'd request that it be this thread. Because, really: why.

yes please

post deleted.

oh Christ, ilx's limits discovered at last.

I mean, I don't think deletion was necessary fwiw, but there's still every other thing in the universe for you to hate on, Morbs. Fear not.

how about the third post in the thread, kuntz?

pedophile, pederast, don't be pedantic

I mentioned that I idolize the man, nevertheless I found the new documentary way too close to a puff piece. Any attempts at illuminating flaws or conflicts seemed grudging and perfunctory. And I'd contend that even mentioning his party affiliation was distracting and unnecessary. I could feel the tension in the theater at that moment.

I was born in '61, three or four years too early for his show to have been part of my childhood. (I watched The Jolly Green Giant, and Rocketship 7 out of Buffalo.) So I didn't take that into the theatre, which would have helped. I can see where the film would be very emotional for some viewers, and a couple of times it knocked down my own resistance (I mean, I didn't cry or anything)--most surprisingly with the kid in the wheelchair, which could have been shameless and was instead pretty great. I think it does dodge here and there, and implicitly (which may as well be explicitly) making it about you-know-who in the last few minutes is interesting but a little easy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=34&v=-VLEPhfEN2M

lol why

life is like a box of sweaters

whoops

https://youtu.be/-VLEPhfEN2M

argh

a niceploitation film

Lol

this thing looks like an SNL skit