He got into television because he hated the medium. Children, he felt, were allowing their minds to decay because of it. So for the last 34 years, Fred Rogers has spent his time trying to do something positive with a piece of technology he abhorred.
But last Friday, Mister Rogers placed his sneakers and cardigan sweater into the closet for the last time.
Rogers portrayed himself with a kind of innocence and honesty which appealed to children. This same innocence, while also making him the butt of many jokes throughout popular entertainment over the years, has been his trademark and part of his lasting appeal.
At 73, it’s understandable he had to go sometime. It’s a simple fact of the industry, as well as life, that nobody is going to be around forever. For Rogers, that time has come.
Yet the sadness comes for many not only in the passing of one who was for many, a childhood icon. It also lies in that we’ll most likely never see anyone like Mister Rogers on television again.
These days, children’s programming is made up of fast cuts and quick edits to cater to the minute attention span of most kids. Today’s youth are entering into an age where they’ll learn their lessons not from a soft-spoken Presbyterian minister in the neighborhood of make-believe, but rather by Pokémon, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Carson Daly.
And they might be marketing gold mines - you’ll never see a Mister Rogers action figure, but I’d rather move before they ask my children to be their neighbor.
