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Mister Rogers Hangs Up His Sweater For Good
By Dead Air, Section News Posted on Sat Sep 1st, 2001 at 09:21:42 AM PDT

Love him or hate him, and I'm sure we have a pretty even split on Satanosphere, you cannot deny the huge impact that Fred Rogers has had on the late 20th Century. It's weird that as we slowly crawl into a new century that icons such as Mr. Rogers and William S. Burroughs are finally ready to pass. Fred Rogers isn't dead yet he's just retiring from television, where he has influenced literally generations of children. Vote in the poll for how best to remember his contribution to our society.

There are definitely people who take Mr. Rogers very, very seriously. Perhaps too seriously. His official website has none of the legendary charm (some would say creepy charm) of his make-believe neighborhood. It is way too grown up. I'll admit, I really got into the show when I was between four and maybe eight years old. I always really wanted one of those trolleys that could take you to another dimension. By the time I was nine, it was awfully embarrassing stuff, but that's what I think made it kind of cool, here was a grown up only little kids could relate to. I'm very curious about what other Satanosphere users have to say about him.
Oh, and he's from Pittsburgh too. Just like Andy Warhol.

< Two More Touching Anecdotes About Ozzy (1 comments) | Don't let it die! (3 comments) >

Poll

Mister Rogers is Best Remembered As
A rare male role model who inspired civility, imagination, and localized neighborhood values.
A wimpy effeminate milk-toast who's probably responsible for all the do nothing slackers of today's world.
A Presbyterian minister who subversively hypnotized young people to follow the Ten Commandments.
A really snappy dresser for an old guy, who knew when to impress and when to be casual.
The most boring show host in the history of television.
Some sort of closet pedophile, I just know it.
A great inspiration for Eddy Murphy, except maybe for making him think he could sing.
A damn sight more entertaining than Barny and the Teletubbies put together, eh?

Votes: 63
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Related Links

· Fred Rogers isn't dead yet
· His official website
· More on Culture
· Also by Dead Air

Mister Rogers Hangs Up His Sweater For Good | 14 comments (14 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

he always seemed to like kids a little TOO much (none / 0) (#1)
by severedleopard on Sat Sep 1st, 2001 at 02:38:54 AM PDT
(User Info)

Mr. Rogers has always given me the creeps since i was old enough to watch television. not only that, i thought he was boring. granted, sometimes i'd stick out the creepiness and boredom just in case i might catch the land of make believe (i wanted to be in that land, too). but usually, i'd flip through the channels to try and find sesame street, electric company, or three's company (god knows why). if none of that was on, i'd go out in the hills by myself amidst the threat of possible rattlesnake bites and pretend i was in the land of make believe all by myself.

Ah, c'mon... (none / 0) (#2)
by Chicago Shrug (thesameemailastheotherone@redundancy.com) on Sat Sep 1st, 2001 at 07:43:34 AM PDT
(User Info)

You outgrow him pretty quick, it's easy to make him the subject of parody, he's a bit simplistic for any kid past the age of 7 (or in the case of the amazing Phoebe, 3), but you just can't dig up any dirt about the guy. I can think of far more insidious and questionable influences on children than Mr. Rogers. Barney, for example. He simplified things WAAAAY too much. What really impressed me was that Rogers did a week about kids suffering through divorces. I mean, that's just sad. So I don't think he simplified it. Hell, I wish I were more like Mr. Rogers sometimes. Although I'd cream his ass on "Bohemian Rhapsody." I still just can't knock the dude.

And he kept religion out of it. Dude's a total separation-of-church-and-state champion, whether he meant it or not.

-CS
[ Parent ]

Good Riddance! Well... (none / 0) (#3)
by ceruleannina on Sat Sep 1st, 2001 at 06:37:48 PM PDT
(User Info)

I don't hate Mister Rogers, but I remember always thinking he was simply boring as hell...I felt the same way about Sesame Street (I know, I know- gasp, sacrilege). That Romper Room debacle totally sucked, also. Perhaps it's due to the fact that I began full fledged schooling at the age of 3 & we could never get cable on our side of the street...The imaginary friend who lived in the dog house out back was just far more entertaining, even if I'm a terrible real friend, and can't even remember his name...

I did develop a serious fixation for all of the ABC soap operas around the age of 5 (All My Children, One Life To Live, et al.)...Again- the parents were blessedly oblivious & didn't give a damn what my brain took in, as long as I stayed reasonably quiet & made obedient runs to the fridge (for tobacco, beer, salty snacks, etc.), while they lounged around after work.

Yes, he can be boring... (none / 0) (#4)
by matt (matt [at] satanosphere dotcom) on Sat Sep 1st, 2001 at 07:25:31 PM PDT
(User Info) http://www.satanosphere.com

But everyone has different tolerances for different types of boring. Me, I love to watch shows Discovery Channel about the building of giant things or architectual wonders and engineering feats, but most people are bored to tears by this stuff. It's just what I have a threshold for.

As far as Fred Rogers is concerned, "boring" was a good thing. To a 4 year-old, he wasn't boring, he was patient, somethng alot of their parents are not, thus the love.

He is a role model. I would love to have a dope trolley in my living room that talked to me like an R2-D2 on a track, that could transport itself to a Neighborhood of Makebelieve. Or to have a picture that would change every few minutes into another classical work of art with the switch of a button, only to show how glass is blown if I talked about it. And, as a cardigan wearer, he did have the best selection ever. How many emo kids have been influenced by his style? Think about it... Sweaters and sneakers, talking about your feelings. Why wasn't he ever in Weezer?

And Mr. Shrug is quite correct. The fact that he could teach amazing moral values and keep the big guy on the cross outta it is genius.

_____

Who has the "Oblique Diary Crown" right now? Rat? Well hand it over, buddy. -Zombified

The Root of All Cardigans (none / 0) (#5)
by Dead Air (deadair3@lycos.com) on Sat Sep 1st, 2001 at 10:15:31 PM PDT
(User Info) http://www.myspace.com/deadairfresheners

You know Asspants, I think you nailed it there. All these years, even I thought that I was copying Kurt Cobain, but obviously Mr. Rogers fashion sense was lodged deep in both of our subconsciousnesses. (I was born the same year as Kurt so I'd imagine Mr. Rogers probably had an impact on him too.)

Oddly, I do things other places.
[ Parent ]

Boys and girls (none / 0) (#8)
by Chicago Shrug (thesameemailastheotherone@redundancy.com) on Sun Sep 2nd, 2001 at 12:40:56 AM PDT
(User Info)

"We have a special guest today. This is Mr. Cobain. How are you Mr. Cobain?"

"I'm fine, Mr. Rogers. How are you?"

"Now, maybe you could tell everybody what it is you do?"

"I play guitar and sing in a band."

"That's very nice. What's the name of the band?"

"Nirvana."

"And what's nirvana, Mr. Cobain?"

"It's a place or state of oblivion to care, pain or external reality, and it's believed by many, many boys in girls in the Eastern Hemisphere."

"That's incredible. And why did you call yourselves Nirvana?"

"No reason."

"That's very nice. Sometimes, it's okay to do things for no reason. Why, the other day, instead of ordering a chocolate ice cream cone, I ordered vanilla. It just felt different. So what kind of music do you play, Mr. Cobain."

"Our major influences are the Beatles, the Smithereens, Black Sabbath and the Pixies. And the Melvins of course."

"Oh. I enjoy Black Sabbath too."

"You do?"

"Oh, very much. After I finish my visit with my neighbors here, I go back to my home and crank up War Pigs. I like to rock out. Do you like to rock out, Mr. Cobain?"

"Sure. Sure. I like rocking out."

"Now you have a person who plays the bass. He's very tall, isn't he?"

"Yes."

"And sometimes after you finish a show, you like to smash the amplifiers with your guitar neck and break your guitars on the ground."

"Yes."

"That's very unusual. Sometimes I guess we all feel the need to smash guitars on the ground. But we can't all do that, of course, because then we'd have to buy another one!"

"We have a lot of money, though."

"It's good to have a lot of money."

"Yes."

"Now you're going to sing for us?"

"Yes. I'm going to sing a song called 'Rape Me'."

"My goodness. Well, I'll just sit over here and listen to you play. And I'll smash the trolley with you when you're done."

"That sounds nice."

"Doesn't that sound nice?"

"That sounds really nice."

-CS
[ Parent ]

Oh shit! (none / 0) (#9)
by ceruleannina on Sun Sep 2nd, 2001 at 02:43:51 AM PDT
(User Info)

I love to laugh!...

[ Parent ]

hahahahahahahhahaaha (none / 0) (#10)
by severedleopard on Sun Sep 2nd, 2001 at 06:11:49 AM PDT
(User Info)

this is too fucking funny

[ Parent ]

heeheeheeheeheeheeheehee (none / 0) (#14)
by Starwing on Tue Sep 4th, 2001 at 02:22:47 AM PDT
(User Info)

That was really funny, Paul... I miss ya, buddy.

S T A R W I N G
There are 10 kinds of people in the world:
Those who understand binary, and those who don't.
[ Parent ]

Why Matt! (none / 0) (#7)
by PaulsEx (jandponourown@olywa.net) on Sun Sep 2nd, 2001 at 12:36:29 AM PDT
(User Info)

For a moment there, as you talked about Mr. Rogers' patience, you sounded so darned sweet and sincere!! It was a little disorienting.

Not that I don't agree with you about Mr. Rogers. One particular moment stands out in my memory: My daughter was about two, and Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood was on television. He had a little doll that looked just like him, complete with cardigan and everything. Mr. Rogers took the cardigan off the doll, then put it on again, then tried to get the doll to sit up. The doll fell over, and Mr. Rogers said "Oopsie!" and propped the doll up again. My daughter sat there raptly, as mesmerized as I was when I was watching O.J. being chased around the freeways of L.A. in his slow white Bronco. And I realized that getting your doll to sit up and failing is a big part of being two-years-old, and there was a reason this was interesting to her -- she knew exactly what he was going through! (Or maybe she was just staring in fascination because she'd never seen an adult react so calmly to frustration before.) In any case, I think Mr. Rogers' unflappable calm was comforting to her, and I much preferred her to watch his show over something fast-paced and overstimulating.

[ Parent ]

Re: Why Matt! (none / 0) (#13)
by matt (matt [at] satanosphere dotcom) on Mon Sep 3rd, 2001 at 08:56:52 PM PDT
(User Info) http://www.satanosphere.com

You'll find I'm full of surprises. ;-)

_____

Who has the "Oblique Diary Crown" right now? Rat? Well hand it over, buddy. -Zombified
[ Parent ]

Here's to good men (none / 0) (#6)
by Crazydee (crazydee666@sinfulbutworthyineveryway.com) on Sat Sep 1st, 2001 at 11:07:21 PM PDT
(User Info)

Okay, so Mr. Rogers wasn't a sparkplug. But as a mom, grandmom, school volunteer (in my past), sunday school teacher (in my past), I would much rather deal with kids that had watched his show, than the kids that were allowed to watch WWF "big slime" wrestling. And those kids that spent some time with Mr. Roger's grew into great guys. Not afraid to get up and dance, sing, listen, wear their glasses, go downtown to our local land of make believe.

Now, how much will you pay? But wait, there's more...

Yes! (none / 0) (#11)
by Lyra on Sun Sep 2nd, 2001 at 08:15:50 AM PDT
(User Info)

They actually have the song lyrics on the site!

Mr. Roger's Neighborhood is one of those things from childhood that has a strange, otherworldly feeling about it. I remember feeling the same way about Sesame Street Christmas specials, V, and the music my parents played at parties. Could they be vestiges of some important corner turned in my early brain development?

Sad days indeed.... (none / 0) (#12)
by Jonah Hex on Mon Sep 3rd, 2001 at 08:17:39 AM PDT
(User Info)

I was truly saddend by the news that Mr. Rogers was stopping production on his show. I remember growing up in rural Alaska and running home every day after kindergarten to see his show. It's because of him that I know how any number of things are made. I learned about music from him, and art and cooking. He is a role model in the truest sense of the word. I know the world is sometimes full of hate, war, violence, hunger etc;, but his neighborhood was a wonderful place for children to experience the world first, the negatives softened by his sweater and his soothing voice. I wish him well.