Mister Rogers goes viral in PBS remix of 'Garden of Your Mind'
Thank you, Mister Rogers.
Thank you still, long after I鈥檝e learned how to tie my shoes, decades since I confirmed that yes, in fact, I would like to be your neighbor.
Because there I was, at the computer early this morning, ready to read through my normal batch of celebrity mom news, reality star bad behavior, body image complaints, political spatting, blah blah blah, and instead I saw this video.
It鈥檚 called 鈥淕arden of Your Mind,鈥� and it鈥檚 a remix of scenes from Mister Rogers鈥� Neighborhood by Symphony of Science鈥檚 John Boswel. The haunting (and really quite catching) mash-up is part of an effort by PBS Digital Studios to revitalize some of its old school icons into new age stars.
The late Fred Rogers, PBS says, was an obvious starting point. His Mister Rogers鈥� Neighborhood, which ran from 1968 to 2001, was one of the station鈥檚 most iconic shows.
"When we discovered video mash-up artist John D. Boswell, aka melodysheep, on YouTube, we immediately wanted to work together," says the description on the video on PBS Digital Studios' YouTube channel. "Turns out that he is a huge 'Mister Rogers鈥� Neighborhood' fan, and was thrilled at the chance to pay tribute to one of our heroes. Both PBS and the Fred Rogers Company hope you like John鈥檚 celebration of Fred Rogers鈥� message."
That message, if you don鈥檛 remember, is beautiful.聽 It is about learning, and openness toward the world, and the belief that other people, even when they鈥檙e different 鈥� especially when they鈥檙e different 鈥� have much to teach us.
In many ways, the PBS video, which has started to go viral, feels like a manifesto. (A gentle, kind, Mr. Rogers-style manifesto.) It seems like a plea not just for a different sort of childhood, but for a different society; a message from the spirit of Mr. Rogers that we need to step back from what often feels like angry, divided and overly commercialized culture and refocus on creativity and human connection and loving your neighbors.聽
And on thinking.
鈥淒id you ever grow anything in the garden of your mind?鈥澛� Rogers asks, autotuned, over a funky beat. 鈥淵ou can grow ideas in the garden of your mind.鈥�
He goes on.
鈥淚t鈥檚 good to be curious, about many things.聽 you聽 can think about things and make believe and all you have to do is think 鈥� and they grow.鈥�
Thinking, curiosity, make believe. What wonderful things to ponder this morning.
Check out the video, and have a snappy day.聽
