![]() ![]() And, like other artists who challenge dominant political interests, Fred Rogers has been vilified by the National Review as a “wimp” in the testosterone-suffused world of children’s shows such as Power Rangers, that’s a compliment. Perhaps most subversive, Mister Rogers is unabashedly for children, desirous of empowering them with strong inner resources to counter difficult public lives. Through his direct address and engagement with his child audience, Mister Rogers encourages children to be active, not passive, audiences. As a caring man attuned to the needs of children, he challenges prevalent gender stereotypes while celebrating the body in the best Whitmanesque manner, “a strain of ecstatic naturalism” in which the body is seen “as part of a real person” (Guy 104). The program demonstrates an almost Brechtian focus on process as opposed to theatrical realism, and in postmodern parlance, erases the distinction between character and actor: Mister Rogers always and only plays himself. As one critic notes, Fred Rogers combines the early television wizardry of Ernie Kovacs with a profound anticommercial sensibility (Bianculli 40). After reading this book of essays in tribute to his years of work in children’s programming, I can argue that Rogers’s TV aesthetic provides an antidote to those slicker television productions intent on the manufacture of kid-size consumers with adult appetites for commodified pleasures of all sorts. This one will be living on our family game shelf for a long time.With his trademark cardigan and old-timey sneakers, Fred Rogers hardly seems an exemplar of the subversive, antiestablishment media artist. And the box itself looks like Mister Rogers’ sweater for crying out loud. Just providing good entertainment for family game night is typically enough to sell me - but throwing a dash of kindness and empathy and a heap of nostalgia on top really fits the bill for us. The Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood Game really is a remarkable mashup of our interests here on Dad Suggests. This of course will either allow for more rounds to be played - or for young attention spans to be rested. Both adjustments would definitely speed up the game. ![]() One adjustment that may be helpful when playing with younger kids is to require less sets to win - or less cards needed for each set. After all, it’d be a real shame to have a Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood Game and not be able to share it with the little ones. I’d probably set the recommended age at 6 or 7. Of course she wasn’t fond of the concept of people taking cards from her - particularly if we tried to steal any girls wearing pretty dresses like Queen Sara Saturday or Lady Aberlin - but she got used to it. And more iconic characters like Daniel Striped Tiger, King Friday, and Mister Rogers himself serve as special action cards. McFeely, Henrietta Pussycat, and Lady Elaine. You’ll find several sets of numbered cards featuring illustrations of many fan favorites - like Mr. And the designers did a great job weaving the nostalgia into an enjoyable and original game. It turns out that the Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood Game is a press-your-luck card game where you try to fill your neighborhood with matching sets of popular characters from Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. It seemed like the perfect storm of our interests on Dad Suggests - and of course I knew instantly it was a game I wanted to share with the family. ![]() So imagine my delight when I saw the Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood Game from Buffalo Games appear on the shelves at my friendly neighborhood Target - a store that has developed a well-deserved reputation for a great board game selection. His kindness and his sincerity continue to be just what our world needs - perhaps today more than ever - and I get enormous pleasure sharing reruns of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood with the kids. Mister Rogers was the king of empathy - a man who seemed to know exactly how to talk to kids and how to say just the right thing. ![]()
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