‘Won’t you be my neighbor?’
Germantown native scores Mr. Rogers documentary
What the world needs now in addition to love sweet love is very possibly “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,” a documentary about a man whose life’s work was a rebuke to incivility, cruelty, greed and — especially — the mistreatment of children.
The story of the late Fred Rogers, the “deeply spiritual” Presbyterian minister and “lifelong registered Republican” who found fame over almost four decades of public television as the creator and soft-spoken host of the preschool-oriented program “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” has become a sleeper hit of the summer. Constructed from new interviews, brief animated segments and much archival material, the movie earned $8 million at the box office in under a month.
That’s “a huge feat for any documentary,” according to Variety, “and especially noteworthy in the height of popcorn season, when highly anticipated franchises touting Spandexed superheroes invade multiplexes.” But few if any superhero movies have reduced adult moviegoers to tears as reliably as “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,” which taps into a wellspring of longing for an America that seemed to prize — even if it didn’t always practice — kindness and empathy.
“Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” owes part of its success to a Memphian, musician Jonathan Kirkscey, who composed the almost wall-to-wall score that seems to levitate Fred Rogers and his human and puppet co-stars on sonic clouds of piano, cello, celeste, vibraphone, flute, Mellotron, mandolin and other instruments, mostly played and recorded by Kirkscey in his Midtown home studio.
He said the land should be marked as residential, and this has been in the works since January.
Even once the land is rezoned as a residential, a developer could come back later and ask the planning commission to rezone the land for a development.
Alderwoman Mary Anne Gibson was one of the citizens who came forward in the meeting. She said at the Jan. 8 Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting, she asked that the land be rezoned to residential.
“Thornwood, Somerset and the GPAC Grove, a lot is going on in our city,” she said.
Gibson also said a development was talked about for the Cordova Triangle with citizens in the Neshoba North Neighborhood. She said it caused unrest and spoke in favor of the rezoning.
Alderman John Barzizza also spoke in favor of the rezoning.
“I spoke with folks in the area,” he said. “I fully concur with those residents who told me they are not in favor of any project (in Cordova Triangle) going forward.”
An online petition for rezoning the triangle to residential received 400 signatures.
Rick Winchester spoke against the rezoning and asked where studies were that proved the T4 zoning would negatively affect the community. He asked the commission to postpone the vote for six months.
“Smart growth is good planning,” he said adding that it can contribute financially to the city. “There’s no reason that’s what on the east side if the road could not be replicated on the west side of the road.”