When I came out of the theater, I met two aunties who wiped their eyes and said, "I knew I would do this, but I still came to see it. I need to cry."
I don't know Fred Rogers, but from the beginning of the film I was in tears and by the end of the film I was out of breath. Not because of sadness, but because it is too warm.
The occasional act of holding a pillow last week brought back memories of being held or cuddling my family to sleep as a child. Possibly holding a quilt. At that time, people were small, and if you held anything in your hand, you would feel huge, and then you would have a deep sense of security. Once again, I recalled this feeling through my actions, rolled happily on the bed and giggled for a long time, and then found that I hadn't giggled like this for a long time, and then I was cured.
This movie has a similar feeling. How long has it been since you had someone say with certainty, eye to eye:
You are a very special person. There is only one like you in the whole world. There's never been anyone exactly like you before, and there will never be again. Only you. And people can like you exactly as you are.
Because of the different cultural contexts, I have never heard the phrase "And people can like you exactly as you are." So when I heard Fred say this sentence with certainty, I thought of some time ago. Insecure, crying uncontrollably. (I found this sentence on the Internet. The version in the video also means You are capable of loving exactly as you are, and it even pierced my heart.)
Simply being comforted unconditionally is the first layer that strikes me.
The second layer is tolerance for insecurity.
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In the film, the little tiger tells the self-doubt to the beautiful sister, the beautiful sister comforts him, you are not a mistake. You'd think the little tiger laughed happily, but Fred didn't let him do it. Instead, the conversation between the little tiger and the pretty sister turns into a duet of self-doubt and comfort. Insecurities can always be there, even unprovoked insecurities. But that's okay, we can add an inner voice and turn it into a duet. The mere coexistence of the two can fill the gap in the heart.
Fred also invited a child on the show who was about to undergo major surgery. He asked the child, "Do you also have moments of depression?" The child nodded. Then he said, "But not now. Now we're happy." The child nodded again. In just a few words, it expressed understanding, comfort, support, and trust, and it became a duet.
The third layer is how Fred deals with his own unease when giving comfort. When Challenger and 9/11 happened, Fred didn't know what to do with these disasters. He himself was deeply disturbed and uncertain, and did not know how to explain it to the child. But he still stood up and gave a comfort that he didn't even understand. In the film, he seemed to have used up all his strength to hide his uneasiness in front of the camera, recorded a few words of encouragement, and after he finished speaking, he showed the look of "Is that really okay?" I found in him that one doesn't need to be a perfect person to support others, that love and support don't need 100% confidence and certainty to have their power.
If anything, the film attempts to fill in the void in Fred's life, as if to create a more perfect image. I don't know if these paddings are necessary. But if there are uncertain moments in the future, I am willing to take this film out and watch it again. It treats me like a child like a soft giant pillow and wakes up my child's way of thinking. Then, perhaps, this child can solve problems that adults cannot.
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