Fred and Freud

Last Friday morning while I was babysitting I was flipping through the channels to find Sesame Street, which Maggie's parents let her watch so she won't scream or fuss when they leave. Before I arrived at the desired channel, I caught a few seconds of Mr. Rogers. Having grown up without a television, I never watched Mr. Rogers as a kid. And I must admit, I didn't know that show was so... creepy. The one previous time I flipped past that channel he was talking and singing about expressing anger or frustration in appropriate ways, which struck me as a bizarre topic for a happy kids' show. This time, he was admonishing children that they cannot marry their parents when they grow up, however much they might want to.

I felt Freud and Oedipus colliding in the pixels of the television set. When I got home, I Googled the general theme of the show to see what I had missed prior to the admonishment. Apparently Mr. Rogers sings a song called, "I'm Going to Marry Mom." I downloaded an mp3. The lyrics are incredibly dull:

When I grow up I'm really going to marry,
really going to marry,
really going to marry,
when I grow up I'm really going to marry,
really going to marry
Mom.

etc.

I got bored and couldn't finish listening to the song. I suppose it might end with Mom explaining that she is already married to Dad and telling her son that he will have to find someone else to marry. Or, perhaps the boy decides to kill his father and marry his mother anyway. A study in Freudian psychology and the Oedipus Complex brought to your children by PBS. I can imagine the next verse going like this:

Well in that case Mommy I'm really going to murder
Really going to murder
Really going to murder
In that case Mommy I'm really going to murder
Really going to murder
Dad.

Except, that's not an appropriate way to express anger or frustration, is it?

Anyway, more Googling led me to discover another great song by Mr. Rogers entitled 'You'll Never Go Down the Drain.' What a comfort to children who are afraid of bathtime!

You'll never go down
You'll never go down
You'll never go down
The drain

Again, dull.

Here's another odd one:

Some are fancy on the outside.
Some are fancy on the inside.
Everybody's fancy. Everybody's fine.
Your body's fancy and so is mine.

Boys are boys from the beginning.
Girls are girls right from the start.
Everybody's fancy. Everybody's fine.
Your body's fancy and so is mine.

Girls grow up to be the mommies.
Boys grow up be the daddies.
Everybody's fancy. Everybody's fine.
Your body's fancy and so is mine.

I think you're a special person
And I like your ins and outsides.
Everbody's fancy. Everybody's fine.
Your body's fancy and so is mine.

Disturbing. I'm just not sure about Fred Rogers.