By John Stapleton IV, Contributing Writer
In 1951, a Presbyterian minister graduated from Rollins College to pursue his dream of providing seminary education to children through the medium of television.
But after years in the public broadcasting industry, he was “disgusted” by the growing content of “deteriorating culture” presented to America’s youth. He would later state “I’m very much concerned, as I know you are, about what’s being delivered to our children in this country…We’ve got to have more of that neighborhood expression of care. I feel that if we in public television can only make it clear, we will have done a great service for (children’s) mental health.”
This visionary abandoned his ministry ambitions to revolutionize the instrument of public television, by providing wholesome family values in a bold attempt to begin the healing of a vulnerable youth. He created a television show directly aimed at nurturing this “neighborhood expression of care.”
His name was Fred Rogers. The television show he created was Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.
Fifty years later, in 2001, a theater major graduated from Broken Arrow High School to pursue her dream of acting and theater education. After being accepted to Juilliard, she spent years traveling around the country in the performance and scholastic community, where she found herself equally appalled by the entertainment being fed to, and consumed by, America’s youth. This insight came not only from within the film industry, but from the feedback of her students.
“They would tell me about the things that they were watching, and they get these massive anxiety disorders…Then you wonder what are you putting into their heads? What messages are they digesting?”
And so, like Rogers, she redirected her career’s course with a new purpose: producing films that uplift and encourage children with the power of caring, and through the medium of cinema.
Her name is Mandy Steen. The production company she created is Seen and Heard Productions.
Steen dropped everything to return to her hometown roots and develop her own “neighborhood of care” right here in Tulsa. Instead of starring in films abroad, she’s producing films locally — not just for, but together with, her fellow Tulsans.
Seen and Heard Productions officially launched in 2021, catapulting to acclaim with its first short film “Concrete Dreams” in 2023. The film stars Benjamin Dane as a homeless veteran who, despite his living situation, provides value to his local society.
“The hero of the story was a homeless person, and [the point] wasn’t that he became a hero when he stopped being homeless. He is homeless, and contributes to his community,” Steen says, adding it’s a lesson she hopes will teach involvement and outreach to the minds of young viewers.
Steen said that she was inspired by the question, “How can I put out a different story so we can start seeing these stigmatized people as human beings again? People that are an untapped resource because they are disconnected for the community? You can say there’s a reason that they’re homeless but it’s not because they don’t have anything to offer.”
The short film was selected by multiple showcases for exhibition, including the “Topaz Film Festival for Women in Film” and “Content 2023 Film Festival,” where it was nominated for “First Time Filmmaker” and “Best Short Film.”
Focusing on Families
Teaching young minds that every person in our community has a purpose is a mindset and message Steen aims to continue now that Seen & Heard Productions has established itself as a growing film enterprise. Steen and her company are continuing their campaign with their latest ambition: a full-length feature film.
Seen and Heard Productions showcased a preview of the kind of cinematic experience Steen is bringing to Tulsa. Historic Circle Cinema hosted the viewing of “Let’s Go,” a short proof-of-concept teaser about a young-love relationship suddenly interrupted when one of the pair changes schools.
But keeping with the theme Steen promises to deliver, the film is not a young adult meet-cute. The focus is on the families, and how teens can learn to trust and rely on their parents and homes to overcome life’s coming-of-age challenges — even when home life is going through its own struggles, like divorce, job loss or illness.
These situations may seem heavy for teens and preteens, but as an educator, Steen learned they are lessons America’s youth are already faced with, and the strongest conflicts they will have to bear are the ones they’re not being prepared for.
Steen asserts that these crises are inevitable, and how they seek a moral resolution has a large impact from the media they digest, which has increasingly become merely distractions from the difficulties of real-world situations and relationships.
Steen saw no beneficial content being produced, but an overwhelming production of violent video games, shallow streaming series, and unrealistic blockbusters (or as Mr. Rogers put it, just “animated bombardment…angry people throwing pies at each other…I hated it so.”)
Steen shares this sentiment, calling the film industry “a masochistic line of work.” Her mission is to provide a means of engaging this young demographic with a healthier kind of learning — constructive media that cultivates a community of caring.
Steen elaborated, “This is an opportunity to remember what’s already going well in our community, and I believe that having access to a wholesome, uplifting alternative is what our communities need right now.
“When I left Tulsa, it was because I wanted to go into the film industry to make better content for the kids that I was leaving behind, and I can’t just wait for other people to do the things that I think need to be done.”
Constantly Concerned
In 1969, the Senate announced it would be cutting half of the funding for publicly broadcast television, a decision Mr. Rogers knew would limit the access and impact his program had on the developing minds of the country’s growing youth. Refusing to abandon his young audience, he went directly to Washington, appearing before the Senate to insist they reconsider.
He advocated for continued investment in public television, as it was an investment in programs like his, that had the capability to give children hope and create more productive citizens.
In his testimony he said, “I’m constantly concerned about what our children are seeing, and for 15 years, I have tried in this country…to present what I feel is a meaningful expression of care. I’m grateful for your interest in our kind of communication.”
After hearing the heartfelt call to action, Sen. John Pastore, a long-time champion for the proposed cuts, was moved to reverse the decision, and instead, more than doubled the budget from $9 million to $22 million. With this financial backing Mr. Rogers Neighborhood would go on to positively influence young minds for another 33 years.
Seen and Heard Productions is issuing the same call to action as Mr. Rogers, and needs the same funding to continue moving forward with their objective.
Addressing the Tulsa community, Steen said, “Thank you for letting us share this vision with you. If you’re inspired, if you have a brilliant idea or a burning question, please reach out to me. I’m sure there’s an unlimited number of ways that we can partner together.”
To fulfill her calling, and provide what she sees as a duty and service to the young Tulsa community, she continued, “We made our first film on our own. To produce a feature film, I need investors. I need donors. I need sponsors. We really want to be involved in this community and not just do a film – we’re here to stay. We’re here to invest in the community. So let us know how we can collaborate with you.”
After her screening of “Let’s Go” at Circle Cinema, Steen reasserted her belief and faith in her enterprising offer to create better cinematic content for her neighborhood — to the citizens of Tulsa.
“I’m really good at getting a team together and getting it going. Whatever this is we’re doing, let’s get it done. It’s an impulse — when I decide I want to do something, I’m going to put everything into it. I’ve been able to make some good things happen, and I want to be able to make more good things happen too.”
To learn more about their campaign, and how you can contribute to their cause, Ms. Steen and Seen and Heard Productions can be reached through their website Seenandheardproductions.com as well as most media platforms except, Ms. Steen says, “I don’t do TikTok.”
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