Having a Pop at Mary 

The original Mary Poppins was released in 1964 and it has been recognised as a classic ever since, with a rating of 96% on Rotten Tomatoes and 88% of Google users liking the film. It even won five Oscars. Clearly, the public has taken it to heart and a sequel was made. However, as usual, the censorship brigade has gone back 60 years and found something to exploit within it, thereby casting a shadow over the reputation of the film. How desperate can they be?

Mary Poppins has absurdly had its UK age rating lifted from a U–which means no material to cause harm or offence to the viewers (basically, anyone can watch it)–to a PG, which is when anyone under the age of 13 has to be accompanied by an adult when watching the film. Why? Well, apparently, the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has stated the film includes ‘discriminatory language’, with the word ‘Hottentots’ potentially causing offence and encouraging younger children to use the term.

Here is what the BBFC said:

“We understand from our racism and discrimination research…that a key concern for…parents is the potential to expose children to discriminatory language or behaviour which they may find distressing or repeat without realising the potential offence.”

The word ‘Hottentot’ was historically used in the 17th century by Europeans to refer to the Khoehoe, the indigenous nomadic pastoralists in South Africa; however, now it is considered a racial slur towards all black people. If you have not watched the film, the word was used twice (yes, twice!) by the character Admiral Boom when he was referencing someone offscreen, and then as a reference to the film’s child stars when their faces are blackened with soot (but let’s not get started on ‘blackface’).

The most egregious aspect of this is that it has taken somebody 60 years to pick on this one word; it must surely have been noticed before, without incident. Lifting the age rating will not prevent children from hearing this word; they can still watch it with an adult. It just seems pointless. Further, 60 years has conclusively demonstrated that the use of the word in the film has not engendered an outbreak of children calling each other ‘Hottentots’. It’s such an obscure word, I doubt they would even have recognised it or know what it meant. Ironically, now they might!

Mary Poppins is not the only victim of such censorship: after 20 years, School of Rock was reclassified from a PG to a 12A, which means only people over the age of 12 could watch, as it included ‘moderate bad language, discriminatory terms and rude humour’. Many Disney films could also be under fire, including: Dumbo, due to a musical number sung by a group of crows, whose leader was called Jim Crow–a reference to the Segregation Laws; Peter Pan, as the indigenous people living on the Island of Neverland are referred to as ‘redskins’ and The Little Mermaid, just because a crab has a Jamaican sounding accent. Even Flash Gordon and Rocky have been reclassified due to abuse, violence and discriminatory stereotypes.

Thankfully, the reclassification only affects the cinema version of the film, with home entertainment versions still rated a U. Alas, this will probably not be the case for very long, and we may see it banned from TV too. Will Mary Poppins go the way of Little Britain and Come Fly With Me? It’s all so hard to swallow. I guess we will have to take it with a spoonful of sugar.

Jack Watson has a Substack newsletter called Ten Foot Tigers about being a Hull City fan. You can subscribe here.

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