Mary Poppins now under fire for alleged racism!

[Lilofan]

Sad commentary on the state of our institutions of "higher learning" (said with sarcasm) when they employee and give tenure to people like this who are dumber than rocks. Parents pay big bucks to these clowns to "educate" their kids ---what a joke

That's the one aspect of teachers with tenure. Some consider themselves untouchable to be fired. This bufoon's comment on Mary Poppins won't even affect his employment.

 

[Goofyernmost]

That's the one aspect of teachers with tenure. Some consider themselves untouchable to be fired. This bufoon's comment on Mary Poppins won't even affect his employment.

Well, it probably won't affect anything else either. We have to stop overreacting to idiots. We are treating them like they have something important to say and they do not. But, as long as we don't just walk away from that crap it will continue. I think it will affect him just not officially and as long as he isn't teaching courses about Mary Poppins, it will all just fade into the place were stupid goes.

 

[MattC]

Well, it probably won't affect anything else either. We have to stop overreacting to idiots. We are treating them like they have something important to say and they do not. But, as long as we don't just walk away from that crap it will continue. I think it will affect him just not officially and as long as he isn't teaching courses about Mary Poppins, it will all just fade into the place were stupid goes.

This. 100% this.

 

[Ghost93]

I believe Britain just upped the rating of Mary Poppins to PG due to the use of the word Hottentots by the admiral. I don't have an issue with this disclaimer, although I doubt most viewers have ever said the word or knew what it meant.

 

[MisterPenguin]

I believe Britain just upped the rating of Mary Poppins to PG due to the use of the word Hottentots by the admiral. I don't have an issue with this disclaimer, although I doubt most viewers have ever said the word or knew what it meant.

Yes, that did happen.

Disney similarly put a disclaimer in front of some of its movies on D+ for a similar reason.

I hope people read fully the linked articles in this thread and the entire thread before commenting.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

I believe Britain just upped the rating of Mary Poppins to PG due to the use of the word Hottentots by the admiral. I don't have an issue with this disclaimer, although I doubt most viewers have ever said the word or knew what it meant.

TBH, I thought it was a made up nonsense word, as are common in that film.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

The professor might have a point if she were trying to look black; she wasn’t. She was trying to look like a chimney sweep.

Why does PT hate penguins?

However... the professor points out that in Travers' books, she had ordinary White British folk make insulting remarks about chimney sweeps. And how did they disparage them? By likening them to people of African descent. That's racist. Period. There's nothing wrong about being from African descent or having dark skin. The professor points out that later editions of her books removed those racist remarks.

Bingo.

We can’t dismiss accusations of racial tones in old films/lit out of hand. They exist.

We also probably shouldn’t overreact in minor cases. They were socially acceptable in their time.

If I couldn’t watch any sitcoms with homophobic jokes from my childhood, I probably couldn’t watch many. I wouldn’t advocate for them to be included in new ones going forward, because I know they made my life more complicated.

But they should exist as a record of how things were, or younger people lose perspective.

Watch old movies on TCM on any given day, and you’ll find all kinds of questionable dialogue.

This professor may stir up a provocative lecture, presumably to spark a robust discussion. It shouldn’t go beyond that.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Why does PT hate penguins?

She was also specieist.

 

[Ghost93]

The professor might have a point if she were trying to look black; she wasn’t. She was trying to look like a chimney sweep.

Why does PT hate penguins?


Bingo.

We can’t dismiss accusations of racial tones in old films/lit out of hand. They exist.

We also probably shouldn’t overreact in minor cases. They were socially acceptable in their time.

If I couldn’t watch any sitcoms with homophobic jokes from my childhood, I probably couldn’t watch many. I wouldn’t advocate for them to be included in new ones going forward, because I know they made my life more complicated.

But they should exist as a record of how things were, or younger people lose perspective.

Watch old movies on TCM on any given day, and you’ll find all kinds of questionable dialogue.

This professor may stir up a provocative lecture, presumably to spark a robust discussion. It shouldn’t go beyond that.

In the case of Mary Poppins, the offensive line is one throwaway line of dialogue, so I don't think people should get up in arms about Mary Poppins being "canceled." This isn't something like Peter Pan or Dumbo, where the racist elements in question take up a significant chunk of the film and might pull the viewer out of it for a bit.

 

[John park hopper]

Knowing how PC Bob is---- expect a redo is coming

 

[macefamily]

Give me a break. College professor.....no need to say anything else

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Give me a break. College professor.....no need to say anything else

Yeah, college professors must be so stupid…

Come on.