British Film Board Urges ‘Parental Guidance’ for 1964’s ‘Mary Poppins’ Film Because of ‘Discriminatory Language’
The film has only been reevaluated by the organization once before, and the age rating was not changed then.
The British film industry’s rating agency has decided to raise the rating of the 1964 classic film “Mary Poppins” to “PG” from “U,” suggesting that “discriminatory language” in the film warrants parental guidance.
The British Board of Film Classification made the decision to raise the rating on Friday, according to the group’s website. The “U” classification film means “universal,” and “suitable for all,” according to the organization. The “PG” rating describes movies permissible for general viewing, but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children.
The BBFC said in a statement to the Daily Mail that it “now considers the 1964 tale of Julie Andrews’s magical nanny to be not suitable for children to watch alone.”
“The reclassification is due to the use of the word Hottentots,” the group explained. “The dated term was historically used by Europeans to refer to the Khoekhoe, a group of nomadic herders in South Africa, but is now regarded as racially offensive.”
“Admiral Boom, played by Reginald Owen, who believes he is a naval commander in charge of a ship, uses the word twice in the film,” the group continues. “On the first occasion, he is seen dangling from the roof in a boat where he asks one of the Banks children if they are ‘going to fight the Hottentots.’”
“Later in the film when the chimney sweeps, whose faces are blackened from soot, dance on the roof, the admiral exclaims ‘we’re being attacked by Hottentots.’ He then aims fireworks at them,” the group says.
The film was rated as “universal” when it was first released in 1964, and the BBFC issued no content warnings when that decision was made, according to their website. The board added notes to its classification of “Mary Poppins” in 2013.
In that reevaluation, the group warned of violence in the film, including “some scenes of very mild slapstick — for example as people bang their heads on fireplaces and ceilings.” The BBFC also warned of an instance where the children are “briefly scared by a beggar and a barking dog as they run through some dark alleys,” which the group defines as “threat and horror.”
The BBFC mentions the term “Hottentots” in their 2013 evaluation, saying it represented “discrimination,” but they did not raise the film’s age rating at the time.
