There is a lot of dangerous content out there in the world for children. Thanks to the internet, children can get access to pornography, extreme acts of violence, and much worse (yes, there are worse things than that, but we won't list them here)
But parents in the U.K. can rest easy about at least one area of dangerous content that will now be protected from young, impressionable eyes.
That's right. Britain's long, national nightmare of unfettered access to Mary Poppins is, at last, coming to an end.
And we wish we were making that up.
‘Mary Poppins’ Age Rating Increased in the U.K. Due to ‘Discriminatory Language’ https://t.co/ycfka8LEgE
— Variety (@Variety) February 26, 2024
Yes, the 1964 classic movie, beloved by millions over multiple generations has a naughty word in it, folks.
It's used TWICE even—the horror.
— Angel'sDemons 🇺🇸🦅🇺🇸 (@Angel_H_70) February 26, 2024
We were afraid that might be the word too, but nope.
— TamiCam (@Kitsune_in_VA) February 26, 2024
No, not that word either. Variety has more:
On Friday, the British Board of Film Classification upped the Disney movie’s cinema rating from U, meaning it contained 'no material likely to offend or harm,' to PG for 'discriminatory language.'
In a statement to Variety, a BBFC spokesperson said that the film 'includes two uses of the discriminatory term ‘hottentots’. While ‘Mary Poppins’ has a historical context, the use of discriminatory language is not condemned, and ultimately exceeds our guidelines for acceptable language at U. We therefore classified the film PG for discriminatory language.'
That's right. 'Hottentots.' A word no child of Mary Poppins viewing age has EVER heard in their life -- and frankly, we doubt that many adults have ever heard either, regardless of age. But was used commonly by the Dutch in the 17th century to refer to the African Khoikhoi people. It has no known derisive etymology, but over the centuries, it began to be used as a general term for dark-skinned people, specifically those from African nations.
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'Hottentots' is used a couple of times in Mary Poppins as a reference to young chimney sweeps because of the ash all over their faces from their work.
That's right: child chimney sweeps in slavish conditions are not a problem, but using the word 'Hottentots' to describe them is DANGEROUS FOR CHILDREN.
Can Mary Poppins please now just pull out her umbrella and whisk us away from Clown World?
Thank goodness. That film was a plague on young and impressionable minds for far too long! https://t.co/jpif65JMMt
— President Dawg’s First Lady Neva (@pipandbaby) February 26, 2024
We're going to need extra batteries for our sarcasm detector to write this article.
What was once the greatest empire in history has been reduced to this. Lame. https://t.co/DSUjsFQhMm
— Garrick I - Rex Britannia - Imperator Americae (@Boydesian) February 26, 2024
Remember, the U.K. is now a place where you can get sent to jail for mean tweets, so this is not a surprise, even though it is very sad.
The priorities of society will never cease to baffle me.
— completelyrandum (@c_randum) February 26, 2024
Hopefully one day we will learn to deal with our history. pic.twitter.com/uo3LszrDqK
Oh dear, more "offensive" overkill nonsense. Mary Poppins this time. How long before Star Wars A New Hope is reclassified from a U to an 18 due to seeing Uncle Owen & Aunt Beru's burnt corpses. I'm sure we were just tougher back then, certainly not so sensitive! https://t.co/R88UCIhc9G pic.twitter.com/ZaD72UFiUg
— Neil (@darthmorley) February 26, 2024
We think Star Wars should be reclassified because Luke's incessant whining might be harmful to children, but maybe that's just us.
Imagine having such a boring and safe life that you have to sit there and pretend everything is racist just to larp like you as a person, matter. https://t.co/Hlfl9kPRGp pic.twitter.com/Uy9NWPjJLA
— The_Outsider🇺🇸 (@Hattricia) February 26, 2024
Is there nothing in the world more important to do than pick apart films made over two generations ago for the sake of finding fault with language or living conditions? Explain the times and history to children (the REAL versions), and they'll learn not to repeat the atrocities. https://t.co/7aB272NCuI
— TinseltownPR (@TinseltownPR) February 26, 2024
We should probably be grateful they aren't banning Mary Poppins outright, or rewriting the movie and eliminating any copies of the original. After all, that's what they tried to do to Roald Dahl's books because he refers to some kids as 'fat.'
The priorities of society will never cease to baffle me.
— completelyrandum (@c_randum) February 26, 2024
Hopefully one day we will learn to deal with our history. pic.twitter.com/uo3LszrDqK
Of course, many folks decided that, as long as the world wants to keep trying to be stupid, we might as well have some fun mocking it.
This movie is when I realized birds weren’t real. https://t.co/scq8LnWzRa pic.twitter.com/STDgLPmB9H
— Andrew Young - TANSTAAFL King Curmudgeon (@NucMM1retired) February 26, 2024
Yikes. Big if true.
The Brits considered Dick Van Dyke's Cockney accent a punishable war crime at the Hague. https://t.co/MNhovTUcID
— Dave “Journo Clown” Gordon 🇺🇸 🇮🇱 (@D_Gordzo) February 26, 2024
It WAS a pretty bad accent, to be fair. But probably not worth a ratings change.
If someone out there is unironically offended by Mary Poppins, I can only imagine that they’re kind of person who’d yell at a wall that’s painted white for not being diverse enough. https://t.co/3yKKcB5Kri
— Oliver Jia (オリバー・ジア) (@OliverJia1014) February 26, 2024
There are way too many of those people today.
And let's not forget that, while the UK is clutching its pearls over the use of a historical word that no one says anymore, they certainly seem to be fine with other 'cultural entertainments' that children have access to.
Kids nowadays have unfiltered access to porn.
— O in Ca (@Naximushf) February 26, 2024
Mary Poppins bad now... Okay https://t.co/51ONyRyJYe
Mary Poppins’ UK age rating raised to PG due to discriminatory language
— WeGotitBack 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@NotFarLeftAtAll) February 26, 2024
British Board of Film Classification lifts it from U certificate almost 60 years after film was first released
But, it’s alright to take kids to trans drag queen shows. Mad world! pic.twitter.com/4FkMKL6ait
According to the left, children are fully capable of consenting to hormone replacement therapy and mastectomies. But watching Mary Poppins is a bridge too far. pic.twitter.com/wtqLAvDEXj
— 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐠 🏳️🌈 (@HarmfulOpinion) February 26, 2024
Don't bother calling it hypocrisy. It's not. It's just insanity. It's Calvinball. The rules are whatever they say the rules are. But you have to obey them.
So, what is a sane parent supposed to do when it comes to ridiculous actions like this from institutions that think they are better than us and know what's good for us?
I’m going to Mary Poppins even harder https://t.co/lghilb4xQT
— SarahTheRoma (@SarahTheBanned) February 26, 2024
That's right. Ignore them. Go directly in the opposite direction. Make them completely irrelevant.
This is the only way.
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