There is no shortage of Disney properties that have issues with things like derogatory language toward marginalized populations. The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has announced that “Mary Poppins” will have its rating changed in the UK due to this.
Specifically due to two scenes that use the very outdated racial slur “Hottentots.”
History of The Word
Back when European colonizers first went to Africa they used the term to describe the Khoikhoi, an indigenous group from the Southwestern region. The word was used as a crude imitation of the Khoikhoi’s language, which featured clicks. The term eventually fell out of vogue and it’s now widely regarded as the racial slur that it always was.
The slur is used during two key scenes in “Mary Poppins.” It’s first heard in the beginning when Admiral Boom (Reginald Owen) asks the Banks children if they’re “going to fight the Hottentots.” The second use is during Bert’s (Dick Van Dyke) “Step in Time” number. You know, the one where the chimney sweeps all break out into dance with black soot all over their faces…
As the group launches into a dance number Bloom, who still thinks he’s commanding a naval ship, spots them. He then declares “We’re being attacked by Hottentots,” about the dancing group of men with stained black faces… This implication is pretty blatant, even for a children’s film from 1964. [We aren’t even going to get into the war crime of Van Dyke’s accent.]
The Rating Change
Because of this, the BBFC is shifting the rating of “Mary Poppins” from a U (equivalent to a G) to a PG rating. On the grounds of “discriminatory language,” and the fears that impressionable children may unintentionally repeat the slur. So the film is still accessible it just now warns parents of the problematic language so they can put it in a better historical context for their children.
You can watch one of these controversial scenes below:
