A beloved Disney classic is in danger of becoming the latest victim of cancel culture.
An op-ed from the New York Times is re-circulating, in which the writer accuses Julie Andrews’ character of wearing blackface.
If you’ve never seen the original Mary Poppins, the scene in question is the rooftop sequence, in which Mary, Bert, Jane & Michael fly up through a chimney and end up on a London rooftop—obviously covered in black soot, because…well, they just flew up through a chimney.
The author of the editorial says that because Mary Poppins and the rest of the cast didn’t attempt to wipe the soot off of their faces, that constitutes blackface.
Mary Poppins is one of my all-time favorite movies, and in the full context of the film, it’s pretty obvious–in my opinion, at least–that none of these characters were attempting to shame or ridicule another race; they were just grimy and dirty from a bunch of chim-chim-cheree’ing.
What do you think? Is ‘Mary Poppins’ a racially insensitive film, and should it be added to the list of cancel culture’s no-no’s? Join the conversation on Facebook and Instagram!