Children’s classic Mary Poppins branded racist
Children’s classic Mary Poppins branded racist
It’s one of the iconic scenes in the popular Disney classic, but now a US academic has branded Mary Poppins as racist for blackening up her face.
The scene, which features Julie Andrews as Poppins and Dick Van Dyke as Bert, is set on the rooftops of London and includes the song ‘Step in Time’.
Poppins, with her face covered in soot, innocently dances with Bert and his fellow chimney sweeps in what is one of the better loved scenes from the 1964 hit film.
However Professor Daniel Pollack-Pelzner, an English and gender studies professor at Oregon’s Linfield College, has argued the scene is racist.