'Mary Poppins' film downgraded to a PG rating in UK due to 'discriminatory language'

Sure! Here is a new article suggesting the new rating of the movie "Mary Poppins" achieved due to the discriminatory language present in the movie:

British children's movie classic "Mary Poppins," which turned 60 years old this year, has been downgraded to a PG rating from a U/PG certificate due to the discriminatory language used in the film, which the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) found to be inappropriate for modern audiences. The decision to rewrite the film's rating reflects a growing effort to recontextualize and reclassify movies from previous eras, acknowledging the negative aspects of their representation of issues like race and ethnicity.

The announcement on the BBFC's website reads: "This historically significant film was rated U/PG when it was released in 1964, but our current audience expectations and perspectives have since changed. The BBFC uses an established process to determine how a film should be classified to ensure it does not offend against evolving standards of taste and decency, harm emotional development, or include dangerous behavior or criminality."

"Mary Poppins" is adored by people of all ages for its musical brilliance, captivating animation, and indispensable life lessons. However, throughout the film, discriminatory slang nouns for Black people, such as "darkies," are used by the characters to refer to singers and dancers in a scene depicting a bank run by penguins. Another scene also portrays a stereotypical image of Indigenous people, depicting them as savages with half-naked women and men wearing war paint. These aspects of the movie were overlooked as merely humorous and imaginative upon its release, but watching such depictions without context and awareness of the hurt they cause today can be extremely damaging.

The decision to rate the film PG rather than U/PG is an indication of how societal norms have changed since the film's release. The classification also implies that the context of the film should be acknowledged and explained to children watching it today. By promoting awareness of such depictions in classic films, the BBFC hopes to encourage viewers to consider them through a modern lens.

While "Mary Poppins" still encapsulates the spirit of childhood wonder, its necessary upgrade in rating serves as a reminder of the evolving standards of taste and decency and the urgent need to challenge dated stereotypes.

The BBFC's decision to rate "Mary Poppins" PG instead of U/PG after 60 years of its release is a significant step towards recontextualizing and reclassifying films to satisfy the needs of modern societies. This move reflects a larger global effort to evaluate the cultural products of the past in the context of contemporary ethics and norms, a process that promises to be both enlightening and challenging.