Featuring Matt Anderson and Ben De Bono
Ben has done some research, and it’s official. Mary Poppins is indeed a magical witch.
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Episode 411: Mary Poppins is a Witch
November 18, 2015- Categories: Main Topic,
- Podcast
August 4, 2024
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Hilarious episode. 🙂
In case you haven’t seen it, someone recut Mary Poppins clips and made it look like the trailer for a horror movie: http://youtu.be/2T5_0AGdFic
Ben, can you steer us toward the letter from Travers you cited? I know she felt very strongly that Mary Poppins was a magical, even supernatural character – as I said in a previous comment, I think even something akin to a goddess – but I doubt very much she would have called her a “witch.” I think some of this is about defining terms.
While I realize this whole thread is kind of in jest (I think?), I do think it raises some issues worth considering about men’s responses to strong women. I’m currently reading a new history of the Salem witch trials, and it reminds me many Christians have throughout history thrown around the charge of witchcraft to keep women “in their place.” Yes, yes, Mary Poppins is a make-believe woman… but stories matter, right? And in stories about a strong woman written by a strong woman, I am not sure we do anyone any favors by reducing that character to “a witch.” Just saying, there are a lot deeper discussions about Mary Poppins we could be having if we wanted to…
(By the way, the recut movie trailer Brian mentions above really is a lot of fun.)