The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has raised the rating of Mary Poppins from U to PG because it “includes two uses of the discriminatory term ‘Hottentots,’” a BBFC spokesman said.
‘Hottentot’ is a historical South African term for the Khoekhoe, an indigenous group, that is now considered offensive. The character Admiral Boom uses the word in the film, in one instance referring to chimney sweeps whose faces are covered in soot.
“While ‘Mary Poppins’ has a historical context, the use of discriminatory language is not condemned, and ultimately exceeds our guidelines for acceptable language at U,” the BBFC spokesman said. “We therefore classified the film PG for discriminatory language.”
The spokesman continued: “We understand from our racism and discrimination research, and recent classification guidelines research, that a key concern for people, parents in particular, is the potential to expose children to discriminatory language or behavior which they may find distressing or repeat without realizing the potential offense.”
