{"id":10171,"date":"2024-10-23T15:41:15","date_gmt":"2024-10-23T15:41:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/?p=10171"},"modified":"2024-10-23T15:41:23","modified_gmt":"2024-10-23T15:41:23","slug":"mary-poppins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/2024\/10\/23\/mary-poppins\/","title":{"rendered":"Mary Poppins"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Kite Mending<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Sixty years after it was released, Mary Poppins<\/em> still highlights the important things in life.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Review by Annie Joy Williams
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I have never been too fond of children\u2019s movies. Perhaps this is due to a lack of exposure to such films in my own childhood. I am the youngest of three children\u2014a classic accident child (or a \u201chappy surprise,\u201d according to my mother). By the time I came around, the family was largely over childish movies. I was raised primarily on war documentaries and films of a more serious variety.<\/p>

My former-military father typically chose what we would watch as a family each Friday evening when he was home from a week of flying. He had transitioned into being a commercial pilot by the time I knew what pilots were, which meant I spent half of my childhood with him far away. I was almost always distraught by his oppressively heavy film choices, most coming from a dark chapter of our world\u2019s history and the rest having something to do with a farm or flying. However, there was one film he and I both were quite fond of\u2014Mary Poppins<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>

In honor of the film\u2019s 60th anniversary, I sat down to watch the original Mary Poppins<\/em> this past week. As I heard the first notes of the score, before I even arrived at \u201cChim Chim Cher-ee,\u201d I already found myself singing my personal favorite:\u00a0<\/p>

\u201cWith tuppence for paper and strings,
You can have your own set of wings\u2026\u201d<\/p>

The familiar refrain takes me back to the best days of my youth. My father was not big on displaying affection, but if there was one time he would release his inhibitions, it was during the chorus of \u201cLet\u2019s Go Fly a Kite.\u201d It would play on the television, and I would start giggling immediately. It signaled the start of my favorite game. My dad did not like dancing or silliness, but he would swing me around and toss me in the air as the ensemble would cheerfully shout \u201cUP! through the atmosphere\u2026 UP! where the air is clear\u2026\u201d It\u2019s one of my favorite memories\u2014a rare glimpse at the softness that lived deep inside my father.\u00a0<\/p>

This was, I\u2019m ashamed to say, my first time rewatching the film as an adult. This time around, I was less consumed by the dancing and singing and magic of the whimsical characters and much more captured another father\u2014the charmless Mr. Banks.\u00a0<\/p>

At the start of the film, we meet a rigid man who prides himself on heading a no-nonsense home. He dismisses Jane and Michael\u2019s wishes and dreams as foolish childhood whims. He appears to associate happiness with immaturity and sees no place for either in his world. As Mary Poppins\u2019s joy takes full effect on the home, he fights it with his whole being. The more cheerful everyone else gets, the more infuriated he grows. He attempts to run the home like the bank he faithfully serves, but his absence and his children\u2019s imaginations make steering such a tight ship impossible.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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It\u2019s the serious kids who imagine that a Mary Poppins might come and save their heavy souls from premature adulthood.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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When things go awry on the children\u2019s visit to the bank with their father, Jane and Michael run away. They find Bert\u2014the father-figure they would prefer\u2014who, instead of consoling the children, invites them to look at the situation through a different lens. He suggests that maybe their father is bitter and angry because he is alone. He reminds them that unlike the two of them, their father has no one to turn to or depend on when the going gets tough\u2014a classic predicament that society has repeatedly cemented as a necessary part of manhood.<\/p>

But in the closing scenes of the movie, we see a man broken, cut loose from his routines and securities and little luxuries. Maybe it was when Bert reminded him that his children will age (it did seem that only another man could reason with him, unfortunately), or perhaps it was Michael offering the bank his precious tuppence that chipped away at his father\u2019s impenetrable core. Either way, right when Mr. Banks\u2019s uncontrollable anger would typically take over, we instead see a man freed. He laughs with reckless abandon as his boss fires him for letting his children get in the way of work, the greatest moment of shame for a man so career-obsessed. All the men at the bank think he\u2019s gone mad, but his mind is on something more important\u2014mending a kite for his children. He rushes home, desperate not to miss another moment of the fun and love he has so long denied himself.\u00a0<\/p>

I wish I could have a chat with P.L. Travers herself. I know characters like Mr. Banks are not born out of dust. It\u2019s the serious kids who imagine that a Mary Poppins might come and save their heavy souls from premature adulthood. I suspect Walt Disney might have something to add about his own father, as well. Childhood emotional repression might not be the father of genius, but it appears to be whimsy\u2019s creative fodder.<\/p>

I\u2019m sure I missed all these lessons when I watched this movie as a child. I loved it for entirely different reasons\u2014Mary Poppins was beautiful, and she sang and danced with the children, and I always hoped there was something romantic going on between her and Bert. But I have to wonder if, perhaps, my young brain subconsciously loved this film because I saw hope for my own relationship with my father, that one day laughter would permanently shake him out of his gravity and into the playful dad I had only seen in brief glimmers. If a children\u2019s movie could make him dance and sing, anything was possible.<\/p>

My father\u2019s granddaughters have now forced him to return to the world of Mary Poppins, and I see him in a constant state of play with them, whether or not the soundtrack is booming in the minivan. Now I dream of the day when I hope to dance with him to \u201cLet\u2019s Go Fly a Kite\u201d at my hypothetical future wedding. (I choreographed the dance we\u2019ll do when I was just nineteen years old. Mary Poppins taught me that we all need an imaginative study break.)\u00a0<\/p>

I wish I could tell P.L. Travers and Walt Disney that they did what I believe they set out to do in this movie\u2014helped soften a man hardened by the world he was subjected to and expected to shoulder. They gave my younger self a hope, and like Mr. Banks, my father now lives into those joyful songs. Let the Air Force Admirals call him a madman. He has a kite to fly.<\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Annie Joy Williams<\/strong> holds a Bachelor\u2019s in Public Policy and a Master\u2019s in International Relations. She currently works at The Atlantic<\/em> in New York City and works best when wearing Carrie Bradshaw\u2019s Manolo Blahniks.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Mary Poppins<\/strong> was based upon the novel of the same name by P.L. Travers. The screenplay was written by Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi, and the film was directed by Robert Stevenson. It was released in 1964 by Walt Disney Productions. It is available to watch via various streaming services.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sixty years after it was released, Mary Poppins still highlights the important things in life. Review by Annie Joy Williams<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":10172,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"","ocean_second_sidebar":"","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"","ocean_custom_header_template":"","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"on","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsletter","entry","has-media"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farefwd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Mary-Poppins-3D.jpg?fit=1500%2C1366&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10171","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10171"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10171\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10182,"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10171\/revisions\/10182"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10172"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10171"}],"wp:ter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