Not ready for a post about England. Getting there, but not yet.
The movie "Mary Poppins" has been on my mind recently. Last time I saw it was as I was flying with my friends on my way to India. D. had the movie on his ipad and the kiddos were watching it with earphones. Eventually one of them fell asleep, so like the considerate person I am, I pounced to take out the earphones and to place mine in the Y-clip. I hadn't watched that movie in ages, and I really, really wanted to see it again.
I grew up with Mary Poppins. This will reveal my age when I say that I grew up watching it on VHS. Not that old, but not exactly born yesterday. When I say that I grew up with it, I don't mean that it was my favorite. As I watched it that night on the plane, I had the strange experience of knowing nearly every line of it, yet feeling as if I were seeing it for the first time. It was one of those movies that was a significant part of my childhood, yet I never understood any of it.
As bizarre as it may sound, I think that I understand the movie, "Inception," better than I understand "Mary Poppins." Perhaps even more bizarre, (sounding) I have this idea that if I write a blog post about it, it'll help me think it through and understand it. That's because that's what I usually do in my journals. I turn it over in my mind, and as I write, clarity comes. So that's what I'm going to do.
As a child, I couldn't understand most of the conversations between the characters. All I could really gather was the feel of the story. They were just images, and not much of it made any sense. Some things stuck with me, but I'll get to that later.
Honestly, I didn't like the movie for a very long time. One reason was because the story line made no sense to me. Another reason was because I didn't like the grownups in the story, excepting Mary Poppins and Bert, and perhaps the absurd Uncle Albert. I'm getting ahead of myself again. I should start at the beginning.
Watching it on the plane, I had a chance to understand the story. We are ushered to a prim house on the streets of London that appears to be a normal household. But as we come inside, we find it is a house full of trouble. George Banks, the father of the house, is a successful man who works at the bank. His head is full of money and numbers and pride in his accomplishments. He does love his wife, but he is somewhat cold and a little distant from her. Toward his children he is very cold and very distant. He has no time for them; they don't really fit in with the his agenda and the life that he is living, so he pays no attention to them at all unless they have done something wrong.
Then we have Mrs. Winifred Banks, the mother. As a child, I didn't have anything against her, except a vague feeling that she didn't feel like a "mommy." But again, perhaps that's because in that culture, a nanny always took care of the children. Watching it this time I saw and appreciated her like I never have before. She does not work, nor does she take care of her children. Her husband is at work all the time, so she has her own agenda and her own way that she spends her time. She is working with other women to earn votes and rights for women, and she is very taken up with it! Not wrong, in and of itself, of course. I also noticed that not only does she love Mr. Banks, she respects and supports him. She wants him to take leadership, and she builds him up and follows his lead. I like that about her.
The children, Jane and Michael, are about 7 and 5, I should think. They are not getting attention or discipline from their parents, and so, being normal children, this encourages them to be mischievous and wild, which is trying to their nannies. The children don't like how cross their nannies always are with them. They want to be loved and listened to. And they're not getting that from anyone.
Several nannies have recently left the house in a huff, and then the servants are cross because they have to take care of the children instead of doing their own work.
The story begins with Mr. Banks writing an advertisement for a new nanny; requesting someone brisk, sharp, and no-nonsense. The children come with an advertisement of their own that they've written for a nanny that they would like to have. Someone kind, pretty, and fun. Mr. Banks dismisses them coldly off to bed and tears up their letter in disgust and throws it in the fireplace. The pieces of the letter fly away, and while many nannies gather in a "queue," outside the Banks' house, a strong wind blows them all away and ushers in the perfect nanny: Mary Poppins. She's so brisk that she whisks herself into the new position, and the children have their new nanny. She gives them her undivided attention when they speak, but she is dignified and must be obeyed. Yet she's fun and cheerful, and she plays games, sings songs, and takes them on adventures.
It was from Mary Poppins that I first heard that every job can be fun. You can make it fun if your attitude is cheerful. One of my favorite scenes to watch as a child was when the children are tidying up the nursery. For years afterwards I would hum the song and snap my fingers at work, and then quickly do it, pretending it was doing itself.
We meet Bert, a chimney-sweep, who is poor but happy. He lives his life working at what he likes to do, and he finds joy in every day. As a child, I loved his character and wanted to be like him. The image of him dancing away in the rain after the "jolly holiday," always moved me deeply as a child. His little song that he always sings was both cheerful and melancholy. I felt both emotions when I heard it, and though I couldn't understand why, I always longed to run after him and go with him wherever he went. It was as if his life was full of adventure that no one else could share, and I wanted to be like that.
With Mary Poppins in the house, every thing runs smoothly. The children are happy and well-behaved, and that makes Mrs. Banks happy. The servants are chipper because they no longer have to watch the children. But Mr. Banks is still only concerned with his job and agenda to care about why everyone is so happy. He stalks off to work.
I suppose Mary Poppins knows that Mr. Banks is not spending enough time with his children, so she suggests that he take them to his bank and show him what he does every day. Mr. Banks likes the idea, and the children are glad to go anywhere with their father.
What makes me think that is something she says to the children as she's putting them to bed. She says, "Sometimes someone we love, through no fault of his own can't see past the end of his nose. Sometimes a little thing can be quite important." She shows them her snowglobe of St. Paul's Cathedral, with the shapes of little birds flying about it, and begins to sing the song, "Feed the Birds."
This is where the movie began to confuse me as a child. Before I could always sort of follow along, but here things stopped making sense. The song, with its haunting melody and melancholy words troubled me. I couldn't understand what was so important about feeding wild birds, who could find food on their own. But today I wonder if the birds were actually the only important thing about it. The little old woman, with her ragged hat and torn clothing, apparently made her living selling bags of crumbs. And only tuppence a bag meant that she didn't make very much money. Having been in England recently, I think of all the people selling things on the streets, or even begging. Most people, including myself, hurry past and often don't want to even make eye-contact. There are several reasons for that, but the old woman in the story needs help. She's working for her money, but she's relying on the time and kindness of other people. She is important, but many people are just so used to seeing her that they don't bother. Many of us, I think, go through life hardly looking past the end of our noses; our lives, our agendas, our wants. Perhaps what Mary Poppins was trying to impress on the children was that they should look out for people who are in need, and should take time to help them. It was veiled carefully in a haunting melody and bittersweet words, and it made an impression on the children.
The next day on the way to the bank, Michael brings along tuppence so that he can feed the birds. They ask their father if they can. Mr. Banks sees no use in wasting time and money on birds, and he decides that with that tuppence, Michael can open an account of his own once they get to the bank. So he forbids feeding the birds, and hurries them on.
When I watched the movie as a child, the scenes at the bank scared me. All the tall old men bustling about in their black suits and with their creaky voices frightened me. The bank itself was so huge, cold, and colorless. I hated it. It made a very strong impression on me. When my father took me to open my first savings account at the bank, he couldn't understand why I was so nervous. I didn't want to admit that the reason my stomach was in knots was because of the impression of banks I'd gotten from Mary Poppins. That one that I first opened my account in is dreary inside; all brown and black, with all those cameras and jail-like bars between you and the tellers. To this day, I dislike going to banks.
It got worse, nightmarish. To an adult, it is amusing to see all those old men singing a song about the wisdom of investing money from an early age, but to a child it is scary. The ridiculous song with all its long words sounds so impressive, but all I or the children in the movie could understand of it is that all these people wanted Michael's money. They don't understand why they want it; their father didn't explain it to them beforehand. They are intimidating and their eyes are wide and urgent. Their father is only trying to help, but he's only applying more pressure, and the children feel they have no protection. Plus, they are remembering what Mary Poppins told them about feeding the birds, newly stamped on their minds as something important. As the song comes to its climax, the men close in on the children until they are backed against the wall. Michael reluctantly opens his hand with the tuppence in it, and the president of the bank snatches it away. Michael's nerve breaks, and his stubbornness kicks in and he demands his money back in a shout. He rushes forward and begins to struggle with the old man, and loyal Jane jumps to his side. All the old men and Mr. Banks try to interfere, resulting only in confusion.
The confusion turns to chaos when the people hear the shouts of, "Give me back my money!" and panic, each demanding all of their money, and a run begins. Adults are running everywhere and crowding into the doors. Money spills, the music races, the police arrive and are trying to control the mob, and then in the midst of all the confusion, Michael retrieves his money, and he and Jane run wildly out of the bank and get lost in the alleys. They run into Bert and he manages to calm them down and find out why they're running away.
(This is a very long post...I promise that when I talk about another movie I won't do it like this.)
As Bert sits them down and talks to them, his conversation never made much sense to me as a child. I sensed it was important, but I didn't know why or how. Watching it now, so many years later, I was impressed at how Bert speaks to them. He defends their father, and shows them that while they have lots of people to look out for them, Mr. Banks has no one looking after him. He just presses on with his job and doesn't complain. He tells them that every father needs help from his children, and that their father loves them very much. Then he takes them home.
The Romp on the rooftop I will summarize by saying that it is one of the most delightful scenes Disney ever made. I love Romps in stories. The whole dance is such an expression of childlike joy, wild and yet structured. Everyone in the household joins in, except the shocked Mr. Banks. At a whistle from Bert, they all tip their hats to Mr. Banks and disappear into the night.
Mr. Banks receives a call, summoning him to the bank at 9 o'clock, undoubtedly to be fired. Bert, who stayed behind to gather his brushes, talks with Mr. Banks, reminding him of his responsibility to be there for his children, and pointing out that they won't be children for long. He gives him a cheery goodnight, and leaves. Mr. Banks is still mulling that over when the children come and apologize for the trouble at the bank, and Michael gives him the tuppence.
As Mr. Banks walks towards the bank, he stops at the steps of St. Paul's and looks toward where the bird woman sits during the day. I wonder what goes through his mind right there. I wonder if he was thinking that if he had taken a bit of time for his children---and so for the bird woman---and so for the birds---he wouldn't be on his way to be fired from his job.
That whole scene of Mr. Banks being discharged was another frightening scene to me as a child. I was always afraid they were going to kill him or something. And I still have no idea why Mr. Banks starts giggling hysterically in the middle of it all and says "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious," when he can't think of anything to say. I'm completely guessing here,...maybe he saw how ridiculous the whole thing was? A bank failing because of a mere two pence? They smack a hole in his hat, tear a bit from the flower on his suit and turn his umbrella inside out and are being so deadly serious about it! They can't do anything else to him, and for once he can't think of anything to say, so he says Mary Poppins' word for that situation. Maybe he feels all the pressure from his job off his shoulders? I have no idea!!
And then everything begins to resolve. He mends the children's kite and goes out with them to fly it, and he is actually rehired into the bank by Mr. Dawes Jr., who, with all the rest of the bank men, are out flying kites, too!
Mary Poppins knows that the family is happy now, so she quietly leaves, and Bert waves goodbye to her from the ground.
Hmm, so now, I feel that most of it makes sense. Now I'm dying to see it again! It's such a good, strong movie, even if it is a little strange. I always enjoyed the score, the songs, and the dances. Much of that element of colorful make-believe and of adventure helped to make me who I am today. It helped me begin to understand that adults can be joyful and young at heart. That's something that I've always clung to. I will never be too old for a spoonful of sugar to help the medicine of life go down.
Congratulations if you've made it this far! Again, I promise my next movie review won't be so detailed or so rambling. I hope you enjoyed it. Every kid should watch Mary Poppins.
~Cadenza
The movie "Mary Poppins" has been on my mind recently. Last time I saw it was as I was flying with my friends on my way to India. D. had the movie on his ipad and the kiddos were watching it with earphones. Eventually one of them fell asleep, so like the considerate person I am, I pounced to take out the earphones and to place mine in the Y-clip. I hadn't watched that movie in ages, and I really, really wanted to see it again.
I grew up with Mary Poppins. This will reveal my age when I say that I grew up watching it on VHS. Not that old, but not exactly born yesterday. When I say that I grew up with it, I don't mean that it was my favorite. As I watched it that night on the plane, I had the strange experience of knowing nearly every line of it, yet feeling as if I were seeing it for the first time. It was one of those movies that was a significant part of my childhood, yet I never understood any of it.
As bizarre as it may sound, I think that I understand the movie, "Inception," better than I understand "Mary Poppins." Perhaps even more bizarre, (sounding) I have this idea that if I write a blog post about it, it'll help me think it through and understand it. That's because that's what I usually do in my journals. I turn it over in my mind, and as I write, clarity comes. So that's what I'm going to do.
As a child, I couldn't understand most of the conversations between the characters. All I could really gather was the feel of the story. They were just images, and not much of it made any sense. Some things stuck with me, but I'll get to that later.
Honestly, I didn't like the movie for a very long time. One reason was because the story line made no sense to me. Another reason was because I didn't like the grownups in the story, excepting Mary Poppins and Bert, and perhaps the absurd Uncle Albert. I'm getting ahead of myself again. I should start at the beginning.
Watching it on the plane, I had a chance to understand the story. We are ushered to a prim house on the streets of London that appears to be a normal household. But as we come inside, we find it is a house full of trouble. George Banks, the father of the house, is a successful man who works at the bank. His head is full of money and numbers and pride in his accomplishments. He does love his wife, but he is somewhat cold and a little distant from her. Toward his children he is very cold and very distant. He has no time for them; they don't really fit in with the his agenda and the life that he is living, so he pays no attention to them at all unless they have done something wrong.
Then we have Mrs. Winifred Banks, the mother. As a child, I didn't have anything against her, except a vague feeling that she didn't feel like a "mommy." But again, perhaps that's because in that culture, a nanny always took care of the children. Watching it this time I saw and appreciated her like I never have before. She does not work, nor does she take care of her children. Her husband is at work all the time, so she has her own agenda and her own way that she spends her time. She is working with other women to earn votes and rights for women, and she is very taken up with it! Not wrong, in and of itself, of course. I also noticed that not only does she love Mr. Banks, she respects and supports him. She wants him to take leadership, and she builds him up and follows his lead. I like that about her.
The children, Jane and Michael, are about 7 and 5, I should think. They are not getting attention or discipline from their parents, and so, being normal children, this encourages them to be mischievous and wild, which is trying to their nannies. The children don't like how cross their nannies always are with them. They want to be loved and listened to. And they're not getting that from anyone.
Several nannies have recently left the house in a huff, and then the servants are cross because they have to take care of the children instead of doing their own work.
The story begins with Mr. Banks writing an advertisement for a new nanny; requesting someone brisk, sharp, and no-nonsense. The children come with an advertisement of their own that they've written for a nanny that they would like to have. Someone kind, pretty, and fun. Mr. Banks dismisses them coldly off to bed and tears up their letter in disgust and throws it in the fireplace. The pieces of the letter fly away, and while many nannies gather in a "queue," outside the Banks' house, a strong wind blows them all away and ushers in the perfect nanny: Mary Poppins. She's so brisk that she whisks herself into the new position, and the children have their new nanny. She gives them her undivided attention when they speak, but she is dignified and must be obeyed. Yet she's fun and cheerful, and she plays games, sings songs, and takes them on adventures.
It was from Mary Poppins that I first heard that every job can be fun. You can make it fun if your attitude is cheerful. One of my favorite scenes to watch as a child was when the children are tidying up the nursery. For years afterwards I would hum the song and snap my fingers at work, and then quickly do it, pretending it was doing itself.
We meet Bert, a chimney-sweep, who is poor but happy. He lives his life working at what he likes to do, and he finds joy in every day. As a child, I loved his character and wanted to be like him. The image of him dancing away in the rain after the "jolly holiday," always moved me deeply as a child. His little song that he always sings was both cheerful and melancholy. I felt both emotions when I heard it, and though I couldn't understand why, I always longed to run after him and go with him wherever he went. It was as if his life was full of adventure that no one else could share, and I wanted to be like that.
With Mary Poppins in the house, every thing runs smoothly. The children are happy and well-behaved, and that makes Mrs. Banks happy. The servants are chipper because they no longer have to watch the children. But Mr. Banks is still only concerned with his job and agenda to care about why everyone is so happy. He stalks off to work.
I suppose Mary Poppins knows that Mr. Banks is not spending enough time with his children, so she suggests that he take them to his bank and show him what he does every day. Mr. Banks likes the idea, and the children are glad to go anywhere with their father.
What makes me think that is something she says to the children as she's putting them to bed. She says, "Sometimes someone we love, through no fault of his own can't see past the end of his nose. Sometimes a little thing can be quite important." She shows them her snowglobe of St. Paul's Cathedral, with the shapes of little birds flying about it, and begins to sing the song, "Feed the Birds."
This is where the movie began to confuse me as a child. Before I could always sort of follow along, but here things stopped making sense. The song, with its haunting melody and melancholy words troubled me. I couldn't understand what was so important about feeding wild birds, who could find food on their own. But today I wonder if the birds were actually the only important thing about it. The little old woman, with her ragged hat and torn clothing, apparently made her living selling bags of crumbs. And only tuppence a bag meant that she didn't make very much money. Having been in England recently, I think of all the people selling things on the streets, or even begging. Most people, including myself, hurry past and often don't want to even make eye-contact. There are several reasons for that, but the old woman in the story needs help. She's working for her money, but she's relying on the time and kindness of other people. She is important, but many people are just so used to seeing her that they don't bother. Many of us, I think, go through life hardly looking past the end of our noses; our lives, our agendas, our wants. Perhaps what Mary Poppins was trying to impress on the children was that they should look out for people who are in need, and should take time to help them. It was veiled carefully in a haunting melody and bittersweet words, and it made an impression on the children.
The next day on the way to the bank, Michael brings along tuppence so that he can feed the birds. They ask their father if they can. Mr. Banks sees no use in wasting time and money on birds, and he decides that with that tuppence, Michael can open an account of his own once they get to the bank. So he forbids feeding the birds, and hurries them on.
When I watched the movie as a child, the scenes at the bank scared me. All the tall old men bustling about in their black suits and with their creaky voices frightened me. The bank itself was so huge, cold, and colorless. I hated it. It made a very strong impression on me. When my father took me to open my first savings account at the bank, he couldn't understand why I was so nervous. I didn't want to admit that the reason my stomach was in knots was because of the impression of banks I'd gotten from Mary Poppins. That one that I first opened my account in is dreary inside; all brown and black, with all those cameras and jail-like bars between you and the tellers. To this day, I dislike going to banks.
It got worse, nightmarish. To an adult, it is amusing to see all those old men singing a song about the wisdom of investing money from an early age, but to a child it is scary. The ridiculous song with all its long words sounds so impressive, but all I or the children in the movie could understand of it is that all these people wanted Michael's money. They don't understand why they want it; their father didn't explain it to them beforehand. They are intimidating and their eyes are wide and urgent. Their father is only trying to help, but he's only applying more pressure, and the children feel they have no protection. Plus, they are remembering what Mary Poppins told them about feeding the birds, newly stamped on their minds as something important. As the song comes to its climax, the men close in on the children until they are backed against the wall. Michael reluctantly opens his hand with the tuppence in it, and the president of the bank snatches it away. Michael's nerve breaks, and his stubbornness kicks in and he demands his money back in a shout. He rushes forward and begins to struggle with the old man, and loyal Jane jumps to his side. All the old men and Mr. Banks try to interfere, resulting only in confusion.
The confusion turns to chaos when the people hear the shouts of, "Give me back my money!" and panic, each demanding all of their money, and a run begins. Adults are running everywhere and crowding into the doors. Money spills, the music races, the police arrive and are trying to control the mob, and then in the midst of all the confusion, Michael retrieves his money, and he and Jane run wildly out of the bank and get lost in the alleys. They run into Bert and he manages to calm them down and find out why they're running away.
(This is a very long post...I promise that when I talk about another movie I won't do it like this.)
As Bert sits them down and talks to them, his conversation never made much sense to me as a child. I sensed it was important, but I didn't know why or how. Watching it now, so many years later, I was impressed at how Bert speaks to them. He defends their father, and shows them that while they have lots of people to look out for them, Mr. Banks has no one looking after him. He just presses on with his job and doesn't complain. He tells them that every father needs help from his children, and that their father loves them very much. Then he takes them home.
The Romp on the rooftop I will summarize by saying that it is one of the most delightful scenes Disney ever made. I love Romps in stories. The whole dance is such an expression of childlike joy, wild and yet structured. Everyone in the household joins in, except the shocked Mr. Banks. At a whistle from Bert, they all tip their hats to Mr. Banks and disappear into the night.
Mr. Banks receives a call, summoning him to the bank at 9 o'clock, undoubtedly to be fired. Bert, who stayed behind to gather his brushes, talks with Mr. Banks, reminding him of his responsibility to be there for his children, and pointing out that they won't be children for long. He gives him a cheery goodnight, and leaves. Mr. Banks is still mulling that over when the children come and apologize for the trouble at the bank, and Michael gives him the tuppence.
As Mr. Banks walks towards the bank, he stops at the steps of St. Paul's and looks toward where the bird woman sits during the day. I wonder what goes through his mind right there. I wonder if he was thinking that if he had taken a bit of time for his children---and so for the bird woman---and so for the birds---he wouldn't be on his way to be fired from his job.
That whole scene of Mr. Banks being discharged was another frightening scene to me as a child. I was always afraid they were going to kill him or something. And I still have no idea why Mr. Banks starts giggling hysterically in the middle of it all and says "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious," when he can't think of anything to say. I'm completely guessing here,...maybe he saw how ridiculous the whole thing was? A bank failing because of a mere two pence? They smack a hole in his hat, tear a bit from the flower on his suit and turn his umbrella inside out and are being so deadly serious about it! They can't do anything else to him, and for once he can't think of anything to say, so he says Mary Poppins' word for that situation. Maybe he feels all the pressure from his job off his shoulders? I have no idea!!
And then everything begins to resolve. He mends the children's kite and goes out with them to fly it, and he is actually rehired into the bank by Mr. Dawes Jr., who, with all the rest of the bank men, are out flying kites, too!
Mary Poppins knows that the family is happy now, so she quietly leaves, and Bert waves goodbye to her from the ground.
Hmm, so now, I feel that most of it makes sense. Now I'm dying to see it again! It's such a good, strong movie, even if it is a little strange. I always enjoyed the score, the songs, and the dances. Much of that element of colorful make-believe and of adventure helped to make me who I am today. It helped me begin to understand that adults can be joyful and young at heart. That's something that I've always clung to. I will never be too old for a spoonful of sugar to help the medicine of life go down.
Congratulations if you've made it this far! Again, I promise my next movie review won't be so detailed or so rambling. I hope you enjoyed it. Every kid should watch Mary Poppins.
~Cadenza
