Mary Poppins: A Mythological Hero on a Quest
by Mary Poppins is the nanny we all want in our household, but why?
The daffodil’s are smilin’ at the doves
When Mary holds your hand you feel so grand,
Your heart starts beatin like a big brass band
Mary Poppins: (laughing) You are lighthearteded…
It’s a Jolly Holiday with Mary no wonder that it’s Mary we love.” (Disney, 2011)
These lyrics remind the viewer/reader that Mary Poppins is quintessential to their wellbeing. Everyone needs a Mary Poppins in their lives to keep them from falling apart. She is the string that attaches to the kite and anchors it to life, the family to life.
Mary Poppins’s quest has the universal appeal that Leeming was describing a mythological hero possess. The human desire for knowledge in how to be the perfect parent and well behaved, obedient children making Mary Poppins a mythological hero. She is the pinnacle icon for all nannies setting the bar for perfect parenting, resulting in perfect children. Despite the fact that perfection is unachievable as a human race, the quest to obtain it is ever present in the American daily life. Mary Poppins gives parents, nanny’s, children, society hope that no matter how broken a family may be, perfection is out there and if they hope hard enough she could fly with an umbrella into their lives and set everything right. Mary Poppins transcends beyond Julie Andrews, she is the standard in American society to which every nanny is held up to.
The film has grossed $75 million dollars to this date, has been made into a hit Broadway musical, a sing a long CD and is onto its 45th Anniversary edition of that original movie. Mary Poppins quest is still on going and will not cease until American society has achieved perfection in parenting and child rearing.
Reference
Disney
http://disneydvd.disney.go.com/mary-poppins-45th-anniversary-special-edition.html
Internet Movie Data Base (IMDB)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0396752/?licb=0.34696581680327654
Internet Movie Data Base (IMDB)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058331/
Leeming, David Adams. The World of Myth. Oxford University Press, New York, New York. 1990.
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