The name is absent

Appendix 3.2: Sample films, synopses and character lists
MARY POPPINS US 65

Can't put my finger on what lies in store
But I feel what's to happen all happened before.

We are in the realm of the eternal present of myth; in a
cyclical, ahistorical timelessness in which the very concept
of linear history is an impediment to understanding the
ethical insights being offered. Not only do we have the
magical figure of Mary Poppins herself, but also the chimney
sweep, Bert. As Levi Strauss notes (Structural Anthropology
1968) soot and ashes are symbols in mythology of
mediation∕transformation between the material and the
spiritual worlds. In myths and stories from many different
cultures the symbol recurs. Cinderella is one example, the
Ash boy of American legend is another. In both cases the
personification of ashes, a 'good' but misunderstood
individual, is subject eventually to magical transformation
that is usually indicated via beauty, riches and happiness.
Shaking hands with a sweep, this film tells us, will bring
good luck; and so it does when George is not only transformed
into a fun loving and attentive husband and father but is also
made a partner in the bank. Thanks to Mary and Bert he is now
'beautiful', rich and happy. Though the film does not directly
purvey any existing legends it draws on their structure.
According to Levi Strauss it is in the relations between the
characters and events of myths that meaning resides. This film
clearly offers a variant of the many tales which deal with
man's negotiation of the material and the spiritual in the
context of his temporal existence.

Female characters in order of appearance, character groups

270

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