Chapter 4 of 27 · 4'17"
Poppins is introduced to the whole Sycamore household, and when Penny is stuck in her play he suggests she write about "ism" mania instead: "everybody's got an 'ism' these days." The scene turns into a quiet joke about politics and the ease of picking a side.
Poppins Suggests an 'Ism' Play
❝ Monologue · 6 lines Poppins Contrasts Lincoln With Today
Poppins meets the Sycamores one by one and is welcomed as a guest. When Penny complains that she is stuck in her play, he suggests a new subject: "ism" mania, since everyone these days seems to have an ideology. She likes the idea and adapts it for her character.
The chapter is the film's gentlest piece of political satire, and it is delivered by an eccentric inventor who barely knows what politics is. Poppins notices that ideologies are fashionable and treats them like a product, saying that when times get hard, you get yourself an ism and you are in business. The joke cuts both ways, because he is not attacking any particular cause, only the ease with which people adopt one. Then he names what he actually values, quoting Lincoln's line, "With malice toward none, with charity for all," and contrasting it with the modern threat: "Think the way I do or I'll bomb the daylights out of you." The scene is funny, and underneath it is the film's plainest statement of what it believes.
A1–C2 is the CEFR scale. Cards above the level you pick fade, and playback will not auto-pause on them.
“You know, communism, fascism, voodooism, everybody's got an "ism" these days.”
Lining up three utterly different isms makes the mockery land in one breath.
Informal
“Nowadays they say, "Think the way I do or I'll bomb the daylights out of you."”
The crude threat is set right against Lincoln's mercy, and the contrast does the work.
Informal
“Lincoln said, "With malice toward none, with charity for all."”
A famous line lands quietly and holds the whole speech together.
literary
“When things go a little bad nowadays, you go out and get yourself an "ism," and you're in business.”
Mocks picking an ideology the way you would pick a product.
Informal
John Paul Jones, Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams. Washington, Jefferson, Monroe. Lincoln, Grant, Lee, Edison and Mark Twain. When things got tough with those boys, they didn't run around looking for "isms." Lincoln said, "With malice toward none, with charity for all." Nowadays they say, "Think the way I do or I'll bomb the daylights out of you."
Up next · 05would you be so kind as toThe scene: Tony Flirts on the Office PhoneHe means that people keep inventing and adopting ideologies, as if picking an ism were a fashion or a product you could buy to solve your problems.
She is stuck in her play, with her character trapped in a monastery. The ism idea gives her a new direction, and she decides to use it in the story.
He says people now demand that everyone think the way they do, or they threaten violence. He contrasts that with Lincoln's line about malice toward none.
He is a guest staying with the Sycamores. He invents things, and the family notes that he makes up stories, including a claim that he once delivered ice to the house.
