I Regret To Inform You Paddington Has Been Exploited For Monarchist Propaganda

Britain has gone absolutely buck wild with Platinum Jubilee celebrations this week and to commemorate 70 years on the throne, Lizzy sat down to have afternoon tea with royalty — Paddington Bear.

When Queen Elizabeth II isn’t drinking tea and doing [insert whatever the Queen actually does all day] in Buckingham Palace, she side hustles as an actor. Previously, we’ve seen her perform alongside Daniel Craig in a James Bond skit for the 2012 London Olympics, but in honour of her 70th year on the throne, she upped the star power and has delivered a now-viral video with Paddington.

This on par if not better than the Olympic James Bond scene.
The Queen having tea with Paddington – incredible that at 96 and after 70 years on the throne she still has the power to surprise #platinumpartyatthepalace pic.twitter.com/88NP1ScpXx

— Michael Cowan (@mrmikecowan) June 4, 2022

Enlisting the help of the world’s favourite CGI bear for the purpose of monarchist propaganda is certainly an interesting move, especially given the fact that Paddington is Peruvian — another country that was victim to colonisation (albeit by the Spanish, rather than the British).

And it certainly was a smart PR move. I would be lying if I said my knee-jerk reaction wasn’t to be utterly obsessed with the talking bear eating his silly little sandwiches. But there’s a deeper story to be told. Many social media users were quick to point out the irony of a refugee bear being used as a propaganda outfit — especially considering the UK stands accused of attempting to deport asylum seeker children to Rwanda right now.

no you don't get it babe. they used paddington in monarchist propaganda!

— Mat (@matpiled) June 5, 2022

Prior to appearing in adorable propaganda, beloved character Paddington Bear arrived in the U.K. via lifeboat with a single case, his uncles hat and a sign that said “Please look after this bear”

— Clare Sheppard (@ClareLSheppard) June 5, 2022

While the Royal Family have recently made headlines for offering sanctuary to Ukrainian refugees and privately donating to a refugee appeal for those fleeing the Russian invasion (which is good), it cannot be forgotten that this is being done while the country is simultaneously sending asylum seekers offshore for processing in a system not unlike Australia’s abhorrent policy.

As an avid fan of the marmalade sandwich eating bear, I am never going to say no to more Paddington content. If I could get Paddington content injected into my bloodstream through an IV drip, I certainly would. But that doesn’t make the decision to sell-out everyone’s favourite bear any less of a weird move from the people behind the film franchise, or actor Ben Whishaw.

When Michael Bond first conceptualised the Paddington story that grew into what we know and love today way back in the 1950s, the bear was designed to depict the struggles of refugees — particularly refugee children.

“They all had a label round their neck with their name and address on and a little case or package containing all their treasured possessions,” Bond told The Guardian in 2014, talking about children during the London Blitz. “So Paddington, in a sense, was a refugee, and I do think that there’s no sadder sight than refugees.”

Since his inception, Paddington has been commercialised, slapped on any piece of merchandise you can imagine and exploited for a profit a hundred times over. But in the nearly 64 years since Bond first introduced us to Paddington, our treatment of refugees has not come very far at all. If anything, it has gone backwards.

That’s not to say you can’t enjoy the films, buy the merchandise and heck, even enjoy the cutesy video of him having tea with the Queen, but do so while remembering his origins — and the fact that real human refugees are still not being given the respect that we give a CGI bear.

Enjoy the silly video for what it is — I know I did — but don’t forget what Paddington’s story represents.