Paddington a racial equality pioneer says uni academic

Paddington Bear was an early pioneer of racial equality who offered a fresh perspective on British life, a university academic has said.

This week sees the release of Paddington 2 in cinemas, with the lovable bear from Darkest Peru also starring in this year’s Christmas M&S advert and the subject of the 2017 Fenwick’s window.

But while many families are looking forward to seeing the film, advert and window, a North East academic has proclaimed the small bear is not only a fictional character who is entertaining – he is also an illegal immigrant, and even an early pioneer of racial equality.

Professor Angela Smith is based in the School of Culture at the University of Sunderland.

In her research paper, Paddington Bear: A Case Study of Immigration and Otherness, Professor Smith has gone back to Paddington’s origins, Britain in 1958, a time of widespread racism, and growing multiculturalism, into which a small bear from ‘Darkest Peru’ arrives with a unique perspective on British life.

“Michael Bond’s Paddington books deal with immigration at a very subtle level,” said Professor Smith.

“Today those kinds of books are aimed at older children who, it is assumed, are better able to cope with the complex political and psychological issues.

“But that first book, A Bear Called Paddington, published in 1958, presents issues of anti-racism in a deceptively simple story.”

Professor Smith argues that the setting of Michael Bond’s books, and the background of his famous bear, are very carefully chosen.