I heard it in Mary Poppins!
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The basic idea is “if you’re born into the upper classes, nobility, and/or money, you should act decently and charitably towards people who weren’t born into those things.”
What you make of that is up for debate. In one sense, it’s a concept most people would agree with, the grandfather of modern discussions about privilege, and the idea that you should be aware of whatever relative advantages in life you got without trying. Practically speaking, it’s probably an expression associated with societies that believe in an upper class as a natural and positive development, with inequality being an accepted fact of life, and the person saying it being comfortable with their status.
“Noblesse oblige” is definitely a big upgrade over the old system of “I’m the lord of this manor and can do whatever I want to you dirty serfs.” If you’re saying it about yourself, it still carries an implication of “I’m fancy and can afford to help poor people,” which is kind of a humblebrag.
In the movie, it’s sung by a wealthy male banker who’s talking about how he’s in charge of his life and house and family, and who opposes his wife being able to vote. This helps give a sense of why it’s a bit of a tainted expression.
It has both good and bad connotations.
It’s good in a sense that refers to a sense of duty that those in a “priveledged class” have duty to be generous, or “take care of” those of a lesser status. So it’s good in a sense of charity, generosity, and good will, those are all good qualities.
It’s bad in that it’s an old term referring more to an old fashioned “nobility” sense of “priveledged”. So you can’t avoid that it’s based on the concept that status and “Goodness” are interlinked, that by virtue of having status you are a *better person* and those without that status are *worse* people to be doted on and protected and cared for like you might a sick puppy. It has very Colonialist implications and shouldn’t confused with more modern or progressive concepts of altruism like Philanthropy.
It means that the noble and aristocratic members of society have an obligation to, in fact, actually *be* noble in their manner, especially toward the common folk.
As with most sayings it is neither bad nor good, it depends entirely on its use. In Marry Poppins there are multiple layers here (as with most things in the story).
Mr. Banks uses it to refer to himself. Or at least how he imagines himself to be. He’s a person of authority over his house, yet he chooses to “rule” it with a gentle hand. Kind of like, “how nice I am that I don’t abuse my authority in this house.” In this sense it’s kind of bad, because people don’t deserve praise for simply not being assholes, but it is also a product of the time period.
The next layer is as a literary device in the song as a whole. Just about everything Banks describes in the song is false. His life isn’t pleasant, he’s not particularly “in charge” of his house, his hand is less “gentle” than it is simply indifferent, etc. The entire song is, essentially, ironic.
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