Roald Dahl books being rewritten to make them nicer

[throbber]

1 hour ago, Hauzen said:

I'm in favour of Rangers/Celtic losing because it annoys Rangers/Celtic fans.

I'll embrace the patheticness, thanks

Cutting off your nose to spite your face is never a good look 

[btb]

Is it to do with declining sales?

My opinion is that the changes reported will change the atmosphere of Dahl's books, print them as they are and if they don't suit a modern audience then the problem goes away. 

[Tony Ferrino]

Who gives a shit? If that's what the family/owners want to do to make some more coin then fair enough.

Pendulums always swing and in 50 years they'll be called The c***s.

[tamthebam]

"Thomas Bowdler, LRCP, FRS (/ˈbaʊdlər/; 11 July 1754 – 24 February 1825[1]) was an English physician known for publishing The Family Shakespeare, an expurgated edition of William Shakespeare's plays edited by his sister Henrietta Maria Bowdler. They sought a version they saw as more appropriate than the original for 19th-century women and children."

There's nothing new under the sun. 

[alta-pete]

14 hours ago, Ross. said:

Wasn’t Dahl known for being a bit of a c**t? No surprise that whoever owns his IP rights is now desperately trying to blame someone else for their attempts at keeping the money coming in.

It’s a time proven thing, one after another; but go and find us someone (or their estate) who’s self-made millions were made by them being a decent chap instead of not by being ‘a bit of a c**t’? It’ll be a short list I think . 

To make exceptional money it seems you need to move to a different groove. Or so I’ve been told. And I’m surprised that you, being involved in the Swiss financial industry, (stereotyping, but I’m sure with a fairly heavy concentration of obvious c***s) haven’t come to the same conclusion. 

[Florentine_Pogen]

Behind every great fortune lies a great crime.

Honore de Balzac

[Ross.]

8 hours ago, alta-pete said:

It’s a time proven thing, one after another; but go and find us someone (or their estate) who’s self-made millions were made by them being a decent chap instead of not by being ‘a bit of a c**t’? It’ll be a short list I think . 

To make exceptional money it seems you need to move to a different groove. Or so I’ve been told. And I’m surprised that you, being involved in the Swiss financial industry, (stereotyping, but I’m sure with a fairly heavy concentration of obvious c***s) haven’t come to the same conclusion. 

Yes, but by “Bit of a c**t” I mean extraordinarily so. It’s long accepted that his works are sexist, racist and anti semitic, and that those traits were well displayed in his private life, particularly the first and last parts.

In my part of the industry it’s largely just people getting by in an environment that fortunately pays us better than the average salary. I do work with some who are, by any standard, earning exceptional money, and I would tend to agree they operate on a different groove. Mostly, to me at least, it seems to be an ego thing. They see the people they went to school with doing well and they just have to make sure they do better, no matter what it takes. Can’t settle for only having 20m stashed away when one of their social group was talking in the press about the 30m he has put aside for retirement(in a few cases you can add at least 1 zero to the numbers). Almost everyone I know would need to kill to get close to a decent fraction of that kind of money.

[carpetmonster]

 

[Gnash]

The publisher has changed their mind:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-64759118

Remarkably, the article doesn't make it clear whether they will sell the original version instead of or as well as the updated versions.

[hk blues]

12 hours ago, Gnash said:

The publisher has changed their mind:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-64759118

Remarkably, the article doesn't make it clear whether they will sell the original version instead of or as well as the updated versions.

Both versions although no confirmation about any price differences

[Theroadlesstravelled]

Woke capitalism 0

Normal capitalism 1

[TxRover]

1 hour ago, Theroadlesstravelled said:

Woke capitalism 0

Normal capitalism 1

Free advertising, priceless…

[D Angelo Barksdale]

I see the woke mob have now come for Ian Fleming and James Bond. Well I for one hope good old 007 gives them what for.

I mean who among us has not described Koreans as lower than apes ?

[Braesoyetts]

On 21/02/2023 at 04:38, ICTChris said:

Quite a lot of the changes seem to be taking out references to fat people and most of Dahl's books had villians who were big fat women.

They changed the description of Mrs Twit to take out 'double chin' but keep in wonky nose and crooked teeth. 

My son went through a phase of watching old Disney movies on Disney Plus and some of them do have some stuff in it that's pretty jarring.  Lady and the Tramp is a lovely movie but the Siamese cats sequence would not fly today.  I also remember seeing a warning on Aliens (wasn't watching that with my four year old) advising that there were outdated and offensive attitudes in the movie.  I racked my brains but I think it must refer to when the marines wake up from hypersleep and one of them makes a joke about Vasquez  being "an illegal alien".

There's a lot of stuff like that.  Things I don't remember being problematic, and when I watch them again I'm like "Oh, shit did they just say that?"  But it's part of historical understanding.  Things were different in the past.  I used to read Enid Blyton books (loved them), but I was well aware even in the 80s that some parts were not quite alright.  

On a side note - anyone watch Dahl's Tales of the Unexpected?  There was a few weird references to large women in there too.  Seems to have a bit of a preoccupation with him.  Also, he came across as really creepy in the introductions.  

I did love Henry Sugar though....

[Gnash]

12 hours ago, Bodie said:

I see the woke mob have now come for Ian Fleming and James Bond. Well I for one hope good old 007 gives them what for.

I mean who among us has not described Koreans as lower than apes ?

There's a key distinction to be made here.  Based on that quote, it's the character's racist view, not the author's (or strictly speaking, the 'narrator' of the book).

Amending the language of characters in a book to appease a (to use a lazy phrase) 'woke' agenda is completely ludicrous and counterproductive.  The language characters use informs us about them and their motivations.  And how could authors, through their books, expose and challenge abhorrent views unless they are expressed in the first place?

Changing the language of the Dahl books is different and more worthy of debate.

[Miguel Sanchez]

"sensitivity readers"

Every day sees me closer and closer to a Network-style meltdown.

[Jim McLean's Ghost]

5 minutes ago, Gnash said:

There's a key distinction to be made here.  Based on that quote, it's the character's racist view, not the author's (or strictly speaking, the 'narrator' of the book).

Amending the language of characters in a book to appease a (to use a lazy phrase) 'woke' agenda is completely ludicrous and counterproductive.  The language characters use informs us about them and their motivations.  And how could authors, through their books, expose and challenge abhorrent views unless they are expressed in the first place?

Changing the language of the Dahl books is different and more worthy of debate.

Aye Fleming had no choice but to put the views of James Bond unadulterated on the text!

Little awkward that Fleming has said he mixed his own details in when writing Bond.

3 minutes ago, Miguel Sanchez said:

"sensitivity readers"

Every day sees me closer and closer to a Network-style meltdown.

Do you think they have the title "sensitivity readers" or do you think they are called "Editors". Don't let your own mind be poisoned by the tabloid press. Why would you take the fucking DAILY TELEGRAPH at face value for any of this stuff.

[Miguel Sanchez]

16 minutes ago, Jim McLean's Ghost said:

Do you think they have the title "sensitivity readers" or do you think they are called "Editors". Don't let your own mind be poisoned by the tabloid press. Why would you take the fucking DAILY TELEGRAPH at face value for any of this stuff.

What Sensitivity Readers Actually Do, From a Professional (vice.com)

Sensitivity Readers: Who Are They and Should Authors Use Them? (reedsy.com)

The example in the Vice article of children's books with awkward language is reasonable and something I can understand, publishers wanting to make sure their books are appropriate for their audience. Applying this retroactively to the works of people who are dead is bullshit.

Edited February 26, 2023 by Miguel Sanchez

[Richey Edwards]

13 hours ago, Bodie said:

I see the woke mob have now come for Ian Fleming and James Bond. Well I for one hope good old 007 gives them what for.

I mean who among us has not described Koreans as lower than apes ?

Ah, but is he talking about North or South Koreans?

[Jim McLean's Ghost]

1 hour ago, Miguel Sanchez said:

What Sensitivity Readers Actually Do, From a Professional (vice.com)

Sensitivity Readers: Who Are They and Should Authors Use Them? (reedsy.com)

The example in the Vice article of children's books with awkward language is reasonable and something I can understand, publishers wanting to make sure their books are appropriate for their audience. Applying this retroactively to the works of people who are dead is bullshit.

"I’m just a more specialised editor, as maybe the editor doesn’t have the background I do."

And why are dead folk allowed to be racist? Particularly when the books are still in copyright and being sold by a publisher for profit. We are talking about fiction here. Not censoring opinions.