Roald Dahl's Books Being Altered
- Thread starter dshl
- Start date
bluescreen
tofu eating wokerati
TBH aren't these edits financially driven, to keep the books earning money in a more critical world, when otherwise they might be quietly left to die in Oxfam?
StoneRoad
heckling from the back!
dshl - the word you are looking for is "Bowdlerize"
This process was applied to, among other items, Shakespeare's plays, to render them suitable for young Ladies and gentlemen.
My opinion ? must not and should not happen to the "great works" of the past, literature should always be considered in the context of when it was originally written.
But all this means, if you "must" adapt a work for a modern audience then you must say that you have done so !
This process was applied to, among other items, Shakespeare's plays, to render them suitable for young Ladies and gentlemen.
My opinion ? must not and should not happen to the "great works" of the past, literature should always be considered in the context of when it was originally written.
But all this means, if you "must" adapt a work for a modern audience then you must say that you have done so !
emanymton
A cat politely sat on the flaming gardener.
Dahl's books are not exactly great works of literature though, they are fun books for kids.
Artaxerxes
Look out, he's got a gnu!
And Shakespeare was written for dick jokes and fart jokes to fill the cheap seats, what’s your point caller?
Johnny Vodka
The Abominable Scotsman
Fuck, no. Should be left as they are, warning/context if required, and the language/attitudes can be a point of discussion.
hitmouse
so defeated, thinks it's funny
Can't say I'm that hugely bothered about it, I think I lean more towards thinking that it'd be better for parents to get the originals and actually have conversations with their kids about why the dodgy stuff is dodgy, but then I'm not a parent and will not be buying any Dahl books, bowlderized or otherwise, for my non-existent kids any time soon, so my opinions are a bit irrelevant really.
pinkmonkey
2.4 hour party person
Me neither, BUT the attitudes are so dated, nobody is gonna buy that for their kids today, well not unless they're a fundie or out of date themselves. My aunt obviously didn't realise or think that the Garfield books she brought were dated, but to me they were and I can't imagine my SIL letting her kids have them once she knew what they were like.
DotCommunist
So many particulars. So many questions.
isn't it interesting how decisions to keep the book saleable from the past barely raised a twitch but now its another excuse for people who read 1984 over 20 years ago and still get it confused with The Prisoner to moan.
littlebabyjesus
one of Maxwell's demons
Yep. And there's nothing wrong with the process by which books quietly die in Oxfam when their time has passed. People like Dahl and Blyton were massively popular in their day, but there's no reason why they should continue to be so. It's not like people have stopped writing children's books.
A380
How do I change this 'custom title' thing then?
And classist as hell. I always remember wondering why the kid who helped them save the day had to go and have their tea in the kitchen rather than with the Adventurous Four or the Finder Outers or whatever.
littlebabyjesus
one of Maxwell's demons
Well we don't have a counterfactual you who read better books to compare the real you to, so that thought experiment is tricky.
But it's not just about you. Black kids growing up surrounded by racist stories may internalise the attitudes and be affected by it for life. Some things are best left in the past.
littlebabyjesus
one of Maxwell's demons
danny la rouge
More like *fanny* la rouge!
I don't agree with any of the poll options. I agree with the Phillip Pullman/ littlebabyjesus line. Outdated literature should go out of date. If people want to consult it, it’s there as a record of attitudes that could get published at the time. Society moves on.
Different if it was a living author editing their own work and saying “you know, I wouldn’t write that now”. That’s different. Even Dickens did that (he came to realise he’d used antisemitic tropes and went back and revised earlier work). But photoshopping dead authors’ work? Don’t bother. Just allow them to fade away and publish new authors.
danny la rouge
More like *fanny* la rouge!
BBC story carries some: Roald Dahl: Rishi Sunak joins criticism of changes to author's books Roald Dahl: Rishi Sunak joins criticism of changes to author's books
danny la rouge
More like *fanny* la rouge!
Very good.
danny la rouge
More like *fanny* la rouge!
James and the in-season fruit, when available.
Thanks. Some of them are just silly. But it's fun to think how much it'll wind up Daily Mail readers.
Nine Bob Note
Self-Isolating before it was fashionable
Have they released the proposed revisions to this one yet?
danny la rouge
More like *fanny* la rouge!
“Tales of the Unacceptable”.
Have they released the proposed revisions to this one yet?
JimW
支那暗杀团
Title sequence to that is now an androgynous figure doing Pilates in front of a solar panel in appropriate sports attire.
andysays
Love and solidarity
But in this case it appears to be the Dahl estate and publishers who are making the changes, so it's fairly obvious that they are less than keen on allowing his legacy and the income they still get from it to pass away.
In other words it's an entirely cynical move from them.
jannerboyuk
...just kids gone wild.
As a bookshop owner i'm here to tell ya, they won't be dying off anytime soon - although like a lot of kids books it's adults buying for kids that drives the bulk of the sales.
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