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Hundreds of changes made to latest editions of Roald Dahl's books

telegraph.co.uk

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Re: Hundreds of changes made to latest editions of Roald Dahl's books

#281

Post by renewiltord »

josephg wrote: post #257
mcguire wrote: post #207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The most cogent analysis I've seen is that the changes were made by the owners of the books in order to sell more books.

From the article: > The Dahl estate owned the rights to the books until 2021, when Netflix bought them outright for a reported $686 million, building on an earlier rights deal. The American streaming service now has overall control over the book publishing, as well as various adaptation projects that are in the works. I suspect they're hoping netflix will make movies based on his books. Netflix seems pretty sensitive…

I sympathize with the view of Netflix bowdlerizing to broaden the audience but they're also the platform with Dave Chappelle - which makes it hard to align them with "pretty sensitive to Twitter opinions" since a bunch of people have declared that fellow persona non grata.

Re: Hundreds of changes made to latest editions of Roald Dahl's books

#282

Post by Nevermark »

So many classics hit us differently today

I recently read all of Ian Flemming’s James Bond novels.

The identification of race as correlated with strong personality and motive characteristics is pervasive, especially for the enemy in any narrative.

Often negative, but often positive - the enemy is always “different”, but must always be respected, never underestimated.

And foreign characters often team up with Bond, adding their valuable foreign angles. Bond is a cosmopolitan creature.

The pervasive racial and cultural contrast enhancement was clearly entertaining for a less globally aware audience.

Even US vs UK characteristic differences are magnified.

And the subtext is always “live and let live” for general populations.

But I would certainly talk to any young, but ambitious reading, progeny of mine about that aspect of the books

Re: Hundreds of changes made to latest editions of Roald Dahl's books

#283

Post by consumer451 »

krona wrote: post #231

Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered... Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right. - George Orwell

This Dahl situation seems ridiculous and deserving of derision.

I would also like to bring your attention to the Florida school book ban which applies not just to new editions of one author, but to an entire state's education system.

> Among the titles that have been removed and banned in the course of the vetting in her school district are Toni Morrison’s ‘The Bluest Eye,’ ‘The Kite Runner’ by Khaled Hosseini, ‘The Stranger’ by Albert Camus, ‘Revolting Rhymes’ by Roald Dahl, and a skateboarding magazine called ‘Thrasher’.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/florida-bo...

Re: Hundreds of changes made to latest editions of Roald Dahl's books

#284

Post by josephg »

MichaelMoser123 wrote: post #249
josephg wrote: post #240

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't want to downplay antisemitism - its a real problem. But why does that bother you, given he's dead? Matilda was one of my favorite books when I was a kid. There's something in it that hits me right in the soul, even as an adult. I hear you when you say his antisemitism is an issue for you - but - I just can't see how that has any bearing on my relationship with his books. As a child I didn't understand, and no…

>But why does that bother you, given he's dead For example it can be taken it as a call to others to hate your guts too, and it can play out pretty nasty, if the economy turns bad and if people will start to look out for scapegoats. This is not something entirely abstract, it happened before.

Half my ancestry is Jewish. I'm sure plenty of dead people hate me for one reason or another. But, they're dead and I'm alive. So why should I care?

Its kind of a weird move but there's plenty of other ways we can weave meaning out of whats happening here.

- We could say "Ha ha - you hate Jewish people but your life's work still involved giving beautiful books for me to enjoy! Sounds like you lose, Dahl!". Taking treasure from a dragon is more virtuous if the dragon you're stealing from is evil.

- Or turn this into a story about mending fences. Here's an antisemite and a semite bonding over our shared love of stories. Sounds like a lived example of us being more alike than we are different, after all. Racism, in all its forms, diminishes through empathy and shared understanding. If two communities read different books growing up, they're much less likely to understand each other. If two communities enjoy the same books, they'll find it easier to connect and build bridges. He may have been antisemitic. Isn't that even more reason to use his life's work to bring people closer together?

This might sound weak or saccharine. But I find it pretty hard to imagine any scenario in which enjoying Matilda will somehow incite people to blame "the Jews" for a bad economy. That sounds pretty far fetched to me.

Re: Hundreds of changes made to latest editions of Roald Dahl's books

#285

Post by cafard »

MichaelMoser123 wrote: post #128

It turns out that Dahl was a real antisemite, to me that is more of an issue: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/dec/06/roald-dahl-fam...

Somebody a few years ago proposed that if one really wished to read only poets who were guaranteed to be unobjectionable in their opinions and exemplary in their private lives, one would have to stick to George Herbert.

Did Dahl's antisemitism color much or some of his work? I haven't read that much of his stuff.

Re: Hundreds of changes made to latest editions of Roald Dahl's books

#286

Post by throwaway675309 »

upsidesinclude wrote: post #62

While some of this is questionable the removal of the word 'fat' is an important one. 'Fat' should not be used in kids books as a derogatory, or at all frankly. Fat is an incredibly important and necessary part of a healthy diet and should be treared accordingly. Training people to think of fat in the antiquated notions of bad cardiogy isnt useful. So while this may have been a move centered around "body positivity",…

There's a very large difference between making sure you get the appropriate level of mono unsaturated fats that you would find in things like avocados and fresh fish, versus what Dahl is obviously referencing which is the concept of obesity.

You will not locate a doctor on this entire planet who would agree that obesity is healthy, it places far more load on the joints, and puts additional stress on your organs.

Either you have a deeply profound misunderstanding of the adjective fat versus the noun fat, or you're deliberately misconstruing the authors intent to fabricate an argument for why censorship is OK.

Re: Hundreds of changes made to latest editions of Roald Dahl's books

#287

Post by narrator »

throwanem wrote: post #225
johncarter14 wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's The Transgender-Industrial Complex by Scott Howard, published by Antelope Hill Publishing.

I'll save everyone here the read: according to Howard, the Jews are behind it all. Of course.

The funding was all done through charitable foundations of various billionaires. Last I checked foundations don't have an ethnicity.

Re: Hundreds of changes made to latest editions of Roald Dahl's books

#288

Post by zajio1am »

tptacek wrote: post #187
jacobriis wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"That comment is just saying you can understand the changes empathetically" That's not what they mean when they say empathy. They misuse empathy when they mean compassion. I think they do it because even they understand it's indecent to say they pity all of these people. empathy: The ability to identify with or understand another's situation or feelings compassion: Deep awareness of the suffering of another accompani…

If you know what they're trying to say, there's little point in making a stink about the particular words they've chosen.

It is - to make it easier to understand it for others, who are confused by the choice of words.

Re: Hundreds of changes made to latest editions of Roald Dahl's books

#289

Post by [deleted] »

renewiltord wrote: post #274
DanHulton wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Screeching" in english (at least North American english) is typically a gendered derogative. You generally wouldn't say a man was "screeching", not unless you also wanted to imply he was effeminate. By avoiding the word, you avoid insinuating the target's gender is part of the issue, and/or avoid insinuating that the target is effeminate when they "should not" be, i.e. you avoid homophobia.

Haha, this is the classic example of answering a question which was merely a rhetorical whip. I love watching this stuff in action. I agree wholesale with you. Screeching is most definitely more commonly used for women. That doesn't make it a bad word to use. I mean, you won't catch me dead with these bowdlerized versions. The prose is atrocious and the motives for the changes are dubious. But screeching is high pitc…

[deleted]

Re: Hundreds of changes made to latest editions of Roald Dahl's books

#290

Post by slothtrop »

upsidesinclude wrote: post #62

While some of this is questionable the removal of the word 'fat' is an important one. 'Fat' should not be used in kids books as a derogatory, or at all frankly. Fat is an incredibly important and necessary part of a healthy diet and should be treared accordingly. Training people to think of fat in the antiquated notions of bad cardiogy isnt useful. So while this may have been a move centered around "body positivity",…

Lipids (fat) are a macronutrient and necessary part of diet.

Being fat is not incredibly healthy, on the other hand - and there is absolutely no chance that there is any confusion between the two. This isn't to prevent Timmy from thinking certain people are called lipids.

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