441–450 of 992 posts
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"folks" is possible the most egerious of these as it's an American version of English and Roald Dahl, while not English was spoke in the English version of English, not the US version. "Everyone" or "people" would make more sense
Or, you know, ladies and gentleman
Historically, the kinds of people who engage in such naked acts of demoralisation don't end up on the 'right side of history'.
I'd be interested in hearing the most credible/reputable sources speaking out in favor of these changes. I've exclusively seen commentators dunking on this (rightfully so), across the political spectrum. To be clear: I'm wondering if we can find specific people speaking up for this, not an analysis of whose side of the culture war is most culpable for it.
I'm neither credible nor reputable, but I'm in favor of a weak version of this. When reading older books to my young child, I replace language that suggests that women are supposed to stay at home and men are supposed to go to work. One day soon he'll be able to read, and at that point I'll wish that books that were a product of their time would have been updated for the current time, so that he could just read the b…
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See this post by @jasonhansel https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34849383#34853283
Ok, I read the article [1] linked in that comment and I think it's mostly junk. To give one example, the author's picking on the large noses and wigs of the witches as somehow mirroring negative portrayals of Jews is a massive stretch. The stereotypes of witches include all sorts of negative prejudices against older women . Older people have larger noses (and ears), as their faces 'shrink in' a bit (and I think carti…
Making some political waves is a sure-fire way to move some units, and in a year this’ll all be forgotten (hey has any publisher ever released a “classic edit” version of a book, to play both sides?). I mean how much money do you expect publishers to leave on the table in the interest of preserving the version of a book you personally liked?
So it's actually capitalism at fault--not the publishers rewriting the original texts? Interesting take.
Apparently book sales dropped in 2022
https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/f...
So maybe it’s COVID’s fault.
I normally don't care about this stuff... and it seems like a "nothing issue" but it really feels like someone is smoothing off the edges of classic works here. All those changes culminate in an overall reversion to the mean (ordinary). Ordinary is boring... its story books. Shaving off attributes for the sake of what, exactly?
Imagine they rewrite lord of the rings and make everyone a woman.
How is that ok?
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I can't square that with their last sentence. Moreover, when I feel empathy with someone who feels different and unrecognized by society, something still keeps me from advocating for the censorship and misrepresentation of a writer's ideas and internal logic. I think what's stopping me is the knowledge that if I'm fortunate enough to write something that lasts beyond me, I sure as heck don't want anyone updating it f…
Again: there's no advocacy (at least nothing evident to me) in that comment. It's a descriptive comment, not a normative one.
Come on guy, it's not that hard to see. People have been pointing it out to you for hours now.
Contempt and patronization of modern human intelligence.
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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…
To be clear, The Witches is full of obviously intentional antisemitic tropes: https://www.heyalma.com/is-roald-dahls-the-witches-antisemit...
Those of us who grew up near various religious communities in the second half of the twentieth century are familiar with the edited and abridged versions of media made to be more palatable to the morals of whichever community, as well as the scandals over media which were an affront to them for whatever reason. Obviously, a publisher committed to those communities and who can get the rights to do so will make a “clea…
Can you give me an example of whatever community it is that you grew up in? Me? Rural northern Arkansas. Dry county. Unaffected by these edited/abridged version of media. In other words, Han shot first in my day, sonny.