Roald Dahl books rewritten to remove language deemed "offensive"

The Something Awful Forums > Main > General Bullshit > Roald Dahl books rewritten to remove language deemed "offensive"

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Wizard Master: Mar 25, 2008; I am the Wizard Master

Have you guys heard about this? Apparently the publisher Puffin has hired sensitivity readers to rewrite chunks of the author�s text to make sure the books �can continue to be enjoyed by all today�, resulting in extensive changes across Dahl�s work.

Edits have been made to descriptions of characters� physical appearances. The word �fat� has been cut from every new edition of relevant books, while the word �ugly� has also been culled

Unsurprisingly there's been some backlash, with one of the key issues relating to whether it's acceptable to retroactively change an author's words, with some even calling it outright censorship. What are your guys thoughts?

My thoughts are that this is overblown and not a really big deal. Also, I think CaptainSarcastic is the best mod and I fully support him and his excellent modding.

Somebody fucked around with this message at 02:27 on Feb 19, 2023

# ? Feb 19, 2023 00:47

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# ? Apr 29, 2024 17:00

William Henry Hairytaint: Oct 29, 2011

no 1 curr

# ? Feb 19, 2023 00:48

Moai Ou: May 18, 2004; WE LOVE SHOOTING GAMES!; Fun Shoe

Blizzard Bastard.

EDIT: I mean Wizard Master.

# ? Feb 19, 2023 00:55

Smugworth: Apr 18, 2003

No I did not hear about this Cameronisgod

# ? Feb 19, 2023 01:00

Legin Noslen: Sep 9, 2004; Fortified with Rhiboflavin

Mark Twain's works are being re-released in a new "Nothing But The N-Words" edition

# ? Feb 19, 2023 01:33

STABASS: Apr 18, 2009; Fun Shoe

while we're at it, I've always felt "Roald Dahl" was a little too foreign sounding for my tastes. maybe we could change it to, say, "Rod Dole?"

# ? Feb 19, 2023 01:42

CaptainSarcastic: Jul 6, 2013

Wow, that's really weak bait.

I give this thread 1/10 Wizard Masters.

# ? Feb 19, 2023 01:42

Mega64: May 23, 2008; I took the octopath less travelered,

And it made one-eighth the difference.

Thank you for this update Wizard Master

# ? Feb 19, 2023 01:44

This Is the Zodiac: Feb 4, 2003

James and the Giant Peach Emoji

# ? Feb 19, 2023 01:45

This Is the Zodiac: Feb 4, 2003

Charlie and the Ate rear end Elevator

# ? Feb 19, 2023 01:46

Panaflex: Sep 28, 2001

Are they going to start changing plots as well? Is calling people gypsies and stealing pheasants and children driving cars in "Danny The Champion of the World" going to be outlawed?

# ? Feb 19, 2023 01:52

flubber nuts: Oct 5, 2005

what about the nuclear bomb? how are we going to defuse the nuclear bomb now???

# ? Feb 19, 2023 01:55

Brother Tadger: Feb 15, 2012; I'm accidentally a suicide bomber!

Helen Bannerman better watch out

# ? Feb 19, 2023 01:58

alexandriao: Jul 20, 2019

who gives a poo poo lmao

"someones making more books... BUT THEY'RE MAKING THEM WRONG!!!!"

theres probably more roald dahl books than the population of britain before this so just buy one of those instead.

idk why a non brit would want to read roald dahl but ok just buy one of the books from some kid that prefers to play "mind craft" and "let go bile nickel"

alexandriao fucked around with this message at 02:03 on Feb 19, 2023

# ? Feb 19, 2023 02:00

alexandriao: Jul 20, 2019

id pay for a version of the harry potter books if the text was retroactively changed to make it clear which wizards are making GBS threads their pants and when. bonus points if u go into detail with the excrement

# ? Feb 19, 2023 02:01

Agent Escalus: Oct 5, 2002; "I couldn't stop saying aloud how miscast Jim Carrey was!"

Well, Penguin and Netflix already have to deal with the fact that Dahl was a total anti-Semite. The guy hated Jews with a passion.

quote:

During his lifetime, Dahl made openly anti-Semitic remarks on a number of occasions.

In a review of a book about the Lebanon War that appeared in the August 1983 edition of the British periodical Literary Review, Dahl wrote, in reference to Jewish people, �Never before in the history of man has a race of people switched so rapidly from being much-pitied victims to barbarous murderers.�

He also made reference to �those powerful American Jewish bankers� and asserted that the United States government was �utterly dominated by the great Jewish financial institutions over there.�

Later that same year, he doubled down on his statements in an interview with the British magazine New Statesman. �There is a trait in the Jewish character that does provoke animosity, maybe it�s a kind of lack of generosity towards non-Jews,� he said. �I mean, there�s always a reason why anti-anything crops up anywhere; even a stinker like Hitler didn�t just pick on them for no reason.�

A few months before his death in 1990, Dahl stated outright that he was anti-Semitic in an interview with The Independent.

After claiming that Israel�s 1982 invasion of Lebanon was �hushed up in the newspapers because they are primarily Jewish-owned,� he went on to say, �I�m certainly anti-Israeli and I�ve become anti-Semitic in as much as that you get a Jewish person in another country like England strongly supporting Zionism. I think they should see both sides. It�s the same old thing: we all know about Jews and the rest of it. There aren�t any non-Jewish publishers anywhere, they control the media�jolly clever thing to do�that�s why the president of the United States has to sell all this stuff to Israel.�

Of course, akin to Henry Ford, his descendants are embarrassed and 100% apologetic about it and have to grapple with that aspect of his legacy.

quote:

It was those sorts of statements that caused the U.K.'s Royal Mint to nix a proposed Dahl coin in 2014 ahead of the 100th anniversary of Dahl's birth. He was "associated with antisemitism and not regarded as an author of the highest reputation," read the minutes of a commemorative coin subcommittee, The Guardian reported.

Yet even some prominent Jewish voices couldn't resist the allure of Dahl's stories. "I've always adored Roald Dahl's books," Karen Pollock, chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, said on Twitter. "I've known about his antisemitism, but to even point it out often felt like sacrilege towards one of the most popular authors of all time."

Separating the art from the artist(s) is going to be even more significant as the centuries roll on.

# ? Feb 19, 2023 02:22

Smugworth: Apr 18, 2003

remember when ronald dahl did disco demolition on the radio in chiacgo

# ? Feb 19, 2023 02:25

MrQwerty: Apr 15, 2003

W I Z A R D M A S T E R
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# ? Feb 19, 2023 02:26

Shinjobi: Jul 10, 2008; Gravy Boat 2k

Agent Escalus posted:

Well, Penguin and Netflix already have to deal with the fact that Dahl was a total anti-Semite. The guy hated Jews with a passion.

Of course, akin to Henry Ford, his descendants are embarrassed and 100% apologetic about it and have to grapple with that aspect of his legacy.

Separating the art from the artist(s) is going to be even more significant as the centuries roll on.

Wow this guy woke up on the wrong side of the bed!!!

# ? Feb 19, 2023 02:31

Bad Purchase: Jun 17, 2019

maybe they should give him a better name while they�re at it

# ? Feb 19, 2023 02:31

Buce: Dec 23, 2005

what�s up with that Roald Dahl book where the guy tries to steal all the worlds semen or whatever

# ? Feb 19, 2023 02:43

super sweet best pal: Nov 18, 2009

Maybe we can use this and the Dr Seuss thing from awhile back to goad the Republicans into reverting copyright back to what it was in the early 70s.

# ? Feb 19, 2023 02:46

Beeftweeter: Jun 28, 2005; a medium-format picture of beeftweeter staring silently at the camera, a quizzical expression on his face

roald dahl wrote the most racist james bond movie

# ? Feb 19, 2023 02:53

Vincent Van Goatse: Nov 8, 2006; Enjoy every sandwich.; Smellrose

All I want for Christmas is someone to destroy Wizard Master's computer with a hammer.

# ? Feb 19, 2023 03:03

Wee: Dec 16, 2022; by Fluffdaddy

I'll just stick to my original copy of James and the Giant Bitch, thanks.

# ? Feb 19, 2023 03:04

Seth Pecksniff: May 27, 2004; can't believe shrek is fucking dead. rip to a real one.

MrQwerty posted:

W I Z A R D M A S T E R
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# ? Feb 19, 2023 03:11

Wendigee: Jul 19, 2004

You're really on a roll, huh Chief?

# ? Feb 19, 2023 03:11

syntaxfunction: Oct 27, 2010

Books are for nerds and little kids who are so lame their parents won't buy them video games.

# ? Feb 19, 2023 03:16

Smugworth: Apr 18, 2003

syntaxfunction posted:

Books are for nerds and little kids who are so lame their parents won't buy them video games.

# ? Feb 19, 2023 03:22

SilvergunSuperman: Aug 7, 2010

syntaxfunction posted:

Books are for nerds and little kids who are so lame their parents won't buy them video games.

I found a couple choose your own adventure books at a used book place so I picked em up for a coworkers 8 year old kid. They got me really into reading so I thought maybe it'd do the same.

She said she had to force him to read one and he was really exasperated about it then a few minutes later came sprinting out to the living room yelling MOM I GET TO DECIDE WHAT HAPPENS!!!

:sparkles:

# ? Feb 19, 2023 03:22

Nigmaetcetera: Nov 17, 2004; borkborkborkmorkmorkmork-gabbalooins

Beeftweeter posted:

roald dahl wrote the most racist james bond movie

He was also the basis for the character.

# ? Feb 19, 2023 03:25

DeadFatDuckFat: Oct 29, 2012; This avatar brought to you by the 'save our dead gay forums' foundation.

Agent Escalus posted:

Well, Penguin and Netflix already have to deal with the fact that Dahl was a total anti-Semite. The guy hated Jews with a passion.

Of course, akin to Henry Ford, his descendants are embarrassed and 100% apologetic about it and have to grapple with that aspect of his legacy.

Separating the art from the artist(s) is going to be even more significant as the centuries roll on.

Those people are fuckin dead and you can just use your own brain to separate art from the artist, hth

# ? Feb 19, 2023 03:34

Caesar Saladin: Aug 15, 2004

can't believe a man born 115 years ago was an anti semite, thats crazy

# ? Feb 19, 2023 03:37

Kirk Vikernes: Apr 26, 2004; Count Goatnackh

I'm boycotting the Matilda Legacy video game.

# ? Feb 19, 2023 03:40

Wendigee: Jul 19, 2004

James and the giant woke peach

# ? Feb 19, 2023 03:41

You Are A Werewolf: Apr 26, 2010; Black Gold!

I�d be okay if that Johnny Depp/Tim Burton Willy Wonka movie was erased from history permanently. What a fuckin� dumb butt movie.

And give us back a youthful Gene Wilder, while we�re at it.

# ? Feb 19, 2023 03:43

CaptainSarcastic: Jul 6, 2013

You Are A Elf posted:

I�d be okay if that Johnny Depp/Tim Burton Willy Wonka movie was erased from history permanently. What a fuckin� dumb butt movie.

And give us back a youthful Gene Wilder, while we�re at it.

# ? Feb 19, 2023 03:58

Ralph Hurley: Aug 3, 2009

I was reading Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator to my kid a few years ago and kinda gave up because there was a part early on with a bunch of racist Chinese caricatures and all the lame rear end jokes that go along with making fun of Chinese names. I read it as a kid and didn�t remember any of that. If someone had edited that poo poo out at some point I would never have known it was missing and it would probably be a better book.

# ? Feb 19, 2023 04:01

nom epique: Apr 24, 2022; by VideoGames

Rhoald Dahl took his shot and he missed it. Straight up.

# ? Feb 19, 2023 04:07

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# ? Apr 29, 2024 17:00

Colonel Cancer: Sep 26, 2015; Tune into the fireplace channel, you absolute buffoon

i hope someone renames howard's cat

# ? Feb 19, 2023 04:07

The Something Awful Forums > Main > General Bullshit > Roald Dahl books rewritten to remove language deemed "offensive"

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