I'm a little late covering this, I filmed this video like 3 weeks ago but just never edited it until now 😅 but I wanted to post it anyway! Let me know all your thoughts on book censorship!
"censorship" is when a government restricts speech. When a publisher decides to change a product to make it more inclusive, it's called "capitalism". On a side note: the originals are still available for everyone to buy and read. This is just the typical outrage of racists who don't like the fact that the world keeps turning.
I think book censorship is wrong as an aunt to two little kids under the age of 4 it's harmful for them not too be able to have access too the original books as written. I grew up reading classics uncensored and my parents encouraged it because we needed to understand history and literature. I want my niece and my nephew to have that same understanding and love literature and reading as much as my mom and I do. Classic literature are a doorway to the past so why change it.
"Those who don't learn from their history are doomed to repeat it" some people seem to forget erasing history is a great way to fall back on our past mistakes.
Something that I also would like to add on the Roald Dahl books is that it feels like they are trying to make the tone "kinder" which wasn't at all Dahl's style. As a kid I actually liked how there were mean characters it taught me that real life isn't always going to be nice, but that didn't mean I would have to let it get me down.
Exactly! I feel like the best children's books are the ones that don't treat children like they are 'children' if that makes sense? Kids are a lot smarter then people often give them credit for, and the best stories are the ones that don't undermine their intelligence, but instead teach them the truths about life so that they can reflect on what they've read.
I absolutely do not want books banned or censored. There is so much to learn from the past. Kids are smart, a couple books aren't going to warp their worldview.
More booktubers need to speak out on this. Many have, but many more need to. It wouldn’t hurt if authors came out against this as well, but I have to assume they’re beholden to publishers.
I agree with you. If parents have concerns about what is written then they should be having conversations with their kids about why something is now offensive as opposed to just changing someone’s creations. I read Dahl as a kid and have not turned out a bigot or a racist. In fact my books were given to me by 2 teachers.
Exactly! Parents need to be communicating with their children more if they have worries. Children are way more intelligent then people often give them credit for, and I think the best children's books are the ones that do not undermine their intelligence and instead try to teach them about the truths of life in a way that doesn't hold their hand too much. The best kids books are often the ones that adults can enjoy as well, as they're not dumbed down.
I would add that I know of a couple books my parents read to me as a child that they self-censored some words in because they were trying to make them more appropriate for all of my siblings. As we grew older, they stopped doing that and started having conversations about the words. It was, in my opinion, a good way to start by introducing the story and also having the conversations at appropriate moments with us when we were ready for it, since sometimes the younger children wouldn't understand what they were talking about.
The problem is that they are harming children by doing that, a child who was never exposed to reality will never be a normal person, I'm really afraid of what will become of the next generation, where overweight is praised rather than being treated, and where the word black is a curse word, and where there's no absolute truth and everyone may identify themselves as things they aren't. But the problem is that this only happens in the west, not every nation in the world agrees to this new values, what made the classics so popular and universal is that they were speaking of universal themes such as love, friendship... Etc, but now it is more focused on not harming certain groups while there's other subjects like religion are being discussed and mocked at without any limits.
Censorship of language is rarely the sign of an informed civilised society. Its is also an arrogant assumption to suggest that future generations will not be able to interpret any works through the context of the period they were written in. The excuse of those who censor in order to manipulate, is often one of protection. Challenge, offence, negative behaviours, these are part of the human condition, and largely subject to personal interpretation. The writers domain is all facets of the human paradigm. Shielding the young from challenge breeds anxiety, low resilience and vulnerability - an easily manipulated generation. As such those editing books represent not only the darkest intentions but also the worst cuntary possible.
As a teacher who regularly reads to children I definitely skip words or sentences that are inappropriate for primary school aged kids. Just because a book is marketed for 8 year olds doesn't mean the content isn't a bit much for them
That's understandable, I think if a teacher or parent skips or changes words as they're reading a book to children that is totally okay. I just don't think it's right for a publisher to actually edit and revise an authors work without their permission.
I full heartedly agree. It’s very unfortunate and worrying to hear about this. As a European citizen I am very concerned about this issue and I can’t quite understand why is this happening in democratic country.
So glad you made a video about this! It’s CRAZY to me what they’re doing. What a f*cked up century we live in! I grew up reading offensive words in books and I think I’m a completely decent functioning human being! People need to stop treating kids like they’re super dumb creatures that need to be preserved from the outside world in silk and crystal until they’re 18!! They’re just creating monsters and Karens; as if this woke world we live in wasn’t crazy enough already 😅
So true! I grew up reading a lot of books and watching TV shows that had 'offensive' words or showcased the hard truths of reality, and I feel like I turned out pretty normal lol. I think the best children's books are the ones that don't treat children like they are 'children'. Kids are a lot smarter then people often give them credit for, and the best stories are the ones that don't undermine their intelligence, but instead teach them the truths about life so that they can reflect on what they've read. Usually the best children's books are the ones that adults can also enjoy.
Completely agree. Some of the Dahl edits are just stupid. Not being able to describe a spider as black or a worm as pink? That's not even helping any sort of negative connotation, it's just stigmatizing black.
ok, having watched the rest of this, i had no idea it was as bad as it was i thought it would just be censoring "BAD WORDS" like... that a person was black??? but censoring the color of a worm?? or changing parts that are actually story related (the everyday jobs vs top scientist) and ya, not only is this a horrible idea on the face of it, there is also the crass financial aspect, of now pressuring schools/libraries to buy the "correct" versions, after all, what kind of place would choose to have those older harmful books!!
Wow, thanks for the shout out! This video was so good and I was thinking how well you said stuff I didn’t 😅 Especially loved the context added with the RL Stine stuff - I couldn’t believe they tried to pass it off as his changes!
No problem! Your channel is really great, and I appreciate all the unique literature topics you cover in your videos 😊 Honestly, I feel like RL Stine should take legal action, as I just think that is so terrible for Scholastic to do that without even discussing it with him first. Hopefully more RUclipsrs and authors will speak up about censorship, so stuff like this doesn't continue to happen.
Ian Flemming's James Bond books have characters diverse with many different backgrounds and points of view which take place from the 1930's through the war years into the cold war and they ( the publishers ) are editing the thoughts and words of these people anyway- to have them in line with 2023 thoughts and words!!! bull crap!
But if not to read it as the writer intended, then what's the point? "Let's not call them fat, it's offensive." Man, that is just part of charaterization, a person's physique defines their personalities to an extent. And if we go down that road, we could pretty much strip all description of characters. There will always be somewhere where seemly harmless characterisc like having a mustache will be considered offensive. I heard a lot of jokes about blonde people being dumb. That's no reason to remove "blonde" or "fair haired" from books. No reason is a reason to censor character description in a book. Don't like it? Don't read it. Simple.
Honestly this is just, if you'll pardon the now apparent unacceptable phrasing, crazy. These groups and publishers don't even seem to be censoring harmful things. Books are a way for us to have an open dialogue with the past and if we change the voice of the past then we are unable to have that interesting conversation. I understand the desire to try and shield children from the harmful views of the past but this is not the way to do it, this is an incredibly lazy way of doing it. Have children interact with the past and teach them how to develop critical thinking, so they can see harmful things or views they don't agree with and find out why they're harmful or why they don't agree with them
Yeah. Not down with this movement, at all. Sanitizing history never ends well. Also, conflict is part of a narrative and that includes conflict between people. People are going to be mean, they're going to insult each other, get angry and, yes, they're going to be mentally ill. Sometimes mental illness is horrible, it's rough, it's nasty, it causes truly horrible things. It shouldn't be stereotyped but neither should it be sanitized. Not every story for children should be fluffy bunnies. They need a safe way to process real world issues at a distance before having to experience them up close. I think this odd utopic vision of inclusivity and acceptance at the expense of individuality is going to explode in people's faces. It literally cannot work. People are people. We can learn to be better people but we're still people and we have failings, make mistakes, say and do horrible things. But the thing is, ANYONE can do those things. 'Bad' doesn't look any one way and neither does good. We need to get away from is stereotyping heroes and villains by the way they look because evil doesn't actually have a single face and neither does good. Leave the old books alone. Let them stand as they are. They're fiction. If you're doing your job, kids know the guy that's calling another kid 'fat' or 'ugly' is the bad guy because of how he's acting. Not seeing the words 'fat' or 'ugly' in their fiction isn't going to stop them from calling someone 'fat' or 'ugly' in real life if they want to be mean. And even if it does, another insult is just gonna be there in its place. Kids are notorious for finding the soft spots and going for them, they don't care about the vocabulary words you remove, they'll find more. You can't make the 'bad' things go away people. They exist and they'll continue to do so. We can be better but we can't be better than we were if we don't remember what that was.
Censoring is absolutely the same as book burning. If I was RL Stine, I would take Scholastic to court over that. That’s CRAZY that they would do that and not even tell him. If words are “hurting” people… the person has a problem, not the books.
I read Roald Dahl, Enid Blyton, H. Rider Haggard etc as a child in the 80s. In retrospect, some of that stuff would be pretty cringy if I were to read it again today, but I didn't grow up to be a racist body-shaming misogynist with a white-saviour complex. These books were of their time; children should be given the chance to employ critical thinking. There's plenty of problematic stuff in Shakespeare, Dickens, the Bible etc, and these aren't generally bowdlerised.
I'm against censorship, but another reason I will never buy a new edition of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is simply because I think the illustrations of Joseph Schindelman are superior to those of Quentin Blake.
Agatha Christie's books are being censored as well. In no time we'll have literature that is deprived of prose but inclusive. Because that's why people appreciate literature ...how inclusive it is
We could also mention some of the glaring examples from the past, like Huck Finn having every N word changed to 'Robot'. At least that version didn't replace the old completely like these new examples seem to be intended to do.
Publishers shouldn't have the legal right to change previously published works without approval of whoever hold rights to those intellectual properties. If they are legally allowed to, then that's a tragic oversight on behalf of authors everywhere.
Ian Fleming's estate gave the permission so it's legal. I'm still against it completely. Were I an author I would leave as a stipulation in my will that my works not be altered or even adapted with censorship in mind by my descendants or estate holders. I'd want my works to bring my family wealth after my passing, but not that way.
I heard that the same thing is happening to Agatha Christie's books, in that (among other seemingly innocuous things) they are removing the words "black", so that "black person" reads simply "person." Um, isn't that a bit racist? Are they whitewashing Agatha Christie's books?
Well said. 100% agree! I think we also fall down a slippery slope when defining any author/artist as "good or bad". As if it's either/or. Every person has the capability to do questionable things or have questionable ideas. It's just not one or the other. There's a scale. The reader should be left to decide how they feel about the ideas and words relating to the time time period they're written in and how it affects them today. Making these kinds of edits is absolutely the same as book burning. The attempt is to make everyone think the same and act the same. I'm all for respect, representation, and inclusivity, but just who is it that's deciding what that means??? Great video Jay!
I can't imagine the arrogance of people who think they should be the authority on what our apparent delicate sensibilities can or can't handle. It's not just a slippery slope, it's insulting. Let people decide for themselves what they engage with, don't decide for them.
Now I'm worried even more for the future of publishing. If they are doing this to books that they had no reason to touch because these are records of the past then they probably are also on the way to have a similar implementation for the books to be published in the future as a step before authors can publish a book. 💔
Until they become unavailable or ridiculously expensive. If these new versions replace the old it will happen eventually. Just look up the prices of the James Bond novels right now, an average 400% increase over just a few months ago and more if it's a set.
Books should never be banned or censored, ESPECIALLY after the author dies. If you want to put a trigger warning in new prints for the real softies then go right ahead but otherwise don't change a damn word
I remember watching a DVD set of Looney Toons about 15 years ago with my nephew and having to watch an un-skippable 5 minute monologue from Whoopi Goldberg about how the racism was left in but we should be aware of it. I was thinking to myself ' Why am I not able to skip this, and who is Whoopi to talk about racism?!'. I don't need someone telling me what to think about a book, based on their own sensibilities, even in a forward I can choose not to read. Leave it all out.
Very much agree with this take Only thing I would add is that to me an acceptable version of this would be to have ebooks where you could choose a specific version (original or altered) with included context when you start reading. Also then you could even flip between versions if necessary.
I agree! I think that idea would definitely be more acceptable than altering physical books where you don't have the option to flip between the original and altered version.
I think you set the whole situation out very well dude 👍 I completely agree. Out of date writing can and should be discussed, but changing it on behalf of the Authors (especially those who can't say "no") is just gross
Exactly! I think if parents or teachers have worries, they should communicate better with children about these, or educate them on the context of the book. But also, Children are way more intelligent then people often give them credit for, and I think the best children's books are the ones that do not undermine their intelligence and instead try to teach them about the truths of life in a way that doesn't hold their hand too much. The best kids books are often the ones that adults can enjoy as well, as they're not dumbed down. But if a book has outdated terms or language it should never be censored without the authors permission, there's plenty of other books out there to read.
This only reminds me that the political spectrum is a circle, not a straight line and both extremes are right next to each other. Same actions, different hats
books should stay the way the author wrote it. yes things are different now then when the book may have been published. and some things may be hurtful how they were written, but we need to remember how the world was so we dont go back to it. having books written stay as they were written opens conversations as to why things needed to change. censorship is wrong. and i will never buy or support a book that has been edited.
I like to see them try censoring Stephen King haha. But without jokes. I don't want them to censor anything. A disclosure sure! But we shouldn't hide stuff. Kids will find it more exiting to read the originals anyway. Cause it is forbidden 🤷♀️
I don't even want the disclosure unless it's by the author. Who is anyone else to tell me what to think about a book based on their own modern sensibilities?
If they censor anything it should be the illustrations in those old "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" books. Jesus wept, I had so many nightmares as kids.
I feel like these gave a whole generation of children nightmares 😂😂😂 I remember flipping through these books with my friends in the school library just willingly traumatizing ourselves
I believe the original version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory had a very different take on the oompa loompas, to put things mildly. They were changed to the current version many decades ago, but this was done by Roald Dahl while he was still alive. I don’t think it’s right to change someone’s work after they die. Perhaps a different way to go would be to release an “abridged and adapted” version of the same book and mention the name of the new author who works on it along with the previous work.
The cynic in me thinks it's just a way for publishers to make extra money from a new printing. Controversy = cash. Meanwhile actual book banning continues
I could definitely see this being a factor 🤔the controversy alone has caused a lot of people to go out and buy the original editions before they get revised in fear that they'll never sell the originals again (though it has been confirmed they'll continue selling the original text along with new revised ones).
There was a very disappointing interview with Philip Pullman about this on Radio 4 in the UK. Basically, concerning Dahl he said you should just go and buy something better.
Great video! I completely agree. This type of censorship seriously reminds me of the censorship in the book 1984. We’re at the start of a slippery slope where you’re only allowed to say pre-approved words and history is being rewritten and/or erased.
Serious Farenheit 451 vibes 🔥📚🤦♀️! Great video. I completely agree with everything you said. Scary world we live in where everything is being changed and molded and censored to appease the masses. I think we should be thinking more about teaching critical thought and less about making everything into a cookie cutter mold.
Did you see the adaptation where they let people read a few heavily redacted books and said that should be enough for anyone? They showed some pages of the Bible with words replaced my emojis. Give it 10 more years to come true, maybe 5.
I one hundred percent agree with everything you said. Book burning, book banning and editing already published books for censorship are all infringing on freedom of speech. If someone doesn’t like what an author is saying in their book - stop reading it. But to completely remove it? Pure nonsense.
I do have to say… With Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None I don’t mind the censorship of that one. But most of the time censorship really bothers me too!!!
I like the idea of a disclaimer at the start of the book or even a footnote here and there where the out of date language is used. Not that kids will like reading footnotes but at least the original work would remain intact.
@@bennyv4444 I don’t know that there is one, but I think it’s better than changing the original text. Edit: I’m coming from the stance of if they’re going to do something along these lines anyway, a disclaimer (as mentioned in the video) or a footnote is better than changing the text. Though, my preference would be no change at all.
Exactly. There is a big difference in an author revisiting earlier works and revising things based on their own evolving perspectives vs. someone else changing an author's words after they are dead. It's assuming that our 2023 views are now objectively morally correct and that nothing we think now will be seen as out of touch thirty years from today. Just silly.
You pretty much covered most of my feeling on this matter. The one extra I will add though is it saddens me that my 2 year old won't get to enjoy these books the way I did. Unless I can find second hand, pre-censorship editions I simply won't be buying these. If I do happen to buy one and it's censored, I'm going back for a refund. I had also heard whisperings that after the backlash, Puffin announced that they would print both the original and the edited editions. If that were to happen, I would love to see the side by side sales figures in a few years.
I really don't care, as long as the author/the estate is consenting, the Goosebumps ones actually made my blood boil, due to Mr. Stine still being alive and changing it without thinking to consult the man first.
Roald Dahl got me into reading! I hated reading so bad when I was young! I got so bored, I couldn't pay attention, and felt like I was a slow reader. Then I found his books!!! I binged them all! He started my love of fantasy. In addition, all his books have incredible messages!!! I am against every part of these changes! TBH he was very open forward thinking for his time! I think this makes me upset because people get the idea that Roald Dahl was like a raging racist when I (a black guy) have always admired Dahl and studied and read about his life. Dahl was literally a WW2 vet, fighter pilot, diplomat, spy, and of course an author to name a few. I just don't think we should hold people in the past to our standards, but instead try to have empathy and judge them for situation they were in.
Hit the nail on the head! Books are a product of their time and provide the audience an insight into the world past. They are works of art and should never be changed. Will we next censor the Mona Lisa because she does not represent today's values of diversity?
I think censorship is the easy way out to erase and ignore the bad aspects on the way of thinking of the past. As you and everyone else has said, how will we learn if we don't know about the past? It's also up to the parents and guardians of these children to explain what's right and wrong in these books. Also reading stuff in books that was mean or insensitive didn't make me more inclined to think it was okay to say those things to say.
Thank you so much for making this video... it is so scary to see so many people thinking censorship is acceptable. They are censoring Agatha Christie as well.
@@CapturedInWords Nobody is talking about Agatha Christie, people are already getting used to it... And yesterday I also found out about Ursula K Le Guin as well... it is impossible to keep track of all the authors who are being censored.
For me when it comes to censoring books don't. I say this because its changing the book in a bad way. The only time its okay in a way is if the author knows know by this and accepts this with info is told in a easy to know spot like at the top of the back where you can find out whats the book is about. That being say sensitively readers who help writers without coming across badly to certain things like mental health for example while making sure the book is fun to read for people who likes that authors books or books like that
I think we wouldn't change the books too, but for a slightly different reason. Part of the reason we look back to the past is to learn from it and to strive to do better. We shouldn't change the past, but use it as a step towards doing something better. Instead of editing or censoring authors like Dahl or Stein, write new books reflecting the views and ideas we want to share. Be the change you want to see in the world
I definitely agree! I mention that in the video too, as humans it's important to self-reflect and to use history to improve ourselves. I think we should constantly be striving to be better, and we can learn a lot from the past :)
"You are not entitled to someone else's genius." Can I get a witness! Another issue is that these "sensitivity" companies are essentially extorting publishers and authors. SC: Please let us scan your upcoming books. P/A: There's nothing wrong with our books. SC: The landscape is becoming increasingly sensitive, and the public discourse more and more nuanced. We're nothing more than insurance against a potential PR nightmare. P/A: We have inhouse editors. SC: But are they experts is our area of expertise? P/A: Thanks, but no thanks. SC: That's a shame that an organization/individual can be so shortsighted. We will be publishing the name of your books and authors on our website under the heading of dangerous books and authors and publishers. Granted, the conversation may not have been that blunt, but that conversation is happening.
I was 10. In a bad place. Parents just moved country. Had to write a book report on a Dahl book. Charlie and the chocolate factory. No guidence. Just read the book and present it for class. I wish it had some of the edits. Really screwed up my perception of certain races. Validating the opinions of some of my older relatives. I don't want to make the original unavailable. As if that is even possible. Nor am i saying i agree with every edit. There is a place and time to study a book. But if you let 10 year olds do it, without guidence... Sure. But hand out an apropriate version of the book please. Theres plenty to talk about in the book even with the umpa loompa exploitation removed. These books arent just found in librarys and discussed in collage. These end up under christmass trees. Where the guidence and understanding is lacking.
Coming from a former communist country, I can say I had already seen this. Methods and results seem uncannily similar to what my teachers in school (in 90s) shown us comparing book editions made recently to those from communist time. Sure, communist censors (and mind you every publication made officially was first put through this massive censorship office) looked more into political stuff, but changes rewrites or cuts of entire paragraphs to even chapters was a norm. That is if book made through the censorship office as many were simply rejected.
I think you have made two fundamental errors here and I hope you would reconsider your stance in light of these. The first is that this is not censorship. No one is taking the originals off the shelves. Indeed, I believe the Ronald Dahl books are being re-issued in original and edited versions. These are more like musical cover versions - spruced up for a modern ear. I think there’s a presentation problem from the publishers. I think they should be presented as co-authored, to be clear they are not the original author’s vision. The second is that the issues are not around causing offence. These are children’s books and children internalise modelled behaviour much, much more than being talked to. So if they see a character ridiculed for weight/appearance, they internalise that it’s ok and repeat it. If these were adult books, it would be different. And even if it were about causing offence, I think that’s something to learn about the world and talk to kids about. But it’s not. It’s about demonstrated behaviour. With that in mind, and the caveat they should be presented as co-authored, I think this is a good thing. Some beloved authors are likely to disappear from the shelves in a generation or so because they are unpalatable to parents that don’t want to influence their kids with name calling and prejudices. Enid Blyton is probably doomed to this fate. Much of Roald Dahl might be (The Witches is so obviously anti-Semitic, I can’t believe people still read it to their kids). But we can try and keep some of it alive. I want to be able to tell my children these stories I enjoyed as a child, without them picking up on the negative behaviour patterns in them. I want them to have the chance to be better than I was taught to be
Thank you! Thank you for having courage to voice your disagreement with the censorship that’s going on. I also feel like the big publishing houses just stoped publishing novels that don’t show at least a slight progressive inclination.
Love your channel Jay. As someone who works in mental health, I think terms like crazy, nutcase, etc. Can in fact be pretty stigmatizing. I understand your point and there is not a clear and great answer to this. But I can see the other side of the argument. A book like Huckleberry Finn presents a huge problem if we start editing offensive language, for example. I don't have the correct answer but I just wanted to make that point related to mental health.
Why blame authoritarian nations when the democratic nations are becoming "1984". That's what Orwell warned us about. The only hope we have left are the old editions of famous books online mostly the pirated versions. We are living in dangerous times where our favorite literature is getting censored while the orignal versions are getting lost. 😕
If his books don’t stand the test of time, and are full of hate, let his books die. Don’t try change it. It’s awful, leave it as such and stop publishing it for kids.
This censorship and erasure speaks a lot to the laziness of today, I think. It’s much easier to “fix” a book and redistribute it than it is to help develop a child’s critical thinking skills and have those conversations that can be hard. You make weak minded people that cannot think for themselves much less stand to listen to words that they don’t like or agree with.
While I disagree with book/word censoring it isnt what annoys me the most. The thing that I absolutely cannot stand is that in so many industries the people in leadership positions think so highly of themselves that they think they know whats best for everyone. In most cases the majority of people do not care or are not offended by much, but these people in leadership positions force their own biases and opinions onto others. It is quite disgusting.
the only way i can accept such things is in translations, as thoese aren't the authors works and it's not able to reflect them exactly, but it shouldn't feature words that are clearly from the 21st century, if the book is older then 1990
I think the only changes that should be made are pop cultural references for example harry potter makes a reference to a Playstation 1. Maybe make it more generic and just say game system.
If they focusing on weight how are they going to censor one of the say cheese and die, the camera makes the protagonist extremely overweight, like to the point where he can't fit in the family car
I'm a little late covering this, I filmed this video like 3 weeks ago but just never edited it until now 😅 but I wanted to post it anyway! Let me know all your thoughts on book censorship!
"censorship" is when a government restricts speech. When a publisher decides to change a product to make it more inclusive, it's called "capitalism".
On a side note: the originals are still available for everyone to buy and read. This is just the typical outrage of racists who don't like the fact that the world keeps turning.
A local bookstore didn't want to stock my novels. Said they went against their store's "ethos"... care to help a brother out?
@@salustianoberrios405 What are they about?
Should never happen.
I think book censorship is wrong as an aunt to two little kids under the age of 4 it's harmful for them not too be able to have access too the original books as written. I grew up reading classics uncensored and my parents encouraged it because we needed to understand history and literature. I want my niece and my nephew to have that same understanding and love literature and reading as much as my mom and I do. Classic literature are a doorway to the past so why change it.
"Those who don't learn from their history are doomed to repeat it" some people seem to forget erasing history is a great way to fall back on our past mistakes.
The evidence suggests that history will repeat whether people learn it or not.
*"The path to hell is paved with good intentions."*
Hard agree Jay. ☕
Something that I also would like to add on the Roald Dahl books is that it feels like they are trying to make the tone "kinder" which wasn't at all Dahl's style. As a kid I actually liked how there were mean characters it taught me that real life isn't always going to be nice, but that didn't mean I would have to let it get me down.
Exactly! I feel like the best children's books are the ones that don't treat children like they are 'children' if that makes sense? Kids are a lot smarter then people often give them credit for, and the best stories are the ones that don't undermine their intelligence, but instead teach them the truths about life so that they can reflect on what they've read.
@@CapturedInWords Yes! This is something I love about Narnia especially.
Because being called a “weirdo” is so much less common/“harmful” than being called a “nutcase” 😂😂😂 gotta love out of touch editors.
For real 😂
Right?
Yes!!! I knew I liked you!
If the author is dead, LEAVE THE BOOK ALONE. I don't care what their estate says, the author is not there anymore.
It was a joke in the Soviet Union that the future was certain but the past kept changing. This is where we seem to be now.
Pretty much!
I absolutely do not want books banned or censored. There is so much to learn from the past. Kids are smart, a couple books aren't going to warp their worldview.
I absolutely agree
@@Givebackthescarf Maybe Roald Dahl's books aren't for you then.
More booktubers need to speak out on this. Many have, but many more need to. It wouldn’t hurt if authors came out against this as well, but I have to assume they’re beholden to publishers.
I agree, it would be great to see more booktubers and authors speaking about this
You're pretty susceptible to marketing, huh?
This is a really refreshing video and you raised important concerns eloquently. Thanks for using your platform for this.
Thank you for watching!
I agree with you. If parents have concerns about what is written then they should be having conversations with their kids about why something is now offensive as opposed to just changing someone’s creations. I read Dahl as a kid and have not turned out a bigot or a racist. In fact my books were given to me by 2 teachers.
Exactly! Parents need to be communicating with their children more if they have worries. Children are way more intelligent then people often give them credit for, and I think the best children's books are the ones that do not undermine their intelligence and instead try to teach them about the truths of life in a way that doesn't hold their hand too much. The best kids books are often the ones that adults can enjoy as well, as they're not dumbed down.
I would add that I know of a couple books my parents read to me as a child that they self-censored some words in because they were trying to make them more appropriate for all of my siblings. As we grew older, they stopped doing that and started having conversations about the words. It was, in my opinion, a good way to start by introducing the story and also having the conversations at appropriate moments with us when we were ready for it, since sometimes the younger children wouldn't understand what they were talking about.
The problem is that they are harming children by doing that, a child who was never exposed to reality will never be a normal person, I'm really afraid of what will become of the next generation, where overweight is praised rather than being treated, and where the word black is a curse word, and where there's no absolute truth and everyone may identify themselves as things they aren't. But the problem is that this only happens in the west, not every nation in the world agrees to this new values, what made the classics so popular and universal is that they were speaking of universal themes such as love, friendship... Etc, but now it is more focused on not harming certain groups while there's other subjects like religion are being discussed and mocked at without any limits.
Censorship of language is rarely the sign of an informed civilised society. Its is also an arrogant assumption to suggest that future generations will not be able to interpret any works through the context of the period they were written in. The excuse of those who censor in order to manipulate, is often one of protection. Challenge, offence, negative behaviours, these are part of the human condition, and largely subject to personal interpretation. The writers domain is all facets of the human paradigm. Shielding the young from challenge breeds anxiety, low resilience and vulnerability - an easily manipulated generation.
As such those editing books represent not only the darkest intentions but also the worst cuntary possible.
As a teacher who regularly reads to children I definitely skip words or sentences that are inappropriate for primary school aged kids. Just because a book is marketed for 8 year olds doesn't mean the content isn't a bit much for them
That's understandable, I think if a teacher or parent skips or changes words as they're reading a book to children that is totally okay. I just don't think it's right for a publisher to actually edit and revise an authors work without their permission.
@@CapturedInWords yeah I agree with that
I full heartedly agree. It’s very unfortunate and worrying to hear about this. As a European citizen I am very concerned about this issue and I can’t quite understand why is this happening in democratic country.
I don’t understand it here, I don’t understand it in Europe.
So glad you made a video about this! It’s CRAZY to me what they’re doing. What a f*cked up century we live in! I grew up reading offensive words in books and I think I’m a completely decent functioning human being! People need to stop treating kids like they’re super dumb creatures that need to be preserved from the outside world in silk and crystal until they’re 18!! They’re just creating monsters and Karens; as if this woke world we live in wasn’t crazy enough already 😅
So true! I grew up reading a lot of books and watching TV shows that had 'offensive' words or showcased the hard truths of reality, and I feel like I turned out pretty normal lol. I think the best children's books are the ones that don't treat children like they are 'children'. Kids are a lot smarter then people often give them credit for, and the best stories are the ones that don't undermine their intelligence, but instead teach them the truths about life so that they can reflect on what they've read. Usually the best children's books are the ones that adults can also enjoy.
Completely agree. Some of the Dahl edits are just stupid. Not being able to describe a spider as black or a worm as pink? That's not even helping any sort of negative connotation, it's just stigmatizing black.
Exactly!! It's just ridiculous and non-sensical
ok, having watched the rest of this, i had no idea it was as bad as it was
i thought it would just be censoring "BAD WORDS" like... that a person was black???
but censoring the color of a worm?? or changing parts that are actually story related (the everyday jobs vs top scientist)
and ya, not only is this a horrible idea on the face of it, there is also the crass financial aspect, of now pressuring schools/libraries to buy the "correct" versions, after all, what kind of place would choose to have those older harmful books!!
Wow, thanks for the shout out! This video was so good and I was thinking how well you said stuff I didn’t 😅 Especially loved the context added with the RL Stine stuff - I couldn’t believe they tried to pass it off as his changes!
No problem! Your channel is really great, and I appreciate all the unique literature topics you cover in your videos 😊 Honestly, I feel like RL Stine should take legal action, as I just think that is so terrible for Scholastic to do that without even discussing it with him first. Hopefully more RUclipsrs and authors will speak up about censorship, so stuff like this doesn't continue to happen.
Came here for Jay, stayed for based Jay. Love it!
Ian Flemming's James Bond books have characters diverse with many different backgrounds and points of view which take place from the 1930's through the war years into the cold war and they ( the publishers ) are editing the thoughts and words of these people anyway- to have them in line with 2023 thoughts and words!!! bull crap!
But if not to read it as the writer intended, then what's the point? "Let's not call them fat, it's offensive." Man, that is just part of charaterization, a person's physique defines their personalities to an extent. And if we go down that road, we could pretty much strip all description of characters. There will always be somewhere where seemly harmless characterisc like having a mustache will be considered offensive. I heard a lot of jokes about blonde people being dumb. That's no reason to remove "blonde" or "fair haired" from books. No reason is a reason to censor character description in a book. Don't like it? Don't read it. Simple.
Honestly this is just, if you'll pardon the now apparent unacceptable phrasing, crazy. These groups and publishers don't even seem to be censoring harmful things. Books are a way for us to have an open dialogue with the past and if we change the voice of the past then we are unable to have that interesting conversation. I understand the desire to try and shield children from the harmful views of the past but this is not the way to do it, this is an incredibly lazy way of doing it. Have children interact with the past and teach them how to develop critical thinking, so they can see harmful things or views they don't agree with and find out why they're harmful or why they don't agree with them
This chasing the modern audiences is stupid. Those types never buy anything and you piss off the actual fans.
Yeah. Not down with this movement, at all. Sanitizing history never ends well. Also, conflict is part of a narrative and that includes conflict between people. People are going to be mean, they're going to insult each other, get angry and, yes, they're going to be mentally ill. Sometimes mental illness is horrible, it's rough, it's nasty, it causes truly horrible things. It shouldn't be stereotyped but neither should it be sanitized. Not every story for children should be fluffy bunnies. They need a safe way to process real world issues at a distance before having to experience them up close. I think this odd utopic vision of inclusivity and acceptance at the expense of individuality is going to explode in people's faces. It literally cannot work. People are people. We can learn to be better people but we're still people and we have failings, make mistakes, say and do horrible things. But the thing is, ANYONE can do those things. 'Bad' doesn't look any one way and neither does good. We need to get away from is stereotyping heroes and villains by the way they look because evil doesn't actually have a single face and neither does good.
Leave the old books alone. Let them stand as they are. They're fiction. If you're doing your job, kids know the guy that's calling another kid 'fat' or 'ugly' is the bad guy because of how he's acting. Not seeing the words 'fat' or 'ugly' in their fiction isn't going to stop them from calling someone 'fat' or 'ugly' in real life if they want to be mean. And even if it does, another insult is just gonna be there in its place. Kids are notorious for finding the soft spots and going for them, they don't care about the vocabulary words you remove, they'll find more.
You can't make the 'bad' things go away people. They exist and they'll continue to do so. We can be better but we can't be better than we were if we don't remember what that was.
Censoring is absolutely the same as book burning. If I was RL Stine, I would take Scholastic to court over that. That’s CRAZY that they would do that and not even tell him. If words are “hurting” people… the person has a problem, not the books.
Yeah he should
I read Roald Dahl, Enid Blyton, H. Rider Haggard etc as a child in the 80s. In retrospect, some of that stuff would be pretty cringy if I were to read it again today, but I didn't grow up to be a racist body-shaming misogynist with a white-saviour complex. These books were of their time; children should be given the chance to employ critical thinking. There's plenty of problematic stuff in Shakespeare, Dickens, the Bible etc, and these aren't generally bowdlerised.
I'm against censorship, but another reason I will never buy a new edition of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is simply because I think the illustrations of Joseph Schindelman are superior to those of Quentin Blake.
Thanks for this vid! You made great arguments, and I totally agree! More critical thinking, less censorship; that's the key.
Thanks for watching, and I'm glad you agree!
Agatha Christie's books are being censored as well. In no time we'll have literature that is deprived of prose but inclusive. Because that's why people appreciate literature
...how inclusive it is
Wow I didn't know that
We could also mention some of the glaring examples from the past, like Huck Finn having every N word changed to 'Robot'. At least that version didn't replace the old completely like these new examples seem to be intended to do.
sanitized ''entertainment''=not entertaining anymore.
We're going to get Julia Donaldson books censored soon
Publishers shouldn't have the legal right to change previously published works without approval of whoever hold rights to those intellectual properties. If they are legally allowed to, then that's a tragic oversight on behalf of authors everywhere.
Ian Fleming's estate gave the permission so it's legal. I'm still against it completely. Were I an author I would leave as a stipulation in my will that my works not be altered or even adapted with censorship in mind by my descendants or estate holders. I'd want my works to bring my family wealth after my passing, but not that way.
I heard that the same thing is happening to Agatha Christie's books, in that (among other seemingly innocuous things) they are removing the words "black", so that "black person" reads simply "person." Um, isn't that a bit racist? Are they whitewashing Agatha Christie's books?
Well said. 100% agree! I think we also fall down a slippery slope when defining any author/artist as "good or bad". As if it's either/or. Every person has the capability to do questionable things or have questionable ideas. It's just not one or the other. There's a scale. The reader should be left to decide how they feel about the ideas and words relating to the time time period they're written in and how it affects them today. Making these kinds of edits is absolutely the same as book burning. The attempt is to make everyone think the same and act the same. I'm all for respect, representation, and inclusivity, but just who is it that's deciding what that means??? Great video Jay!
R.L. Stine should sue.
People need to toughen up
I can't imagine the arrogance of people who think they should be the authority on what our apparent delicate sensibilities can or can't handle. It's not just a slippery slope, it's insulting. Let people decide for themselves what they engage with, don't decide for them.
This is why I'm against even forwards in books intended to warn about and explain the 'objectionable content' of books those people didn't write.
Wait.. so Nicholson in Shining wasn't crazy maniac, but just a silly person? 🤔 So it was a comedy, not a horror? I see...
Now I'm worried even more for the future of publishing. If they are doing this to books that they had no reason to touch because these are records of the past then they probably are also on the way to have a similar implementation for the books to be published in the future as a step before authors can publish a book. 💔
James Bond? Seriously? Those aren't even kids books!
Simple don't buy the new books always buy the older versions. This world is so political now its ridiculous. It's an older book leave it alone.
100% agree
Until they become unavailable or ridiculously expensive. If these new versions replace the old it will happen eventually. Just look up the prices of the James Bond novels right now, an average 400% increase over just a few months ago and more if it's a set.
Books should never be banned or censored, ESPECIALLY after the author dies. If you want to put a trigger warning in new prints for the real softies then go right ahead but otherwise don't change a damn word
I remember watching a DVD set of Looney Toons about 15 years ago with my nephew and having to watch an un-skippable 5 minute monologue from Whoopi Goldberg about how the racism was left in but we should be aware of it. I was thinking to myself ' Why am I not able to skip this, and who is Whoopi to talk about racism?!'. I don't need someone telling me what to think about a book, based on their own sensibilities, even in a forward I can choose not to read. Leave it all out.
Very much agree with this take
Only thing I would add is that to me an acceptable version of this would be to have ebooks where you could choose a specific version (original or altered) with included context when you start reading. Also then you could even flip between versions if necessary.
I agree! I think that idea would definitely be more acceptable than altering physical books where you don't have the option to flip between the original and altered version.
I agree with you 100%
I think you set the whole situation out very well dude 👍 I completely agree. Out of date writing can and should be discussed, but changing it on behalf of the Authors (especially those who can't say "no") is just gross
Exactly! I think if parents or teachers have worries, they should communicate better with children about these, or educate them on the context of the book. But also, Children are way more intelligent then people often give them credit for, and I think the best children's books are the ones that do not undermine their intelligence and instead try to teach them about the truths of life in a way that doesn't hold their hand too much. The best kids books are often the ones that adults can enjoy as well, as they're not dumbed down. But if a book has outdated terms or language it should never be censored without the authors permission, there's plenty of other books out there to read.
👋👍agree wholeheartedly
Couldn't R.l. stine win in a Court case ?
Probably! Honestly, I think he really should take scholastic to court over this
This only reminds me that the political spectrum is a circle, not a straight line and both extremes are right next to each other. Same actions, different hats
So true!
books should stay the way the author wrote it. yes things are different now then when the book may have been published. and some things may be hurtful how they were written, but we need to remember how the world was so we dont go back to it. having books written stay as they were written opens conversations as to why things needed to change. censorship is wrong. and i will never buy or support a book that has been edited.
I like to see them try censoring Stephen King haha. But without jokes. I don't want them to censor anything. A disclosure sure! But we shouldn't hide stuff. Kids will find it more exiting to read the originals anyway. Cause it is forbidden 🤷♀️
You are so right
I don't even want the disclosure unless it's by the author. Who is anyone else to tell me what to think about a book based on their own modern sensibilities?
If they censor anything it should be the illustrations in those old "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" books. Jesus wept, I had so many nightmares as kids.
I feel like these gave a whole generation of children nightmares 😂😂😂 I remember flipping through these books with my friends in the school library just willingly traumatizing ourselves
I believe the original version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory had a very different take on the oompa loompas, to put things mildly. They were changed to the current version many decades ago, but this was done by Roald Dahl while he was still alive. I don’t think it’s right to change someone’s work after they die. Perhaps a different way to go would be to release an “abridged and adapted” version of the same book and mention the name of the new author who works on it along with the previous work.
The cynic in me thinks it's just a way for publishers to make extra money from a new printing. Controversy = cash. Meanwhile actual book banning continues
I could definitely see this being a factor 🤔the controversy alone has caused a lot of people to go out and buy the original editions before they get revised in fear that they'll never sell the originals again (though it has been confirmed they'll continue selling the original text along with new revised ones).
There was a very disappointing interview with Philip Pullman about this on Radio 4 in the UK.
Basically, concerning Dahl he said you should just go and buy something better.
Great video! I completely agree. This type of censorship seriously reminds me of the censorship in the book 1984. We’re at the start of a slippery slope where you’re only allowed to say pre-approved words and history is being rewritten and/or erased.
Serious Farenheit 451 vibes 🔥📚🤦♀️! Great video. I completely agree with everything you said. Scary world we live in where everything is being changed and molded and censored to appease the masses. I think we should be thinking more about teaching critical thought and less about making everything into a cookie cutter mold.
Did you see the adaptation where they let people read a few heavily redacted books and said that should be enough for anyone? They showed some pages of the Bible with words replaced my emojis. Give it 10 more years to come true, maybe 5.
I one hundred percent agree with everything you said. Book burning, book banning and editing already published books for censorship are all infringing on freedom of speech. If someone doesn’t like what an author is saying in their book - stop reading it. But to completely remove it? Pure nonsense.
I'm in college and im doing my ending speech on book banning so this is awesome. 👌
Awesome, I'm glad this video could help! Feel free to use any of what I said in your speech 👍
I completely agree, Jay. Changing an authors text doesnt feel right. As you said books are a time capsule.
thank god you have the only correct view on this
Thanks for watching!!
I do have to say… With Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None I don’t mind the censorship of that one. But most of the time censorship really bothers me too!!!
Thank you for actually putting out genuine content on this most accursed of days, April 1st.
I like the idea of a disclaimer at the start of the book or even a footnote here and there where the out of date language is used. Not that kids will like reading footnotes but at least the original work would remain intact.
I’m curious because my kneejerk reaction is that I really don’t understand where you are coming from. What do you think the benefit would be?
@@bennyv4444 I don’t know that there is one, but I think it’s better than changing the original text.
Edit: I’m coming from the stance of if they’re going to do something along these lines anyway, a disclaimer (as mentioned in the video) or a footnote is better than changing the text. Though, my preference would be no change at all.
Exactly. There is a big difference in an author revisiting earlier works and revising things based on their own evolving perspectives vs. someone else changing an author's words after they are dead. It's assuming that our 2023 views are now objectively morally correct and that nothing we think now will be seen as out of touch thirty years from today. Just silly.
Completely agree! Well done. Thank you
Thanks for watching!
You pretty much covered most of my feeling on this matter. The one extra I will add though is it saddens me that my 2 year old won't get to enjoy these books the way I did. Unless I can find second hand, pre-censorship editions I simply won't be buying these. If I do happen to buy one and it's censored, I'm going back for a refund.
I had also heard whisperings that after the backlash, Puffin announced that they would print both the original and the edited editions. If that were to happen, I would love to see the side by side sales figures in a few years.
I really don't care, as long as the author/the estate is consenting, the Goosebumps ones actually made my blood boil, due to Mr. Stine still being alive and changing it without thinking to consult the man first.
Roald Dahl got me into reading! I hated reading so bad when I was young! I got so bored, I couldn't pay attention, and felt like I was a slow reader. Then I found his books!!! I binged them all! He started my love of fantasy.
In addition, all his books have incredible messages!!! I am against every part of these changes! TBH he was very open forward thinking for his time! I think this makes me upset because people get the idea that Roald Dahl was like a raging racist when I (a black guy) have always admired Dahl and studied and read about his life. Dahl was literally a WW2 vet, fighter pilot, diplomat, spy, and of course an author to name a few.
I just don't think we should hold people in the past to our standards, but instead try to have empathy and judge them for situation they were in.
Hit the nail on the head! Books are a product of their time and provide the audience an insight into the world past. They are works of art and should never be changed. Will we next censor the Mona Lisa because she does not represent today's values of diversity?
I think censorship is the easy way out to erase and ignore the bad aspects on the way of thinking of the past. As you and everyone else has said, how will we learn if we don't know about the past? It's also up to the parents and guardians of these children to explain what's right and wrong in these books. Also reading stuff in books that was mean or insensitive didn't make me more inclined to think it was okay to say those things to say.
Thank you so much for making this video... it is so scary to see so many people thinking censorship is acceptable. They are censoring Agatha Christie as well.
I didn't know about Agatha Christie getting censored! I hope more people speak up about this
@@CapturedInWords Nobody is talking about Agatha Christie, people are already getting used to it... And yesterday I also found out about Ursula K Le Guin as well... it is impossible to keep track of all the authors who are being censored.
#based! Couldn't agree more
Thanks for watching!!
So many great points! I totally agree.
Thanks for watching!!
For me when it comes to censoring books don't. I say this because its changing the book in a bad way. The only time its okay in a way is if the author knows know by this and accepts this with info is told in a easy to know spot like at the top of the back where you can find out whats the book is about. That being say sensitively readers who help writers without coming across badly to certain things like mental health for example while making sure the book is fun to read for people who likes that authors books or books like that
This is all honestly common sense, just explained very carefully so that the people doing the censorship might understand. Which I guess is needed.
You are so right. It’s immoral and plain dumb to be censoring books. Write your own books if you want to, but don’t change classics.
I think we wouldn't change the books too, but for a slightly different reason. Part of the reason we look back to the past is to learn from it and to strive to do better. We shouldn't change the past, but use it as a step towards doing something better.
Instead of editing or censoring authors like Dahl or Stein, write new books reflecting the views and ideas we want to share. Be the change you want to see in the world
I definitely agree! I mention that in the video too, as humans it's important to self-reflect and to use history to improve ourselves. I think we should constantly be striving to be better, and we can learn a lot from the past :)
"You are not entitled to someone else's genius." Can I get a witness! Another issue is that these "sensitivity" companies are essentially extorting publishers and authors.
SC: Please let us scan your upcoming books.
P/A: There's nothing wrong with our books.
SC: The landscape is becoming increasingly sensitive, and the public discourse more and more nuanced. We're nothing more than insurance against a potential PR nightmare.
P/A: We have inhouse editors.
SC: But are they experts is our area of expertise?
P/A: Thanks, but no thanks.
SC: That's a shame that an organization/individual can be so shortsighted. We will be publishing the name of your books and authors on our website under the heading of dangerous books and authors and publishers.
Granted, the conversation may not have been that blunt, but that conversation is happening.
I'm shocked... (with all this happening, I completly agree with you)
I was 10. In a bad place. Parents just moved country.
Had to write a book report on a Dahl book. Charlie and the chocolate factory.
No guidence. Just read the book and present it for class.
I wish it had some of the edits. Really screwed up my perception of certain races. Validating the opinions of some of my older relatives.
I don't want to make the original unavailable. As if that is even possible.
Nor am i saying i agree with every edit.
There is a place and time to study a book. But if you let 10 year olds do it, without guidence... Sure. But hand out an apropriate version of the book please. Theres plenty to talk about in the book even with the umpa loompa exploitation removed.
These books arent just found in librarys and discussed in collage.
These end up under christmass trees. Where the guidence and understanding is lacking.
Any art should be kept as it is for the next generations of people to see how the creators were when they were alive.
Stephen King: "You should read banned books!"
Me: "Sounds good!" (picks up 'Mein Kampf')
Coming from a former communist country, I can say I had already seen this. Methods and results seem uncannily similar to what my teachers in school (in 90s) shown us comparing book editions made recently to those from communist time. Sure, communist censors (and mind you every publication made officially was first put through this massive censorship office) looked more into political stuff, but changes rewrites or cuts of entire paragraphs to even chapters was a norm. That is if book made through the censorship office as many were simply rejected.
1984 is happening really fast.
I think you have made two fundamental errors here and I hope you would reconsider your stance in light of these. The first is that this is not censorship. No one is taking the originals off the shelves. Indeed, I believe the Ronald Dahl books are being re-issued in original and edited versions. These are more like musical cover versions - spruced up for a modern ear. I think there’s a presentation problem from the publishers. I think they should be presented as co-authored, to be clear they are not the original author’s vision.
The second is that the issues are not around causing offence. These are children’s books and children internalise modelled behaviour much, much more than being talked to. So if they see a character ridiculed for weight/appearance, they internalise that it’s ok and repeat it. If these were adult books, it would be different. And even if it were about causing offence, I think that’s something to learn about the world and talk to kids about. But it’s not. It’s about demonstrated behaviour.
With that in mind, and the caveat they should be presented as co-authored, I think this is a good thing. Some beloved authors are likely to disappear from the shelves in a generation or so because they are unpalatable to parents that don’t want to influence their kids with name calling and prejudices. Enid Blyton is probably doomed to this fate. Much of Roald Dahl might be (The Witches is so obviously anti-Semitic, I can’t believe people still read it to their kids). But we can try and keep some of it alive. I want to be able to tell my children these stories I enjoyed as a child, without them picking up on the negative behaviour patterns in them. I want them to have the chance to be better than I was taught to be
Thank you! Thank you for having courage to voice your disagreement with the censorship that’s going on. I also feel like the big publishing houses just stoped publishing novels that don’t show at least a slight progressive inclination.
Love your channel Jay. As someone who works in mental health, I think terms like crazy, nutcase, etc. Can in fact be pretty stigmatizing. I understand your point and there is not a clear and great answer to this. But I can see the other side of the argument. A book like Huckleberry Finn presents a huge problem if we start editing offensive language, for example. I don't have the correct answer but I just wanted to make that point related to mental health.
Why blame authoritarian nations when the democratic nations are becoming "1984". That's what Orwell warned us about. The only hope we have left are the old editions of famous books online mostly the pirated versions.
We are living in dangerous times where our favorite literature is getting censored while the orignal versions are getting lost. 😕
The thing is…..
Who The heck are the changes for? They won’t even read it.
Agreed. Absolutely cannot believe the times I am living through - never thought I’d see the day!
If his books don’t stand the test of time, and are full of hate, let his books die. Don’t try change it. It’s awful, leave it as such and stop publishing it for kids.
This censorship and erasure speaks a lot to the laziness of today, I think. It’s much easier to “fix” a book and redistribute it than it is to help develop a child’s critical thinking skills and have those conversations that can be hard. You make weak minded people that cannot think for themselves much less stand to listen to words that they don’t like or agree with.
While I disagree with book/word censoring it isnt what annoys me the most. The thing that I absolutely cannot stand is that in so many industries the people in leadership positions think so highly of themselves that they think they know whats best for everyone. In most cases the majority of people do not care or are not offended by much, but these people in leadership positions force their own biases and opinions onto others. It is quite disgusting.
the only way i can accept such things is in translations, as thoese aren't the authors works and it's not able to reflect them exactly, but it shouldn't feature words that are clearly from the 21st century, if the book is older then 1990
Why not encourage revisionist reading, critical thinking? Nah, they think kids are too stupid for that.
I think the only changes that should be made are pop cultural references for example harry potter makes a reference to a Playstation 1. Maybe make it more generic and just say game system.
When are we getting a kickstarter from you? I’m ready to support
If they focusing on weight how are they going to censor one of the say cheese and die, the camera makes the protagonist extremely overweight, like to the point where he can't fit in the family car
Never understood this, if you don’t like the book don’t read it
I couldn't care less about how people feel in modern times.
I am in total agreement with you