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Child Item

Roald Dahl's books edited to be more 'inclusive'

Modulok

As someone who loved Roald Dahl's books when I was a child, and who has bought his collected works for my own children last year, I was saddened and I have to say creeped out by the revelation that Penguin worked with a diversity / equity / inclusion entity to re-write sentences throughout his stories.

How on earth anyone thought this was a good idea I don't know. Will some DEI major take the scalpel to Dickens and Austen next?

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[Deleted User]

Wokesim on steroids. God forbid that the snowflakes might melt.

Reminds me of certain rabid men-hating lesbians, demanding that history become herstory, women be spelt womyn and who shrieked that sexual intercourse by a man on a woman was rape.

Bring back Mrs Twit, who in the original drawings looks suspiciously like my neighbour who has a variation of Treacher Collins syndrome, and who I really would like to send far away in a balloon never to return......

Whatever happened to Blyton's Golly and Big Ears, Fatty and Mr. Plod and George?

Akrasia

I wanted to read the 'just so stories' to my kids growing up. I bought the book but it was so outdated and outright racist that they never got to experience those stories

The books will be lost to history if they're not revised to fit with progressive social attitudes.

Akrasia

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120268391#Comment_120268391

Eh, the bible was originally written in Aramaic and has been through god knows how many revisions since then. There have been centuries of bitter rows about which texts should be included or excluded and the Council of Trent was a whole month of my history education I'll never get back....

Overheal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120273115#Comment_120273115

Unless i'm mistaken you're just pointing out the core function of news media - to inform people of a thing that they would not otherwise be aware of, ie. news. Are you really calling it a 'discrepancy' that people are upset about the changes having only recently learned about the changes?

amacca

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120272980#Comment_120272980

What would be considered amongst the most well known but least inclusive children's books out of copyright I wonder?

threeball

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120270615#Comment_120270615

Because we let them. Its time that the majority reclaimed the centre of the ring and put all this "woke" bullshìt to bed.

One eyed Jack

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120273060#Comment_120273060

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120273077#Comment_120273077

Throw salt if you must, but we’re all in agreement that the crux of the issue is that the outrage centres around the idea of publishing revisions of original works. Please explaIn then the discrepancy between what is being reported, and the one example I gave which is literally written in black and white if it’s only now that somehow this is an issue people have been previously unaware of.

niallpatrick

If it offends the publishers then simply edit where they see fit and title the book 'something less offensive based on the works written by Mr R Dahl'

Charlene and the vegan fair trade chocolate factory.

If thy eyes offend thee then pluck them out

Podge_irl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120273022#Comment_120273022

That's not the basis of "much" of the "manufactured" outrage though. Its one example among many.

I personally find the rewriting of the passage about pulling women's wigs particularly egregious as it changes the entire meaning of the passage.

Overheal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120273022#Comment_120273022

The point I was making though is that much of the manufactured outrage centres around this idea of the word ‘woman’ being replaced with ‘female’, in describing Miss Trunchbull.

There are so, so many edits listed in the reporting, and I haven't seen that particular one particularly called out, so I'd throw salt on defining how much of what outrage, is predicated on that change alone.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2023/02/19/roald-dahl-books-revisions-salman-rushdie/

The changes in Dahl’s children’s books were done in partnership with Inclusive Minds, a collective for people who are passionate about inclusion, diversity and accessibility in children’s literature, according to the Roald Dahl Story Co.

Among the changes, according to the Telegraph: The character of Augustus Gloop from “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” is no longer described as “fat.” Now he is referred to as “enormous.” What was described as a “weird African language” in the book “The Twits” is no longer weird. In “The BFG,” a reference to the character of the “Bloodbottler” having skin that was “reddish-brown” has been removed.

Some characters are now gender-neutral. The singing and dancing Oompa Loompas from “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” were once described as “small men”; now they are “small people.” In “James and the Giant Peach,” the Cloud-Men — mysterious figures who live in the sky — are now known as Cloud-People.

In some cases, new lines were added. In “The Witches,” a paragraph that explains that the witches are bald underneath their wigs has a new sentence: “There are plenty of other reasons why women might wear wigs and there is certainly nothing wrong with that.”

The Roald Dahl Story Co. said in an emailed statement Sunday that the review of Dahl’s writing began in 2020 — before the works were acquired by streaming giant Netflix — and that tweaks were “small and carefully considered.”

One eyed Jack

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120272877#Comment_120272877

Ohh straight-up pulling random figures out of my arse, figuratively speaking. The point I was making though is that much of the manufactured outrage centres around this idea of the word ‘woman’ being replaced with ‘female’, in describing Miss Trunchbull. It seems I read an entirely different version of the book to those puritans of publishing, and I thought maybe it was my imagination, but then I thought it couldn’t be, because I thought to myself “I know what I fcuking read!”, and it turns out I wasn’t just imagining it -

The head teacher, the boss, the supreme commander of this establishment, was a formidable middle-aged lady whose name was Miss Trunchbull.

https://www.caldmore.attrust.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/21/2021/01/Chapter-7.pdf

Strumms

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120272976#Comment_120272976

Ohhh I doubt they need them from me. 😅

Podge_irl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120272955#Comment_120272955

Some of these books are out of copyright and can have edited released put out by anyone who feels like it.

To one degree the issue here is the length that copyright lasts and one person/institution who isn't the author having control over the only allowed publishable version.

One eyed Jack

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120272955#Comment_120272955

You’re just giving people ideas now 😁

buried

It's a fine example how a vast majority of these liberal "inclusive" types are so ultimately fickle and have no real actual semblance of their so called "liberal" ideology whatsoever. Over 20 years ago when sections of the conservative right wing were decrying that other forms of artistic output such as music and video games were causing "intolerance/violence/break-down of society" these same inclusive liberal folk were rightly denouncing that argument as absolute total scaremongering gibberish. Now, the same liberal folk are trying to take down Roald Dahl's fantastical children's fairytale stories as being the cause for the world's ills. All because some corporation has deemed it so. Laughable.

Strumms

Maybe we can edit the works of Shakespeare, Patrick Kavanagh, The Coen Brothers, Wilfred Owen, James Joyce, F Scott Fitzgerald, to make them, more inclusive ?

One eyed Jack

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120272861#Comment_120272861

I dunno man, it inspired some absolute cracking childhood poetry -

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, in the bed with nothing on…

Can’t remember the rest of it, I just remember laughing for weeks after I heard it 😂

amacca

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120272662#Comment_120272662

If its that unnoticeable then surely that's an argument for not changing them too?

Sorry I see another poster made the same point.

Honestly though I can't see this being anything other than cynical or misguided. Tbh I think I find it offensive that it was even contemplated or attempted (if its going to generate publicity and drive sales and profits then it's cynical and thats best case scenario imo)

I enjoyed Dahls books as a kid, they were deeply satisfying to read, I don't think they gave me any worldviews I wouldn't have formed due to much more immediate influences in my life...tbh I think their influence was positive, they don't preach hate or division/bigotry etc or indoctrinate....they are imo just fantastic stories with great vivid characters, they were something that made the world a better place (as were the william books by richmal Cropton, asterix and obelix, the Lord of the rings and then later fantasy and sci fi by Stephen Donaldson, gap series, thomas covenant chronicles, iain m banks culture novels, hitchhikers guide etc etc, the thought of anyone making changes to any of those I find quite disquieting tbh....and part of the pictures painted in Dahls books is to do with the language used imo....looking at some of the edits posted they haven't been improved they've been made a little more sanitised/grey to the detriment of future readers imo

Tbh I think this type of shite will have its day and people will actively reject it the more it goes on.....ironically enough I think it will be most rejected by those young people they claim they are "protecting" is it?........if I know anything about young people or humans in general its that attempts to dictate culture fail in the end...

One eyed Jack

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120272872#Comment_120272872

That accounts for the 0.001% then 🤔

Podge_irl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120272819#Comment_120272819

How exactly are you seeing that? Or are you just pulling random figures out of your ass?

Roald Dahl is not exactly an esoteric figure that few people will have read.

Quantum Erasure

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120272819#Comment_120272819

99.999% of the people who are complaining about these things have never read the books

I'd say most of us here have read at least one Roald Dahl book, I know they were popular when I was in school, everyone was reading them

Overheal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120272819#Comment_120272819

The Bible is the prime example of why reversioning is stupid though.

buried

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120272662#Comment_120272662

Well if nobody is going to notice a difference, then why change the artistic work at all?

One eyed Jack

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120272662#Comment_120272662

A more pertinent question is whether or not 100% of the people who actually read the books as children, would care?

From what I can see, 99.999% of the people who are complaining about these things have never read the books, they’re complaining because they’ve only just become aware of something that has happened since the printing press was invented, and think it must be part of some greater agenda that they already find offensive 😒

They kinda remind me of people who claim they became anti-theist after reading the Bible. It’s generally a sign that they’ve never so much as opened a Bible.

Overheal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120272662#Comment_120272662

So hard to gage.

I noticed when I was watching an HD re-release of a Gundam episode the other day, they had butchered both the dialog, the original voice acting, and even OG music choices, all apparently for no reason. I hadn't seen that one since the mid 2000s but it was impressionable and memorable. And I was not happy with any of the changes they made. But it's also, clearly been marketed as an HD Remake etc.

https://www.penguin.co.uk/authors/17527/roald-dahl

Penguin isn't doing that at all, not marketing these as 'reimagined for modern audiences' etc. or any foreword about controversial content, and if anything are only advertising "Bonus" content (dare I ask if Dahl wrote/outlined those chapters? Did he leave them on the cutting room floor for artistic expression reasons?) and Bonus to me doesn't imply material alteration of the main literary material which is what they've reportedly done.

magicbastarder

i can't help but wonder whether 99.999% of the people who read the books as kids, if they read the new versions, would be able to spot the difference unless warned beforehand?

Overheal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120272251#Comment_120272251

I mean it already happens with HD remakes. Look at Star Wars, we've seen nth versions of han shooting greedo. Plenty of other examples too, it's not just aspect ratios (which there are arguments against that bare change, even).

buried

They'll do this ridiculous $hit with films yet. No coincidence its Netflix who currently owns the Roald Dahl estate who is allowing this to happen. If you truly value the artistic and cultural works from artists you enjoy, you need to acquire actual physical hard copies of the works you enjoy. Because relying on the big tech streaming media companies to preserve the historical artistic works you do enjoy is like asking an alligator to preserve and leave alone some lads foot stepping in a alligator filled tropical swamp.

Montage of Feck

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120268391#Comment_120268391

Shakespeare was a Tudor propagandist and the bible has been translated and reinterpreted innumerable times.

thegame983

Can these talentless hacks not just write their own books?