"Insensitive" Racial Content Removed from James Bond Novels
- silverscreenselect
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"Insensitive" Racial Content Removed from James Bond Novels
A new version of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels is being released in April to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the first book in the series, Casino Royale. However, this version won't be the same as earlier ones. The publisher has made a series of sensitivity edits to remove certain racial references. In some cases, derogatory slang references to blacks have been replaced by "Black person" or "Black man." Other edits are more subtle. In Live and Let Die (the second Bond novel in which all the villains are black), Bond's description of Africans in the diamond trade has been edited to remove the italicized language: "pretty law-abiding chaps I should have thought, except when they’ve drunk too much." In another scene, set at a Harlem strip club, Fleming wrote: "Bond could hear the audience panting and grunting like pigs at the trough." The new version will read: "Bond could sense the electric tension in the room." Other books have also been edited to remove references to the ethnicities of characters (I wonder if Oddjob is no longer Korean). This move follows a well-publicized move by Roald Dahl's publishers to remove offensive content, including words like "fat" to describe people, from his children's books. (Dahl's publisher is also going to re-issue a "classic" version of the original unedited books as well.)
I've read a number of books written in the 20s and 30s and highly derogatory and stereotypical racial references are common. The Charlie Chan novels (and films) are one notable example. These were unexceptional at the time, but stand out like sore thumbs today.
It's ironic this is going on at a time when right-wing politicians are being criticized for attempts to sanitize the content of courses by removing discussions of some aspects of black history.
https://variety.com/2023/film/news/jame ... 235536164/
I've read a number of books written in the 20s and 30s and highly derogatory and stereotypical racial references are common. The Charlie Chan novels (and films) are one notable example. These were unexceptional at the time, but stand out like sore thumbs today.
It's ironic this is going on at a time when right-wing politicians are being criticized for attempts to sanitize the content of courses by removing discussions of some aspects of black history.
https://variety.com/2023/film/news/jame ... 235536164/
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- earendel
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Re: "Insensitive" Racial Content Removed from James Bond Novels
Roald Dahl's books are getting the same treatment. In Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Augustus Gloop is no longer "fat", he is "enormous" and the Oompa Loompas are no longer "small men", they're "small people". In The Witches children who read about the wig-wearing bald women now get a footnote: "There are plenty of other reasons why women might wear wigs and there is certainly nothing wrong with that."
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- Vandal
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Re: "Insensitive" Racial Content Removed from James Bond Novels
Please don’t mess with femme fatale names like Dr. Holly Goodhead, Molly Warmflash, Christmas Jones, Plenty O'Toole, Sylvia Trench, Xenia Onnatopp, Honey Ryder, and Pussy Galore.
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The Secret At Haney Field: A Baseball Mystery
The Right Hand Rule
Center Point
Dizzy Miss Lizzie
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The Tick Tock Man
The Dragon's Song by Binh Pham and R. M. Clark
Devin Drake and The Family Secret
Devin Drake and The RollerGhoster
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- silverscreenselect
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Re: "Insensitive" Racial Content Removed from James Bond Novels
I didn't realize this, either in regard to Roald Dahl's books or in general. Dahl's publisher isn't just changing the language in new editions of the books that are coming out. They are also editing existing ebooks in people's accounts. There is a feature in your Amazon account called "automatic book updates." If that feature is turned on, whenever an author or publisher updates a book, it updates your copy automatically as well (including the version on your device the next time you are connected to the internet by wi-fi.) Authors typically use this to correct typos or grammatical mistakes they discover, or to update the "Also by this author" links in the book so people can quickly find subsequently published books by that author. But if you had that automatic update turned on and you had a Dahl book on your Kindle, you've been automatically updated as well. I would assume this applies to the Bond books as well, but I've only got one (Casino Royale) and it's in a book that's a multi-author anthology.earendel wrote: ↑Sun Feb 26, 2023 2:40 pmRoald Dahl's books are getting the same treatment. In Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Augustus Gloop is no longer "fat", he is "enormous" and the Oompa Loompas are no longer "small men", they're "small people". In The Witches children who read about the wig-wearing bald women now get a footnote: "There are plenty of other reasons why women might wear wigs and there is certainly nothing wrong with that."
I turned my automatic update feature off. I can still manually update any book I choose, but I have to do so on an individual basis.
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- Beebs52
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Re: "Insensitive" Racial Content Removed from James Bond Novels
I'm tired of the lecturing. Anyone who reads is capable of discerning objectionable stuff. It's becoming scarily obnoxious. I don't recall that I assumed a rqcist stance after being exposed to various "non pc" literature.
Nor did I after reading Memoirs of a Geisha. Interesting.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memoirs_of_a_Geisha
Nor did I after reading Memoirs of a Geisha. Interesting.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memoirs_of_a_Geisha
Well, then
- silverscreenselect
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Re: "Insensitive" Racial Content Removed from James Bond Novels
I fail to see what Memoirs of a Geisha has to do with Roald Dahl, James Bond, or, from the other thread, the Siamese cats from Lady and the Tramp. I noted that I don't want to read material that some nameless editor has "updated" to remove racially insensitive references, any more than I want a version in which four letter words have been replaced by "shucks" or "fudge."Beebs52 wrote: ↑Sat Jul 22, 2023 7:38 pmI'm tired of the lecturing. Anyone who reads is capable of discerning objectionable stuff. It's becoming scarily obnoxious. I don't recall that I assumed a rqcist stance after being exposed to various "non pc" literature.
Nor did I after reading Memoirs of a Geisha. Interesting.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memoirs_of_a_Geisha
I made the point that the Siamese cats were racist, as was Mickey Rooney's character in Breakfast at Tiffany's, because they are. And that sort of racism was prevalent and widely acceptable in our society at that time. I would hope that adults today can recognize the inherent racism here, although, in Flock's case, it hasn't worked. The purpose of the disclaimer was to notify people of the existence of this material so they can make a decision whether to watch it or not, just like warnings about sex, profanity, or violence in a movie.
I'm a fan of the so-called Golden Age mysteries by Agatha Christie and the like written largely between the two World Wars. I read many of them initially in the 1960s and 70s and didn't notice anything that struck me as objectionable. I've reread some of them more recently and find a lot of them filled with racially offensive stereotypes (just about every minority character). Charlie Chan is a prime example, but there are lots of others. Whenever a minority character appears, usually in a secondary role, they assume all the stereotypical character traits of their race. Whenever I post a review of one of those books, I add a warning about the language that some potential readers may find offensive.
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- flockofseagulls104
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Re: "Insensitive" Racial Content Removed from James Bond Novels
What gives them the right to do things like this? I assume the author is deceased. Who are these language police? What gives them authority?
Your friendly neighborhood racist. On the waiting list to be a nazi. Designated an honorary 'snowflake'. Trolled by the very best, as well as by BJ. Always typical, unlike others.., Fulminator, Hopelessly in the tank for trump... inappropriate... Flocking himself... Probably a tucking sexist, too... A clear and present threat to The Future Of Our Democracy.. Doesn't understand anything... Made the trump apologist and enabler playoffs... Heathen bastard... Knows nothing about history... Liar.... don't know much about statistics and polling... Nothing at all about biology... Ignorant Bigot... Potential Future Pariah... Big Nerd... Spiraling, Anti-Trans Bigot.. A Lunatic AND a Bigot.. Very Ignorant of the World in General... Sounds deranged... Fake Christian... Weird... has the mind of a child... Simpleton... gullible idiot... a coward who can't face facts... insufferable and obnoxious dumbass... the usual dum dum... idolatrous donkey-person!... Mouth-breathing moron... Dildo
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Re: "Insensitive" Racial Content Removed from James Bond Novels
I assume James Bond still treats women as playthings (otherwise all the novels would have to be rewritten). But at least he no longer uses the n-word.
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- silverscreenselect
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Re: "Insensitive" Racial Content Removed from James Bond Novels
In the case of Roald Dahl and, I assume, Ian Fleming, the publisher has the rights under the terms of the contract with the author.flockofseagulls104 wrote: ↑Sat Jul 22, 2023 8:35 pmWhat gives them the right to do things like this? I assume the author is deceased. Who are these language police? What gives them authority?
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- flockofseagulls104
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Re: "Insensitive" Racial Content Removed from James Bond Novels
Another example of wokeness. Disgusting.
Who are these people that think they need to 'protect' us from the past? Again, WHAT GIVES THEM THE AUTHORITY TO DO THIS? Other than us letting them do it.
Who are these people that think they need to 'protect' us from the past? Again, WHAT GIVES THEM THE AUTHORITY TO DO THIS? Other than us letting them do it.
Your friendly neighborhood racist. On the waiting list to be a nazi. Designated an honorary 'snowflake'. Trolled by the very best, as well as by BJ. Always typical, unlike others.., Fulminator, Hopelessly in the tank for trump... inappropriate... Flocking himself... Probably a tucking sexist, too... A clear and present threat to The Future Of Our Democracy.. Doesn't understand anything... Made the trump apologist and enabler playoffs... Heathen bastard... Knows nothing about history... Liar.... don't know much about statistics and polling... Nothing at all about biology... Ignorant Bigot... Potential Future Pariah... Big Nerd... Spiraling, Anti-Trans Bigot.. A Lunatic AND a Bigot.. Very Ignorant of the World in General... Sounds deranged... Fake Christian... Weird... has the mind of a child... Simpleton... gullible idiot... a coward who can't face facts... insufferable and obnoxious dumbass... the usual dum dum... idolatrous donkey-person!... Mouth-breathing moron... Dildo
- silverscreenselect
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Re: "Insensitive" Racial Content Removed from James Bond Novels
This isn't "wokeness." This is capitalism at work. The people who own the rights to creative works (which in many cases are not the authors) have been editing and censoring content for decades for all sorts of reasons. They make the decision that a work will be more saleable in a particular form. In the case of the Dahl books, their effort appears to be a business success. Bookstores now carry both versions, and overall sales have increased since the controversy began. My guess is that sales of the Bond books have increased as well. Now, the publishers who own the rights are wrong in a certain literary sense, and they may or may not be wrong in a business sense, but they are correct in a legal sense because that's how publishing contracts have been written. And both Ian Fleming and Roald Dahl (and their estates) made a lot of money from those contracts.flockofseagulls104 wrote: ↑Sun Jul 23, 2023 8:12 amAnother example of wokeness. Disgusting.
Who are these people that think they need to 'protect' us from the past? Again, WHAT GIVES THEM THE AUTHORITY TO DO THIS? Other than us letting them do it.
Ironically, the first Mary Poppins book, published in 1934, had Mary taking her children around the world, meeting people from various cultures. When they visited what was presumably Africa (although the author never mentioned countries or continents by name), they encountered some natives that the author referred to as "negro ladies" and "pickaninnies." Neither term was considered particularly offensive in P.L. Travers' native Australia when she wrote them. The characters also spoke in stereotypical dialect. However, in the 1970s, while she was still alive, she toured America and was told by a school teacher that the teacher was too embarrassed to read the book to her class. Travers was surprised and said in a memoir: “if even one Black child were troubled, or [the tacher] were troubled, I would have to alter it.” And she did, removing the racial references and having the characters speak standard English instead.
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- earendel
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Re: "Insensitive" Racial Content Removed from James Bond Novels
Just to be clear, the Dahl Museum has gone on record as saying that his racism and and antisemitism are "unmistakable and indelible". Dahl's family and estate also issued a statement in 2020 apologizing for Roald's antisemitism.flockofseagulls104 wrote: ↑Sun Jul 23, 2023 8:12 amAnother example of wokeness. Disgusting.
Who are these people that think they need to 'protect' us from the past? Again, WHAT GIVES THEM THE AUTHORITY TO DO THIS? Other than us letting them do it.
"Elen sila lumenn omentielvo...A star shines on the hour of our meeting."
- Beebs52
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Re: "Insensitive" Racial Content Removed from James Bond Novels
I guess here's my question. Do you think actual racists have read Dahl, Bond, etc and watched Song of the South or Lady and the Tramp and have had their world views informed by those works?
Well, then
- silverscreenselect
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Re: "Insensitive" Racial Content Removed from James Bond Novels
I'm not sure how widely read Flock is, but I'd guess the answer is Yes to both questions.
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- Beebs52
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Re: "Insensitive" Racial Content Removed from James Bond Novels
I think you're wrong.silverscreenselect wrote: ↑Sun Jul 23, 2023 4:06 pmI'm not sure how widely read Flock is, but I'd guess the answer is Yes to both questions.
Well, then
- Beebs52
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Re: "Insensitive" Racial Content Removed from James Bond Novels
David Duke, we can all agree is a racist creep. No mention of early life influences.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Duke
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Duke
Well, then