Even Augustus Gloop ain't safe (Dahl being censored)

Freakbro said:
There's a lot of pearl clutching going on in this thread! :cry:

Language changes, attitudes change and with it so do cultural references. Always has happened, always will.

I remember the last lot of moral outrage when Enid Blyton got rinsed through the modern (at the time) lens of linguistic changes.

The words Gay (happy) and Queer (strange) were dropped, the characters Dick and Fanny had their names changed.

Her Gollywog books have all but disappeared, with the characters Golly, Woggy and ****** striding along singing their favourite song "Ten little ****** boys"

Not sure why Chris can't enjoy the dreams of his Bentley ownership if they stopped calling it 'Chinese eyed'

Edit : The irony being even one of those Enid Blyton names is starred out by OCUK's swear filter! :cry:
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You're holding up OCUKs filter like it's some sort of paragon of moral judgement.
Language changes aren't necessarily for the best. One of the qualities of older books can be the use of language. In fact some books are renowned for it, not the plot or themes.
Erasing/sanitising history to suit the moral stance of some is never a good thing. Its exactly what has gone on in dictatorships and well...still is. Yet for some reason by some is being lauded in the modern age.
 
Dis86 said:
You're holding up OCUKs filter like it's some sort of paragon of moral judgement.
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No I'm not, im just pointing out a real world example where a previously acceptable word no longer is. Are you able to have a discussion without resorting to hyperbole? :p

Dis86 said:
Language changes aren't necessarily for the best.
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Never said they were for the best, just that the change happens, always has always will.
Dis86 said:
One of the qualities of older books can be the use of language. In fact some books are renowned for it, not the plot or themes.
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Sure, and it can not be. Having a look at some of the changes with this Dahl, some seem unnecessary (imo) but on the whole I cant see where they materially change the story to detract from a childs enjoyment of it now.

Dis86 said:
Erasing/sanitising history to suit the moral stance of some is never a good thing. Its exactly what has gone on in dictatorships and well...still is. Yet for some reason by some is being lauded in the modern age.
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Again with the ridiculous hyperbole. Context is king and likes to be left out when people are trying to male spurious points.

Anyway, roast beef dinner and a bottle of red calls, so toodle pip!
 
Imagine instead teaching kids that societies have change overtime and what we once considered normal is now looked back at with a frown.

Nope, just whitewash away anything problematic and pretend nothing ever existed.

Don't give kids a chance to question anything.

what is a history lesson like these days?
do the do ww2? Slave triangle trading?
empire and colonial India?
 
Freakbro said:
Having a look at some of the changes with this Dahl, some seem unnecessary (imo) but on the whole I cant see where they materially change the story to detract from a childs enjoyment of it now.
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The way a story is told is as important as the story itself.

As someone else has already posted, Dahl's characters are often completely over the top parodies of themselves, e.g. Mike Teavee is a spoilt and violent little **** who is obsessed with guns and explosions because his parents just dump him in front of the TV. But now his guns have been removed, so he's basically just a normal 2020 kid. Augustus Gloop is obsessed with eating, that's his entire purpose, and exactly the reason behind why he falls in the chocolate river in the first place, but apparently he's no longer fat (just big boned), so for what is the character's motivation for doing something stupid? Willy Wonka is an egotistical maniac with no regard for anyone else (he's basically the Elon Musk of chocolate), of course he's going to exploit people/oompa loompas if he can get away with it...

This post from the random image thread seems particularly appropriate: https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/t...sh-random-image-thread.18769671/post-36224414
 
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How does the sanitisation of kids books lead to a repeat of the Holocaust? @Dis86 I found that drama you were looking for...
 
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