The Daily Swell
@dailyĀ Ā·Ā 2:02
Should we gobblefunk with the words of Roald Dahl? Writers and authors, please share your thoughts.
While some people approved of these changes, a spokesman for Mr. Sunak said that works of fiction should be, quote, preserved and not airbrushed. The spokesman went on to say and borrow a word from Daily, saying that when it comes to our rich and varied literary heritage, the Prime Minister agrees with the BFG that we shouldn't gobble funk around with words. But the reaction from fellow authors has been quite mixed
Brenda Boch
@BrendaB721Ā Ā·Ā 0:51
They should leave it just the way it is. This censorship is getting out of control in this country, in this world. If people are getting offensive or a little butthurt, then it's their choice not to watch it, not to read it, not to listen to it. I'm tired of everybody being on edge or walking on eggshells, afraid of hurting someone by a specific word. Get over it. We're ruining the society that way. Everyone's afraid of their own freaking shadow
Laura L (she/her)
@LoloflowĀ Ā·Ā 0:59
As a writer, a poet and a human being who cares very much about creative freedom, I think this is a slippery slope. It's just another avenue that leads to banning people's voices and watering them down to make them acceptable. For who? Who makes these decisions? That's always at the heart of this. If someone is trying to censor someone else, we need diversity in language perspective. We need wild and beautiful fiction. It makes me so sad when I hear things like this
Swell Team
@SwellĀ Ā·Ā 0:15
Creative Reader
@MoonPoetĀ Ā·Ā 1:35
Hey, it's Stephen. I just wanted to share my thoughts because I do think that's an important question. I think trying to submit the past to moral rules of the present, it's foolish. It's dangerous. I'm suspicious of people who are suspicious of creatives or threatened by words and books. It's not something I associate with a strong free culture. It's something I think of from maybe authoritarian type regimes
Aayan Banerjee
@BasTalkĀ Ā·Ā 3:17
A very crude example or analogy is like a packet of cigarettes where you can still choose to buy cigarettes and smoke them, but you are adequately informed on the COVID of the cigarette packet that it is injurious to your health. And then despite knowing that if you choose to smoke it, that's your call
Which is far more healthier than if you try to cover it up, or if you put a Band Aid over a wound and let it fester, if you try to make something prettier than it actually was. There are consequences to these actions. I think that art is as much a reflection of our history as history books
Rajesh Talwar
@TallyĀ Ā·Ā 1:30
So if I was a communist like Paul Pot or even, say, Stalin, and I was reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, I would be appointing a sensor and the sensor would say, we can't have Charlie because there are too many King Charles. Charles is a bought name. Charlie is also a bourgeois name. Let's replace it with Hands or Bruno or something more proletariat. And then the title, the word chocolate has to be changed because chocolate is also a bourgeois substance
Deepti Menon
@deepsmenon_7Ā Ā·Ā 4:27
And when you think of it in those terms, when you look at somebody's writing, isn't that his or her own creative imagination? Don't we need to respect those boundaries? And I don't think Doll had any idea of wanting to hurt anybody. In fact, like I said, one of the recurring themes was kindness. And here again is a beautiful quote by him. He says I think probably kindness is my number one attribute in a human being. To be kind
Dr Vandana R Singh
@RSFoundation20Ā Ā·Ā 4:47
And children also understand the difference between fantasy and reality. And I think here we are trying to think for them. We are trying to just I think this is sort of Molly coddling and sort of a protectionism of absolutely the most bizarre kind. For instance, didn't all of us read and enlightened when we were young? And have we all grown up into races? Are we all using bad language? Are we all some bizarre characters who don't know right from wrong? I don't think so
Riya Prasad
@highonchaiĀ Ā·Ā 2:30
This is horrendous news, you know, in my opinion. And nothing but cultural vandalism politicking and Purging, one of the world's best loved authors and stripping him of his own unique spirit. I mean, as we all know that what stood him apart was his wonderfully descriptive and sometimes outrageous use of language. But that is what captivated a child's mind and brings the character to life
Wow. There are a lot of comments on this thread really interesting to listen to. As somebody who used to be a teacher, I think that there's a big issue with revising already written and published books, even if they might have I don't know if we want to call it colorful language. I do think there is something to be learned from that. Right
Laura L (she/her)
@LoloflowĀ Ā·Ā 1:55
So as readers and learners, we also need to remember that if we are sensing something racist or sexist or homophobic or anything in a story or writing, then that informs us about the author and whether or not we want to continue to consume their offerings. Right. I've been thinking about this a lot since yesterday and about him as a person versus him as an author writing children's books and like you said, stirring the imagination. This is a very meaty topic
And so if they're making this conscious decision to make some of these edits, I feel like they're kind of acknowledging that the person himself was not the greatest or was maybe not as sensitive towards certain people as sensitive as he should be or as much as people are expected to be nowadays. But again, does that mean that you should change what this person's written? I'm not so sure about that
I mean, we should not forget that Matilda just came out on Netflix. It did really, really well. And I imagine we're going to see a lot of Raw Doll works being transformed into either new films or new TV shows down the road. And they're going to steer very clear of some of the images and the wording language that he used in his book. So anyways, if you're interested in reading this write up, I think it's real interesting. So take a look
Laura L (she/her)
@LoloflowĀ Ā·Ā 3:03
But there's always a man, woman, person, entity behind the green curtain trying to control stuff. And I take issue with it, let it stand and see how the chips fall and also see what we can learn from the legacy of the individual works. The works as a body and then the works plus the human, if we're so inclined. Yeah, so that's my rant. But thanks, Taylor, for your input. I'm really enjoying this conversation
Dr Vandana R Singh
@RSFoundation20Ā Ā·Ā 4:51
Because otherwise, with the kind of access we have to people's lives and to what people all about, I think we'll just be missing out on a lot of good writing and a lot of good art because things are just getting too complicated out there with so much information available. So, yeah, one can go on forever talking about this
Laura L (she/her)
@LoloflowĀ Ā·Ā 1:38
And whereas the human experience reflected most but in art and if we start watering that down, we're watering down our experience and we're not learning from our history, as you said. So yes, I just wanted to kind of tag on to those pieces. I really appreciated your input
Husna M
@Husna_writerĀ Ā·Ā 4:25
We all have grown up with Joel Dal's classic. He has to be the most beloved of children's authors of all time. Dal's stories are renowned for their dark humor and whimsical characters, and they continue to resonate with children today because they capture a sense of imagination and wonder that is like boch, timeless and universal. But what has happened is that in recent years we have become more aware of individual and racial sensitivities, how our words, actions and gestures can impact the people around us
Dr Vandana R Singh
@RSFoundation20Ā Ā·Ā 1:21
So, breaking news for all of us who were worried about Rolldar's books and what is being done to them. I just heard on BBC that the publishers have decided to do a little uturn and now two versions of the books are going going to be available. One would be the original and one would be the one that has been Pinkered with. Now there will be confusion forever because there will be the old version and there will be the new version
Anupama Mohan
@a980Ā Ā·Ā 4:36
And it is those kinds of speeches to which we have to hold our politicians and our rulers accountable. But instead of doing that, we see a whole range of people wanting to meddle with literature, trying to change it or modernize it according to different sensibilities. And to me, that makes no sense. Literature's job is to take us into zones of discomfort and the reader comes out of that journey having learned something. When was the last time we learned anything? When we heard our politicians speak?
Pasju Kubert
@PasjuRelativelyĀ Ā·Ā 1:29
I think it's pretty interesting that throughout history, all the way back to the Bible, we've dealt with this issue. It's a silly issue, I think. I think it is offensive in the sense that someone is assuming that they know better what the author was trying to inspire in the readers. I think they wrote it, they finished it, they published it. Period, end of story. I think the problem exists, but it is societies to deal with
Aayan B
@aayanismsĀ Ā·Ā 3:32
Likewise for the repeat reader, they can revisit and see what strike back then and how they can be a bit more sensitive than what they already are. And for the seasoned reader they already are aware that this needs to be done and so I think they'd be on board. So that'd be my two cent to it
Sophie Sophia
@sophie_worldĀ Ā·Ā 0:45
Yes, I agree to it because whatever receive honor is doing, I think it is foolish and whatever already it has been done, it's a legendary thing, it is a work of literature and these were some expressions which cannot be changed. It has some meanings underlying means and it has symbolism too. So yes, I agree to it. Moon Poet that it is really regressive and it is in fact, I think it's him relating to literature
DJCZ
@JonnyCitizenĀ Ā·Ā 4:54
It bothers me a little bit when people will see something and then just kind of translate it to directly get on their soapbox about their pen a piece issue and not actually take into account what is like user discernment critical thinking to look at what is actually going on here. So for an example, just to kind of get my points out there and it's just things to think about
