The Daily Telegraph published this weekend a reprint of Roald Dahl’s children’s books with a handful of changes. a tendency to eliminate potentially offensive words or concepts and make them suitable for all hypersensitivities. The Puffin label and its heirs, who became millionaires thanks to the author’s copyright, collaborated to carry out a heinous act of censorship that made it easier for them to continue selling. How difficult and at the same time soft is the job of publishing in these times of density and constant complaints. Terms changed and all paragraphs removed Stories like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, As Netflix, the current owner of the Roald Dahl Story Company, which manages the author’s legacy, Matilda or James and the Giant Peach to “make sure we can all continue to enjoy them today” and “add some fresh magic to them.” Those who died in 1990 said he promoted musicals and serials based on their stories. Therefore, the heroes of Las brujas are not bald, they do not hide in professions such as typists or cashiers, they work as scientists or business women. James’ Cloud Men and giant peach become “cloud people” and Aunt Sponge is no longer fat. Matilda reads Jane Austen, not Joseph Conrad and Kipling, and her school’s headmistress has no “horse face.” No more ugly or crazy. Umpa Lumpas are no longer little men, but gender-neutral “little people”. These Willy Wonka slaves, honored to be included in the Oxford Dictionary, have evolved over time: Roald Dahl changed his appearance as African dwarfs after being accused of being racist. It is not known what harmless format they will be left in future releases, perhaps broccoli branches They’re trying to make tofu because there’s too much sugar in chocolate.
I don’t think those who trim Roald Dahl’s books think that children are too stupid to interpret what they read and draw their own conclusions, as they have been throughout their lives. (Wow, Pippi Longstocking is smoking!). Another consideration is deserved by those who go through the checkout, parents who are exposed to overprotection and scandal. That’s why they hired a consulting firm called Inclusive Minds, a group that describes itself as “passionate about inclusion, diversity, equality, and accessibility in children’s literature,” to review the work of an author accused of being misogynistic, xenophobic, homophobic, and politically incorrect. , but still compressible. British head of government Rishi Sunak gracefully disapproved of tampering with children’s books and assured him that “the prime minister agrees with BFG (Great good-natured giant in Spanish, another short) when it comes to our rich and diverse literary heritage”. a story by the same author) that “we shouldn’t swallow funk” (a word coined by Dahl that can be translated to poke language). Salman Rushdie also cried out loudly after the last assassination attempt, with serious consequences. He suffered at the hands of an Islamist who spent half his life hiding behind the blasphemy decree issued by Ayatollah Homeini for the publication of Satanic Verses. Let’s see if, after all this pain, thirty years later, a publisher comes out and changes the name to Seraphic Kisses and cuts here and there so as not to offend anyone.