After the recent backlash over the 'airbrushing' of Roald Dahl novels, British author Ian Fleming's James Bond books are now being revised to remove racist language from them.
In simple terms, airbrushing refers to the obscuring or deletion of details (which are often unpleasant).
The revisions were made after a review by 'sensitivity readers' commissioned by Ian Fleming Publications Ltd, which owns the rights to Fleming's work.
Fleming's James Bond series is set to be reissued in April on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the collection's first book, Casino Royale, according to The Telegraph.
The newspaper reported that a disclaimer would be added in the updated novels, promising readers that the edits would keep as close to the original text as possible.
"This book was written at a time when terms and attitudes which might be considered offensive by modern readers were commonplace," the disclaimer reads. "A number of updates have been made in this edition, while keeping as close as possible to the original text and the period in which it is set."
So, what updates have been made to Fleming's and Dahl's work? And why has this exercise sparked a debate on censorship? Read on.
'Absurd Censorship': Why Edits to Roald Dahl, Ian Fleming Books Have Sparked Row
1. But First, Who Are Sensitivity Readers?
According to The Times, publishers hire sensitivity readers to offer an extra layer of editorial oversight, usually before a book is published.
Their expertise is derived from their lived experience. This, essentially, means that they are better equipped to identify inaccuracies and stereotypes about their community than people who are not part of it. They are also in better positions to suggest changes.
What Are the Changes in Fleming's Works?
The revised versions include an excerpt from his novel Live and Let Die, in which Bond, who is a secret agent codenamed 007, says Africans are "pretty law-abiding chaps I should have thought, except when they've drunk too much."
This has been changed to "pretty law-abiding chaps I should have thought."
In the same novel, when Bond visits Harlem, Fleming frequently used the n-word when describing Black people. In the edited versions, most uses of the n-word have been replaced with "Black man" or "Black person," according to The Telegraph.
However, racist language used to describe other ethnicities remains intact in the updated text. The terms used to refer to East Asian people, comments made about Oddjob, a Korean henchman in the series, and sexist and homophobic language have not been revised, the newspaper added.
For instance, references to homosexuality as a "stubborn disability" and sexist remarks like "blithering women" failing at "man's work" remain in the revised text.
Expand2. What About Roald Dahl's Novels?
Revisions to James Bond novels come after outrage over changes to children's author Roald Dahl's books.
According to reports, Dahl's publisher Puffin Books revised works like The Twits and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
The changes pertained to body weight, mental health, gender, and race.
In Fantastic Mr Fox, the mention of two tractors being black was deleted. "Bunce, the little pot-bellied dwarf" was changed to plain old Bunce. (SHOULD "plain old Bunce" BE IN QUOTES?)
In George’s Marvellous Medicine, the sentence "He didn't have any brothers or sisters" was changed to "He doesn't have any siblings."
Inexplicably, the word "Owch" was rewritten as "Ugh."
The word "fat" was removed from all the texts. In James and the Giant Peach, Aunt Sponge was no longer "enormously fat and very short," but "quite large and very short."
These revisions, among others, triggered the backlash. Puffin later announced that it would release the original versions of Dahl's books too, so that readers could choose whether or not to read them.
Expand3. 'Absurd Censorship', 'Attack on Free Speech'
Author Salman Rushdie was among those who slammed the "absurd censorship" of Dahl's works by, who he described as, "bowdlerizing sensitivity police."
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also objected to the revision exercise and said that it was an attack on free speech.
'A Whitewashed Dahl Is Worse'
Suranya Aiyar, who is the author of illustrated children's titles Mama Suranya Books, however, said that though she does not agree with the rewriting of books for any reason unless it is by the authors themselves, she has always objected to Roald Dahl's work for children.
"Dahl's work is dark and spiteful. He always presents parents and the world generally as being evil and against the child. This is neither entertaining nor enriching for a child," she told The Quint.
She reasoned that while adults may get a thrill out of a writing that is disturbing for the sake of it, such writing is not good for children.
"We should abandon Dahl altogether. Erasing the politically incorrect parts of his work will present it to the reader without giving them pause as to Dahl's true and complete worldview. At least if you read as he wrote it, there is a chance that you will question it. A whitewashed Dahl is worse than the bare naked Dahl as it were," she added.
She, however, does not agree with the 'political correctness movement' in children's writing. "It has led either to very bland writing or to shallow sit-com type writing as you see in Peppa Pig, which is to writing what junk food is to food."
Expand4. Have Any Other Books Undergone Revision?
It is not out of the ordinary for books, and particularly books for children, to undergo revisions for modern sensibilities.
In fact, as early as 1959, the Nancy Drew mystery series – written in 1930 – was ordered to be revised by publisher Grosset & Dunlap to modernise and streamline the series, but also to remove racial stereotyping of African Americans.
The originals were, however, re-released in 1991 by Applewood Books to cash in on the nostalgia of Nancy Drew purists.
A publisher's note did acknowledge that the "racial and social stereotyping" in the books could make a reader "extremely uncomfortable."
A similar exercise was carried out for Enid Blyton's Famous Five books. In 2010, Hachette announced that it would be making sensitive revisions to the novels.
The move was followed by market research that suggested that children were no longer engaging with the stories about child detectives due to their dated language.
Changes made included replacing the word "tinker" with "traveller," "mother and father" with "mum and dad," and "awful swotter" with "bookworm." The revisions also made the language more gender-neutral, with the character Anne altered to enjoy teddies instead of dolls.
However, in 2016, the publisher decided to abandon the idea because the revision was not successful.
Expand5. When the Author Himself Had To Rewrite His Books
Several of Dahl's books have previously been the subject of controversy, and there were attempts to rewrite or ban them.
Dahl rewrote Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964) partially in 1973 after pressure from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and children's literature professionals.
Dahl's original Oompa Loompas were "a tribe of tiny miniature pygmies" whom Willy Wonka "discovered" and "brought over from Africa" to work in his factory for no payment other than cacao beans.
Though the author vehemently denied that the novel depicted Black people, he revised the book. The Oompa Loompas then became residents of "Loompaland" with "golden-brown hair" and "rosy-white skin."
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)
Expand
But First, Who Are Sensitivity Readers?
According to The Times, publishers hire sensitivity readers to offer an extra layer of editorial oversight, usually before a book is published.
Their expertise is derived from their lived experience. This, essentially, means that they are better equipped to identify inaccuracies and stereotypes about their community than people who are not part of it. They are also in better positions to suggest changes.
What Are the Changes in Fleming's Works?
The revised versions include an excerpt from his novel Live and Let Die, in which Bond, who is a secret agent codenamed 007, says Africans are "pretty law-abiding chaps I should have thought, except when they've drunk too much."
This has been changed to "pretty law-abiding chaps I should have thought."
In the same novel, when Bond visits Harlem, Fleming frequently used the n-word when describing Black people. In the edited versions, most uses of the n-word have been replaced with "Black man" or "Black person," according to The Telegraph.
However, racist language used to describe other ethnicities remains intact in the updated text. The terms used to refer to East Asian people, comments made about Oddjob, a Korean henchman in the series, and sexist and homophobic language have not been revised, the newspaper added.
For instance, references to homosexuality as a "stubborn disability" and sexist remarks like "blithering women" failing at "man's work" remain in the revised text.
What About Roald Dahl's Novels?
Revisions to James Bond novels come after outrage over changes to children's author Roald Dahl's books.
According to reports, Dahl's publisher Puffin Books revised works like The Twits and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
The changes pertained to body weight, mental health, gender, and race.
In Fantastic Mr Fox, the mention of two tractors being black was deleted. "Bunce, the little pot-bellied dwarf" was changed to plain old Bunce. (SHOULD "plain old Bunce" BE IN QUOTES?)
In George’s Marvellous Medicine, the sentence "He didn't have any brothers or sisters" was changed to "He doesn't have any siblings."
Inexplicably, the word "Owch" was rewritten as "Ugh."
The word "fat" was removed from all the texts. In James and the Giant Peach, Aunt Sponge was no longer "enormously fat and very short," but "quite large and very short."
These revisions, among others, triggered the backlash. Puffin later announced that it would release the original versions of Dahl's books too, so that readers could choose whether or not to read them.
'Absurd Censorship', 'Attack on Free Speech'
Author Salman Rushdie was among those who slammed the "absurd censorship" of Dahl's works by, who he described as, "bowdlerizing sensitivity police."
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also objected to the revision exercise and said that it was an attack on free speech.
'A Whitewashed Dahl Is Worse'
Suranya Aiyar, who is the author of illustrated children's titles Mama Suranya Books, however, said that though she does not agree with the rewriting of books for any reason unless it is by the authors themselves, she has always objected to Roald Dahl's work for children.
"Dahl's work is dark and spiteful. He always presents parents and the world generally as being evil and against the child. This is neither entertaining nor enriching for a child," she told The Quint.
She reasoned that while adults may get a thrill out of a writing that is disturbing for the sake of it, such writing is not good for children.
"We should abandon Dahl altogether. Erasing the politically incorrect parts of his work will present it to the reader without giving them pause as to Dahl's true and complete worldview. At least if you read as he wrote it, there is a chance that you will question it. A whitewashed Dahl is worse than the bare naked Dahl as it were," she added.
She, however, does not agree with the 'political correctness movement' in children's writing. "It has led either to very bland writing or to shallow sit-com type writing as you see in Peppa Pig, which is to writing what junk food is to food."
Have Any Other Books Undergone Revision?
It is not out of the ordinary for books, and particularly books for children, to undergo revisions for modern sensibilities.
In fact, as early as 1959, the Nancy Drew mystery series – written in 1930 – was ordered to be revised by publisher Grosset & Dunlap to modernise and streamline the series, but also to remove racial stereotyping of African Americans.
The originals were, however, re-released in 1991 by Applewood Books to cash in on the nostalgia of Nancy Drew purists.
A publisher's note did acknowledge that the "racial and social stereotyping" in the books could make a reader "extremely uncomfortable."
A similar exercise was carried out for Enid Blyton's Famous Five books. In 2010, Hachette announced that it would be making sensitive revisions to the novels.
The move was followed by market research that suggested that children were no longer engaging with the stories about child detectives due to their dated language.
Changes made included replacing the word "tinker" with "traveller," "mother and father" with "mum and dad," and "awful swotter" with "bookworm." The revisions also made the language more gender-neutral, with the character Anne altered to enjoy teddies instead of dolls.
However, in 2016, the publisher decided to abandon the idea because the revision was not successful.
When the Author Himself Had To Rewrite His Books
Several of Dahl's books have previously been the subject of controversy, and there were attempts to rewrite or ban them.
Dahl rewrote Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964) partially in 1973 after pressure from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and children's literature professionals.
Dahl's original Oompa Loompas were "a tribe of tiny miniature pygmies" whom Willy Wonka "discovered" and "brought over from Africa" to work in his factory for no payment other than cacao beans.
Though the author vehemently denied that the novel depicted Black people, he revised the book. The Oompa Loompas then became residents of "Loompaland" with "golden-brown hair" and "rosy-white skin."
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)