Fun times we live in. My recommendation to all of you is to buy as much physical media as possible (books, DVDs etc) before an inevitable purging of the classics becomes the norm.
The latest purge has “offensive” references being removed from Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels following a “sensitivity review.” These new edits will be included in the upcoming 70th anniversary publication of “Casino Royale”.
Some depictions of Black people have also been “reworked or removed”, but references to Asian people and Bond’s mocking Oddjob, Goldfinger’s Korean sidekick, remain intact.
An example of a revised lined has Bond’s assessment in “Live and Let Die” that African criminals are “pretty law-abiding chaps I should have thought, except when they’ve drunk too much”, which has been changed to “pretty law-abiding chaps I should have thought”.
New editions of the novel also come with a trigger warning that reads:
“This book was written at a time when terms and attitudes which might be considered offensive by modern readers were commonplace. 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.”
Maybe they’ll eventually have to switch Pussy Galore’s name to a more appropriate one. Any suggestions? Kitty Galore?
This comes on the heels of an attempt to “reimagine” some of the language in Ronald Dahl’s childrens books. This misguided idea eventually got squashed by the Queen Consort who forced publisher Puffin UK to back down on its censorship of the author’s work.
Camilla urged writers “to remain true to your calling, unimpeded by those who may wish to curb the freedom of your expression or your imagination”.
Hell, even Salman Rushdie called the edits “absurd.”