James Bond Novels Have Been Edited to Remove Racist Content Ahead of the Rerelease of the Series
Just a week or so after the news dropped that several books in the Roald Dahl library, including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, and The Witches, were reportedly changed to remove insensitive verbiage, we are now hearing that some of the James Bond novels are also getting a revamp.
Ian Fleming Publications Ltd, who owns the rights to the novels, have decided to remove racist content from the books the blockbuster film series is based on as the property gets ready to celebrate its 70th anniversary. Several of the books have been edited, including Casino Royale, Live and Let Die, Thunderball, Quantum of Solace, and Goldfinger.
In addition to the edits, each reprinted book will include a disclaimer 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."
According to a new report from The Telegraph, racist language has been removed across the board.
Ian Fleming Publications said in a statement to The Telegraph:
"We at Ian Fleming Publications reviewed the text of the original Bond books and decided our best course of action was to follow Ian's lead. We have made changes to 'Live and Let Die' that he himself authorized."
"Following Ian's approach, we looked at the instances of several racial terms across the books and removed a number of individual words or else swapped them for terms that are more accepted today but in keeping with the period in which the books were written. We encourage people to read the books for themselves when the new paperbacks are published in April."
I get the outrage at changes, and I am totally against book banning, but I think that when there’s racist language that is not relevant to the story, there’s no harm in removing it. What do you think?
via: CB