Vocabulary sensitivity readers go after James Bond by removing ‘offensive’ language from novels

Hopefully you have some physical copies of literary classics, because at the rate we’re going, no story is safe.

Not surprisingly, since sensitivity readers have already gone after Roald Dahl’s classic children’s books, now British author Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels undergo changes and sensitivity reviews so as not to offend modern audiences.

The rules, including but not limited to racially derogatory language, will be scrubbed and replaced in the new version editions due out in April. To avoid having to deal with a crowd of Twitter millennials who picked up a Bond novel written in the 60s and were offended by them, the publisher tried to do so on the anniversary of Fleming’s debut Bond book. franchise, Casino Royale.

According to The Independent, “Some depictions of black people have also been redone or removed, but references to other races remain, including the use of a term for East Asian people and Bond’s derisive views of Goldfinger’s Korean henchman Oddjob.”

James Bond novels edited to remove references to race in sensitivity reviewhttps://t.co/DUAKQ5H6Ue

— Times Culture (@timesculture) February 26, 2023

RELATED: As sensitive readers adjust the language in Roald Dahl’s books, they are now unbearable to read

Live and let edit

By editing out certain segments of dialogue and descriptions of characters, he is stepping on the artist’s integrity. Books, like any other works of art, should activate an emotion within the reading- be it positive or negative.

However, while he says he is editing the books to avoid offending modern readers, he is removing elements of the characters and stories that add a level of depth to the fictional world.

indicates that The Independent live and let die One altered line involves Bond’s view of several “African criminals” who are “law-abiding chaps I should have thought, except when they were too drunk”. The new version now reads “I should have thought of the law-abiding chops”.

Who’s to say that fictional character evaluations are wrong? James Bond is a British spy who lived in a different era, depending on the reader’s own perspective, can he remain a remnant of that age?

Well, the line where they decide to change things or not is not very clear.

Phrases such as “the sweet tang of rape,” “undressing women,” “man’s work,” and calling homosexuality a “stubborn disability” are put in. So who are readers of this sensibility trying not to offend? They seem to hold everything derogatory about women, Asians, and gays but a few. For reasons they draw the line at black readers.

Why not proceed to change everything? Why not scrap the entire catalog and canon and cast Bond as a blue-haired, fat, liberal feminist woman selling state secrets? Why not make him a reflection of the fully awakened New World Order?

Ian Fleming’s James Bond books are getting rid of some racist references, just days after Roald Dahl’s publisher edited sections of his books to remove ‘fat’ and ‘dirty’ references. @NIAbbott Asks: What do you do about our generation’s obsession with reconstructing and censoring the past? pic.twitter.com/sLLuvqXrrQ

— LBC (@LBC) February 27, 2023

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Censor another day

Publishers seem to want to have their cake and eat it too, and with the knowledge that their changes may not be substantial or politically correct for some, have added a disclaimer at the beginning of these new editions.

The disclaimer states, “This book was written at a time when norms and attitudes that might be considered offensive by modern readers were common.

“Several updates have been made in this edition, keeping as close as possible to the original text and the period in which it is set.”

At this moment I am reminded of one of my favorite lines Casino RoyaleIt says “History is moving very fast these days and heroes and villains keep switching parts.”

Yes, Mr. Bond, they really do.