 So, only last week some classic Roald Dahl books were suddenly edited and language deemed offensive by sensitivity readers was replaced. So I was thinking, sensitivity readers? I didn't even know that was a thing. So this stuff counts as offensive these days? And I'm saying to myself, oh man, thank god they're not doing that to the classic Bond books. Oh. So I guess I'm off sharing my opinion again. This is the thing when it comes to these subjects though. You always feel politics are unavoidable and you're walking on eggshells, stepping on people's toes these days, but that's just the thing. They kinda stepped on our toes first, so as a Bond fan I feel the need to respond here. So first things first, what exactly has happened? The reissued version of Ian Fleming's classic James Bond novels were added to remove racist references. Ian Fleming publications, which own the rights to the author's work, employed sensitivity readers to look at the text and make recommendations for changes. The changes include the removal of the N-word in almost all cases and omitting references to the ethnicity of a number of minor characters. Furthermore, the copies will now also feature a disclaimer. This book was written at a time when terms and attitudes which might be considered offensive by modern readers were commonplace. In my opinion, that would have been enough. It should have just ended with that. Maybe add, readers discretion is advised, pour yourself a martini and enjoy. But instead, they added, 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 this essentially all comes down to is, we're celebrating 70 years of literary Bond with new reissued censored copies because these sensitivity readers were employed and decided for others what counts as offensive and what doesn't. If you're going to be so concerned about sensitive readers, how did you draw the line in what they think counts as offensive and what doesn't? Obviously the N-word is replaced, but racial slurs targeting East Asian people and Bond's racist behavior towards our job remains. They've edited the description of a striptease in Live and Let Die, but yet they leave in offensive references to homosexuals. Which still sounds like it isn't going to be the most protective for these modern-day sensitive readers. It's really weird to me. But much more important to me, they're editing text that an author committed to paper. To me it's like tampering with art. Of course these books have text in them considered offensive these days. They were written 70 years ago. They reflect the society and attitudes of a particular moment in time. You look at any works from the 1950s and 60s and guess what? You're going to notice cultural differences with today. I'm not saying using the N-word is correct today. I'm not defending Ian Fleming's liberal usage of the word in Live and Let Die or his controversial chapter name. I'm defending the authenticity of the work of an author. Because in my opinion the only person allowed to alter his text is the author himself, who of course isn't around to do so anymore. So what gets me the most with all this is the statement of Ian Fleming publications themselves. 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 most 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. So because Fleming approved some edits for Just Live and Let Die in the past, does it mean the sensitivity readers get to choose for him what needs to be replaced in all of the books and what doesn't? And then they go on to say, Ian Fleming would have wanted his James Bond books to be added so modern readers can enjoy them. You don't know that. You're speaking on behalf of someone who died in the mid-60s. This is just an assumption. What about sensitivity fans? I don't know about you, but that is something offensive in my book. Where do you get the audacity to assume for someone who is long deceased? Now I can't assume for Fleming either, but I do know his target audience wasn't initially the sensitive reader. Certain people are always criticizing novels with sex and violence and among the basis that they're going to corrupt our youth. How do you feel about that? I meant for warm-blooded heterosexual adults, you know, in beds and railway planes and aeroplanes. Of course, yes, this statement by Fleming is also a reflection of its time and more people have started to enjoy the books over the years than the target audience he talks about here. But I still find it preposterous to tamper with an author's work and come out saying he would have wanted it this way when there is no way of knowing that. If anything, I think these changes tell us much more about today's society. Sure, it's a chance for free publicity for these books. This is a hot topic now and it gets attention back to these novels. It should be a lucrative move for them. But the fact that we're even speaking of sensitivity readers tells people looking back at this period in time, 70 years from now, all you need to know about 2023. Sometimes it feels like being offended is like a privilege now. That people these days don't grow up with a shield anymore. You wake up in this day and age, open your news on the phone and someone is offended by something every single day today. In this day and age, we in the West seem obsessed with erasing history instead of telling history so that we can learn from it. Same with this, we're acting as if people aren't capable of reading a book from different times anymore and view these within its historical context. As if people aren't adults anymore and need to be protected in order to not be offended. And those who do take offense, the ones that are targeted for these new edits, are likely still going to be offended by a lot of these books anyway with these selective edits. So I get that this is a polarizing subject and I respect those who can just view it as, oh well, at least it will include more suitable language now and these are probably meant for new audiences anyway and you can still read the uncensored copies at will. Sure, but I also understand those that are against this. At the end of the day, at least in my opinion, it does come down to plain-heart censoring and tampering with an art form written by an author who isn't around anymore to okay these edits. But of course, my opinion is just that, an opinion. What is yours? Feel free to discuss it in the comments below. Let's hope we get some more positive news soon because these are two videos commenting on quite negative news blips in a row now. Feel free to like, subscribe and please click the little bell icon. And if you're interested, have a look at my Patreon page designed specifically for the biggest fans of my channel. See you all in the next video.