So only last week some classic royal dowel 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 and not doing that to the classic barn 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 ax shells stepping on people's toes these days But that's just the thing they kind of 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 edited 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 that changes include the removal of the Endword in almost all cases and Abidding 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 common place In my opinion that would have been enough. It should have just ended with that Maybe add readers discretion is advised Poor 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 gonna 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 end word is replaced but racial slurs targeting East Asian people and bonds racist behavior towards a job remains They've added a description of a strip tease in live la 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 offer 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 a society and attitudes of a particular moment in time You look at any works from the 1950s and 60s and guess what you're gonna notice cultural differences with today I'm not saying using the end word is correct today I'm not defending Ian Fleming's liberal usage of the word in live la die or his controversial chapter name I'm defending the authenticity of the work of an offer Because in my opinion the only person allowed to alter his texts is the offer 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 Refuse the text of the original bond books and decided our best course of action was to follow Ian's lead We've have made changes to live on that 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 swap 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 edited 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's 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 Section 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 and I love meant for school boys 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 Then the target audience he talks about here, but I still find it preposterous to temper wit and offers 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 Like 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 few 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 offer 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 Commeting 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 You