Summary of Censoring Dead Writer's Books (Christie, Dahl, Fleming and more)

00:00:00 - 00:10:00

This video discusses the issue of censorship and alterations of classic books by popular authors like Agatha Christie and Roald Dahl. The speaker argues that censorship is being used as a way to sell more books rather than to improve modern values or art. Furthermore, she warns that future sensitivity readers may target classic books by famous authors, and editing these books takes away the parts that make them unique. The speaker suggests that publishers should invest in new and interesting content, rather than edit classic works to suit modern sensibilities.

• 00:00:00 In this section, the speaker discusses the recent censorship of popular books like those by Agatha Christie and Roald Dahl. He argues that the motivations behind this censorship are not necessarily rooted in a genuine desire to better reflect modern values, but rather in the fact that these classic books are still extremely popular and there is nothing modern that can replace them. Additionally, the speaker highlights some of the other problems facing the publishing industry today, such as back catalog sales making up a larger percentage of total revenue, advances for new books that don't break even, and the inability to generate new hits that match the popularity of classic works. Overall, the speaker suggests that censorship is being used as a way to sell more books rather than as a genuine effort to improve art or modern values.
• 00:05:00 In this section, the speaker discusses how censorship and alterations to books is not a new phenomenon, and gives examples of popular books that have been drastically rewritten to remove or change content. She talks about how corporate profit is a big driving force behind this, as publishers want to milk successful books for as long as possible, even if it means censoring the content. The speaker also notes that there is ongoing debate among authors and publishers about whether it is appropriate to alter the work of deceased authors like Agatha Christie to make it more palatable to modern audiences.
• 00:10:00 In this section, the speaker warns that future sensitivity readers may target classic books by famous authors to edit anything that might be considered offensive, and publishers can ban older versions and make it difficult to find them. The speaker argues that editing these books takes away parts of the soul of what the book was, even if it seems innocuous at first, and that if people really care about keeping a book, they should have a physical copy of it because ebooks can easily be deleted or unlisted. Additionally, the speaker suggests that publishers should be producing new and interesting content that would make older generations of books less important, rather than edit classic works to suit modern sensibilities.