The musings of a juggling mother

Rants & raves about life as a woman today, juggling work, home, kids, family, life the universe & everything.

© Mrs Aginoth. The right of Mrs Aginoth to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents act 1988

Friday, March 31, 2006

Scary stuff

Hat tip to A Curious Jew, who just wrote a post about Textword

I have a new hobbeyhorse. this is worse than the pseudoscience of ID IMO. "sanitising" classic literature to remove references to God(s), sex, violence or anything that the zealots dislike/disagree with.


Julias Caeser, without any mention of gods, sex, or violence (How, you my ask?)

In what way is this Shakespeare? The universl language of human emotions, played accross the world, from masai mara villages to Bolshevik peoples theatres, and inner city Birmingham estates, is turned into an insipid play about some bloke who becomes king, is liked, then diliked and what? goes home? retires?

i assume he is not brutally murdered by his most trusted friends and advisors!



Now, fair enough if there are parents/schools who wish to shelter their children from the harsh realities of the world. If their beliefs are so strong as to allow them to hide from what is happening around them 7 pretend it has no impact on them, they should have that right. If they do not wish their children to read about any sex, or violence, or religion, then OK, I can accept that. I think it's quite important we teach them at least the biological proceses of sex, reproduction, human anatomy & physiology, and how we live, but that's a different argument. These people have the absolute right to say they do not want to teach their children Shakespeare. But to teach them a creation of thier own and CLAIM it is the "original text" is an abomination!

What next? Homer, sanitised to remove any reference to the gods? Beowulf minus the violence?

WHY?

Did I mention that nowhere on the book does it say "abridged" or "re-written by" or anything like that!

I'm off to Amazon right now to complain about their descriptions. And then I'm going to start doing some research as to where to go next. it's not often I remember that i am an English Graduate, but some things boil my blood!

7 Comments:

  • At Friday, March 31, 2006 9:15:00 pm, Blogger JR said…

    You said, "But to teach them a creation of thier own and CLAIM it is the "original text" is an abomination!" That's how I feel about all the versions of the Bible, written and edited by men with particular agendas, don't dare tell me this is the word of God! I know it's been altered! Anyway, go get 'em about santizing the masters!

     
  • At Friday, March 31, 2006 9:22:00 pm, Blogger Chana said…

    I just have to clarify slightly (and have edited this to my blog) that their criteria is very strange. The endings are unchange- they still have violent suicides and deaths-but the self-mutilation part, like by Portia cutting herself, is left out. So, there's violence, but I guess they try to remove all...extraneous violence? I don't know.

     
  • At Friday, March 31, 2006 9:28:00 pm, Blogger CyberKitten said…

    How can anyone possible 'sanitze' classic literature? What's all THAT about? What next... Rewritting history books so they don't cause offence...

    Joins Mrs A in blood boiling mode!

     
  • At Friday, March 31, 2006 9:29:00 pm, Blogger craziequeen said…

    Blimey - what on earth would they do with.......Hamlet??....The Scottish Play?......Midsummer's Night Dream.....?

    Sanitised Shakespeare.......has the world gone MAD!!

    cq

     
  • At Friday, March 31, 2006 11:04:00 pm, Blogger mig bardsley said…

    This is post 1984 after all. Only a matter of time before all unsanitized books vanish from the libraries. (quite a long time though, given that it may take time to agree on a definition of sanitised)

     
  • At Saturday, April 01, 2006 1:42:00 am, Blogger David Edward said…

    wow - until I clicked on the page it wa shard to read with my old eyes. just visiting - over from Minerva's.

     
  • At Sunday, April 02, 2006 9:56:00 am, Blogger Unknown said…

    Was gonna mention David... There was a brilliant Simpson's episode about this a few seasons ago...seems like once again they pre-empt the ridiculousness of modern society...

    Shakespeare was a reflection of its time, its a tad bawdy in places, its violent, farcical, beautiful, moving, humourus and above all seeped in the genuine extremes of people's emotions. If people don't want there kids to read it than dont read don't go with this sanatized rubish....

    (too tired or blood would also be boiling)

     

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