Tom Hanks comes out against books edited for “modern sensitivities”
Actor Tom Hanks has said would boycott books rewritten to reflect “modern sensitivities”.
His comments follow publisher Puffin’s announcement in February that books by the late Roald Dahl were being rewritten to edit out any offensive language so they “can continue to be enjoyed by all today”. Words such as “fat” and “ugly” were removed, with alterations to segments concerning race, gender and mental health. The decision was divisive, kicking off a cultural debate.
Now, Tom Hanks has entered the conversation following the release of his debut novel, The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece: A Novel, earlier this month.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4, Hanks said: “Well, I’m of the opinion that we’re all grown-ups here. And we understand the time and the place and when these things were written. And it’s not very hard at all to say: that doesn’t quite fly right now, does it?”
“Let’s have faith in our own sensibilities here, instead of having somebody decide what we may or may not be offended by,” he continued. “…Let me decide what I am offended by and not offended by. I would be against reading any book from any era that says ‘abridged due to modern sensitivities.'”
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