The "N' Word & Huck Finn
are we today justified in reworking something like huck finn to eliminate the 'n-word'? michael chabon weighs in here:
http://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2011/01/the-unspeakable-in-its-jammies/69369/
what do you guys think about the issue?
It was a very comman word back in those days.If they want to change all the classic books such as "Gone with the Wind" and "Uncle Tom's Cabin" I wish them the best of luck
They use alot of words in both of those books beside the N word.I think people need to find something else to do then go around changing words in books there whole life it is such a waste of time.
the thing that gets me, is that, in trying to make it more "sensitive", they were going to change it to "slave".
Because calling someone a slave really doesn't bring up the same ghosts that ****** does /sigh
but ya, this kind of censorship is terrible. Canadian radio just censored "money for nothing" because of some fa-bombs
Originally posted by inimalist
but ya, this kind of censorship is terrible. Canadian radio just censored "money for nothing" because of some fa-bombs
If you count a bunch of broadcasters voluntarily deciding to not use the version of the song with ****** and play the band's other version as "censorship".
I heard it was a court ruling /shrug
but yes, the government isn't the only thing can can censor people
EDIT: in this case, it was a ruling from a non-governmental institution that, though volentarilly, determines what is fit for Canadian radio broadcast:
that sounds exactly like a type of censorship, imho
Re: The "N' Word & Huck Finn
Originally posted by leonidas
are we today justified in reworking something like huck finn to eliminate the 'n-word'?
Absolutely not.
I'm a pretty liberal guy, and I adore Mark Twain. I broke up with an ex once because they didn't know who Mark Twain was; not just hadn't read him, but had never heard of him, at all.
Originally posted by inimalist
I heard it was a court ruling /shrugbut yes, the government isn't the only thing can can censor people
EDIT: in this case, it was a ruling from a non-governmental institution that, though volentarilly, determines what is fit for Canadian radio broadcast:
that sounds exactly like a type of censorship, imho
I see that they had three options:
Play the unedited song.
Plat the edited song.
Not play the song at all.
They censored nothing, they just chose to play the preexisting edited song in the future.
Originally posted by skekUng
Absolutely not.I'm a pretty liberal guy, and I adore Mark Twain. I broke up with an ex once because they didn't know who Mark Twain was; not just hadn't read him, but had never heard of him, at all.
Oh please, just because Americans overrate their "authors" as they live in a land unable to produce even a shred of art, if they were given it and just had to not **** it up. I'm sure Mark Twain sounds great compared to such giants as Michael Bay, but coming from the country that produced Goethe and Mozart, you must forgive that he is all but forgettable, if it wasn't for his outrageous use of racial slurs.
Given the time and context of the book, I have no problem with keeping the word in there, and I'm a bit disappointed. It's a period piece, and that was a part of America's history, no matter how ugly it was, so there's no point in whitewashing it. To Kill A Mockingbird was one of my favorite books as a kid and still is to this day. Are they going to redact the entire trial, all of the insults hurled at Atticus, and essentially destroy the plot of the story in order to be retroactively politically correct? This was probably organized by the same people that had the hilarious idea to have a symbolic funeral for the N word a couple years back. As a black man it's kind of embarrassing, frankly. I'm not defined by some antiquated term. I define myself through my actions and character.
Originally posted by Symmetric Chaos
I see that they had three options:
Play the unedited song.
Plat the edited song.
Not play the song at all.They censored nothing, they just chose to play the preexisting edited song in the future.
because an institution made some pronouncement that choosing otherwise violates the self imposed standards of Canadian broadcasting
they chose because they were told to choose otherwise is unacceptable
I'm not saying it is akin to gvt censorship, and like I said above, I had originally confused the Broadcast Council ruling with a court ruling. However, it is a form of institutional censorship, or at least, a form of enforced conformity that is essentially identical in practice. lol, there are still stations playing it uncensored, lol, I only really mentioned it as an aside
Originally posted by Bardock42
Oh please, just because Americans overrate their "authors" as they live in a land unable to produce even a shred of art, if they were given it and just had to not **** it up. I'm sure Mark Twain sounds great compared to such giants as Michael Bay, but coming from the country that produced Goethe and Mozart, you must forgive that he is all but forgettable, if it wasn't for his outrageous use of racial slurs.
You've answered your own criticism. No matter your opinion of him, he is uniquely American -southern American. He is a pervasive literary and cultural figure, which even in your far advanced nation, is known. I didn't say he was Plato or Paine, I said I adored him. I also adore David Sedaris, but that doesn't mean I inncorrectly think he is Marx. There's a reason we're made to read his books in the 5th and 6th grade. But, if it makes you feel any better, I won't dump you, because at least you've heard of him.
Originally posted by Bardock42
Oh please, just because Americans overrate their "authors" as they live in a land unable to produce even a shred of art, if they were given it and just had to not **** it up. I'm sure Mark Twain sounds great compared to such giants as Michael Bay, but coming from the country that produced Goethe and Mozart, you must forgive that he is all but forgettable, if it wasn't for his outrageous use of racial slurs.
you mean the country you were from happened to be the culturally dominant one in the time we hold as some "enlightened age", sort of like the Greeks and the Rennisance?
Twain deserves his praises, if for nothing other than quotations
Oh please, just because Americans overrate their "authors" as they live in a land unable to produce even a shred of art, if they were given it and just had to not **** it up. I'm sure Mark Twain sounds great compared to such giants as Michael Bay, but coming from the country that produced Goethe and Mozart, you must forgive that he is all but forgettable, if it wasn't for his outrageous use of racial slurs.
Who's Mozart? 🙄
Originally posted by skekUng
You've answered your own criticism. No matter your opinion of him, he is uniquely American -southern American. He is a pervasive literary and cultural figure, which even in your far advanced nation, is known. I didn't say he was Plato or Paine, I said I adored him. I also adore David Sedaris, but that doesn't mean I inncorrectly think he is Marx. There's a reason we're made to read his books in the 5th and 6th grade. But, if it makes you feel any better, I won't dump you, because at least you've heard of him.
Originally posted by inimalist
you mean the country you were from happened to be the culturally dominant one in the time we hold as some "enlightened age", sort of like the Greeks and the Rennisance?Twain deserves his praises, if for nothing other than quotations
Lol, sorry, I was making an outrageous statement for comedy. I'm actually quite fond of Mark Twain. My father is a big fan and suggested to me to read Tom Sawyer at an early age (a German translation, of course) and I have enjoyed him since then.
Originally posted by Bardock42
Oh please, just because Americans overrate their "authors" as they live in a land unable to produce even a shred of art, if they were given it and just had to not **** it up. I'm sure Mark Twain sounds great compared to such giants as Michael Bay, but coming from the country that produced Goethe and Mozart, you must forgive that he is all but forgettable, if it wasn't for his outrageous use of racial slurs.
What's a Goethe? Does it hurt?
Originally posted by Bardock42
Lol, sorry, I was making an outrageous statement for comedy. I'm actually quite fond of Mark Twain. My father is a big fan and suggested to me to read Tom Sawyer at an early age (a German translation, of course) and I have enjoyed him since then.
lol, don't take my comment as anything other than a more cynical attempt at comedy. Nobody can argue with Germany's contribution to Western culture.
I guess the punch line of my joke would be, name a canadian artist that isn't nickleback or avril lavien (sp?)
its all envy 😛
[btw, thanks for posting on my friends blog, totally made me feel like a douche that I hadn't contributed]
Originally posted by inimalist
lol, don't take my comment as anything other than a more cynical attempt at comedy. Nobody can argue with Germany's contribution to Western culture.I guess the punch line of my joke would be, name a canadian artist that isn't nickleback or avril lavien (sp?)
its all envy 😛
[btw, thanks for posting on my friends blog, totally made me feel like a douche that I hadn't contributed]
Oh please, you also have Bryan Adams and Celine Dion.
Aww, and here I thought I was giving you some credit for referring me 😛
Originally posted by Symmetric Chaos
What's a Goethe? Does it hurt?
That's somewhat funny, as his most famous work is Faust, which means fist, and they can and do hurt.
It's more of a dadudemon sort of funny though.