In case you haven't heard, a new edition of Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is to be published with all 212 appearances of the word "nigger" to be replaced with "slave" and the handful of "injun" with "indian." I am rather irked by the changing of Twain's words. As a writer myself (as vain as that sounds), every word I choose is chosen for a reason. I don't just throw it out there willy-nilly. There are many times when I agonized over my choice of words or on how I should approach a subject. I never do anything with my writing just for the hell of it. If someone were to edit my work (let's say they would take out the swearing and replace it with less offensive words), I would not only be upset, I would be livid. It is my work. If it offends you, then you are free to not read it.
In the case of Twain, the use of the n-word is culturally significant to the story & the setting it takes place. Replacing it with "slave" only dilutes the cultural issues that were at hand. Yes, the word is offensive now. But if the word was published 212 times, then it must not have been terribly offensive then. It serves as a perfect example of how humanity has recognized its faults in discrimination. The word became offensive because society recognized the mistreatment it had placed upon a certain part of the society. Replacing the n-word with slave is almost to disregard how far our society has progressed in matters of equality.
A few of my friends have made comparisons of the sanitizing of Twain's book to Cleanflicks. For those who are not familiar to what Cleanflicks is, it's a company that will essentially edit a film, removing language, violence, and/or sexuality from the film. I am morally opposed to this practice. Again, as a writer, I would be livid if someone changed my work to suit their comfort level. I think it's the same for filmmakers or artists or whoever creates something. A film or a book or a painting or whatever is, to me, a piece of art and as such, is something that took time & effort to create. It's a cliche saying that people must "suffer for their art" but it is true. Any real artist is going to agonize over every single aspect of their work. They will never put it out into the world until it is perfect and worth of carrying their name. It can be regarded as even putting out a piece of yourself, something incredibly personal and private that is willingly put on display. Yes, it may be offensive to some but no one is forcing them to watch it or participate in it. An individual has no right to change another person's work because it makes them uncomfortable. Sometimes the whole purpose of the work is to make people uncomfortable. Changing someone's art to suit your own comfort levels is depraved in the most literal use of the word. Every single aspect of a piece of art helps contribute to its overall effect. Changing some aspect of that art is equivalent to butchering a part of the artist, leaving only a raped, skeletal ghost of the original. If you cannot (or will not) participate in the work in its entirety, then you are not worthy to participate in it at all. I believe that if some kind of art, whether it's film, literature, music, fine art, etc., offends you, then do not participate in it. You have no right to change it to fit your comfort level.
As you can tell, this is something that I am very passionate about. I don't believe in censorship for comfort. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is one of the most challenged books in America. There have been several attempts made to ban it from public schools. This also irks me to my core. I can understand and sympathize with parents who want to "protect" their children from certain things in this world. But parents have no right to say what is right for their child is right for all children. I have no qualms with parents who talk to teachers and ask that their child not be "exposed" to a certain book or whatever. But when that parent starts a "crusade" to "save" all children from that book, I get more than a little irritated.
It basically all comes back to this idea that I've had for a very long time and has been the center of all of my political, moral, social, etc. systems of belief: Don't tell me what to do. Nothing makes me more angry than when someone attempts to force me into doing something (or not doing something) because they think they know what is best for me. My basic idea is you don't tell me what to do and I won't tell you what to do. We each just take care of ourselves and things will work out.
As for this whole sanitizing of Huckleberry Finn, I am reminded of something Ray Bradbury once said:
"You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them."
Love you.
Mean it.
No comments:
Post a Comment