Actor Tom Hanks fought back against censorship to appease certain audiences.
In an interview with the BBC on Tuesday, Hanks, 66, rejected the idea of changing certain material in an attempt to avoid offending someone.
“I’m of the opinion that we’re all grown-ups here. Let’s have faith in our own sensibilities as opposed to having somebody decide what we may or may not be offended by,” he said.
Hanks, who is the author of the book “The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece,” added, “Let me decide what I am offended by and what I’m not offended by. I would be against reading any book from any era that says ‘abridged due to modern sensitivities.’”
This came after Puffin Books announced its intention to revise a version of British author Roald Dahl’s books to remove any offensive language.
Tom Hanks' debut novel lifts lid on movie industry, and his on-set behaviour https://t.co/URWgPMthmE
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Readers can choose between the revised version and the original text.
“Puffin announces today the release of ‘The Roald Dahl Classic Collection,’ to keep the author’s classic texts in print,” a press release read.
Continuing, the publishing company wrote, “At Puffin we have proudly published Roald Dahl’s stories for more than forty years in partnership with the Roald Dahl Story Company. Their mischievous spirit and his unique storytelling genius have delighted the imaginations of readers across many generations. We’ve listened to the debate over the past week which has reaffirmed the extraordinary power of Roald Dahl’s books and the very real questions around how stories from another era can be kept relevant for each new generation.”
“As a children’s publisher, our role is to share the magic of stories with children with the greatest thought and care. Roald Dahl’s fantastic books are often the first stories young children will read independently, and taking care for the imaginations and fast-developing minds of young readers is both a privilege and a responsibility,” it read.
