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Was Enid Blyton Racist?
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Many of her books depict an idyllic vision of rural England, those days before mass immigration, when our very culture was changed forever.
Providing certain things do not cause any physical harm or disadvantage to certain groups, either because of the colour of their skin, religion or sexuality, should certain children's stories be banned or altered to fit in with today's political correctness thinking?
It was said that the very bad Golliwogs were replaced with White Goblins, then is this not also racist against whites?
The golliwog owner of the Toytown garage was replaced by a ‘Mr Sparks’.
/// Golliwog appears as a total villain only in the notorious Here Comes Noddy Again, where a golly asks the hero with a bell on his hat to give him a lift into the dark dark wood - and then steals his car. ///
But then that could have been anybody.
Many of her books depict an idyllic vision of rural England, those days before mass immigration, when our very culture was changed forever.
Providing certain things do not cause any physical harm or disadvantage to certain groups, either because of the colour of their skin, religion or sexuality, should certain children's stories be banned or altered to fit in with today's political correctness thinking?
It was said that the very bad Golliwogs were replaced with White Goblins, then is this not also racist against whites?
The golliwog owner of the Toytown garage was replaced by a ‘Mr Sparks’.
/// Golliwog appears as a total villain only in the notorious Here Comes Noddy Again, where a golly asks the hero with a bell on his hat to give him a lift into the dark dark wood - and then steals his car. ///
But then that could have been anybody.
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But if there was only black bloke in Toytown, he'd be the bloke who'd mug people or nick a car. Stands to reason, doesn't it? And if there were several they'd spend their time stabbing one another . Just look at London and remove your rose-tinted spectacles. That's the lesson I've learned from others on this site.
Enid Blyton lived and worked in a very different culture to today; most people had never experienced foreign countries and had never met or spoken with a black or asian person other perhaps than the people who ran the local Chinese Laundry.
As such, foreigners were an easy target to choose as 'baddies'
Nowadays, most people have travelled and dealt with fellow Brits with overseas genealogy so are far more inclusive attitude that clashes with those old simplistic stereotypes.
There is a choice; either update the books to reflect how they would be if Ms Blyton was writing them now
Or leave them as increasingly peculiar and inaccessible museum pieces
As such, foreigners were an easy target to choose as 'baddies'
Nowadays, most people have travelled and dealt with fellow Brits with overseas genealogy so are far more inclusive attitude that clashes with those old simplistic stereotypes.
There is a choice; either update the books to reflect how they would be if Ms Blyton was writing them now
Or leave them as increasingly peculiar and inaccessible museum pieces
-- answer removed --
She wrote in a different time. Do not know enough about her to know if she was herself especially racist or sexist or whatever.
Times change, what is culturally acceptable changes with the times. Not sure that it was immigration specifically that changed those attitudes though :)
Her works should stand as they are - fiction based in a much different time.
Times change, what is culturally acceptable changes with the times. Not sure that it was immigration specifically that changed those attitudes though :)
Her works should stand as they are - fiction based in a much different time.
/// Although it could be argued that the golliwog was not originally intended as a representation of a black person, anti-racists fastened on to the character as a key symbol of racism and sought to ban it, which gave it a status and significance it did not originally have ///
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I tend to agree. Looking back the things that bother society now were not those that caused offence at the time. It is the mind of today's readers that sees things that were not meant. If we cause a fuss over such things, expect our generation to be seen as awful by the next, and so on and so forth ad infinitum. (Well for a long time anyway.)
Exactly zeulh. These books are intended for children, not social historians. IF the message in them is that black people are inherently bad, and it's quite a big 'if' in Blyton's case, then the books have to be adjusted to stop that message being accepted by children.
aog is right, in that the mere fact that the villain is black should not matter now. He could equally well be a white villain in today's mixed society. And the policeman,and other characters could be black too, come to that.
aog is right, in that the mere fact that the villain is black should not matter now. He could equally well be a white villain in today's mixed society. And the policeman,and other characters could be black too, come to that.
LazyGun
/// Times change, what is culturally acceptable changes with the times. Not sure that it was immigration specifically that changed those attitudes though :) ///
I don't know how old you are LazyGun but I can remember the days pre Mass-Immigration.
And I know that in those days we could do and say most things that are now illegal or very much frowned upon, but then in those far off distant days we only had ourselves to bother about, and there were no laws to protect those offended against, it was just a case of "give as good as you get", and that seemed to work fine. :0)
/// Times change, what is culturally acceptable changes with the times. Not sure that it was immigration specifically that changed those attitudes though :) ///
I don't know how old you are LazyGun but I can remember the days pre Mass-Immigration.
And I know that in those days we could do and say most things that are now illegal or very much frowned upon, but then in those far off distant days we only had ourselves to bother about, and there were no laws to protect those offended against, it was just a case of "give as good as you get", and that seemed to work fine. :0)
@AoG I think I might be of a different generation :)
I think we all have to recognise that cultures change with the times though, sometimes for very good reasons, and that opposing that change simply because it is different, or because it forces us to think differently is not sufficient reason in itself to resist the change, or repine for the good old days.
Too often, the past is imperfectly remembered - the good things highlighted, the bad glossed over. And when it comes to making judgements about individuals, demonising or pre-judging them based upon a stereotypical view of their race is simply wrong, and offensive.
I do not subscribe to the idea that we should airbrush what is now deemed offensive literature or movies out though.They were of their time, and should be left that way for posterity - unless, as fred remarked, they offer a message of inherent evil or what-have-you.
I think we all have to recognise that cultures change with the times though, sometimes for very good reasons, and that opposing that change simply because it is different, or because it forces us to think differently is not sufficient reason in itself to resist the change, or repine for the good old days.
Too often, the past is imperfectly remembered - the good things highlighted, the bad glossed over. And when it comes to making judgements about individuals, demonising or pre-judging them based upon a stereotypical view of their race is simply wrong, and offensive.
I do not subscribe to the idea that we should airbrush what is now deemed offensive literature or movies out though.They were of their time, and should be left that way for posterity - unless, as fred remarked, they offer a message of inherent evil or what-have-you.
LG
That's true
I don't think these aspects of her work necessarily make Enid Blyton a 'bad person' - she was of her time
Though by the accounts of her own children she does appear to have been rather detached and insensitive.
That doesn't alter the fact that if she were around today to write (or edit the old stuff) she would no doubt be doing it differently to reflect the Values of today's audience.
That's true
I don't think these aspects of her work necessarily make Enid Blyton a 'bad person' - she was of her time
Though by the accounts of her own children she does appear to have been rather detached and insensitive.
That doesn't alter the fact that if she were around today to write (or edit the old stuff) she would no doubt be doing it differently to reflect the Values of today's audience.
baz
how is editing the books for today's readers 'changing history'?
the original forms will still exist. no one is suggesting they are all burned; (that's a right wing tactic isn't it? lol)
People really should engage a brain before flinging out their tired old clichés and ill thought through slogans
how is editing the books for today's readers 'changing history'?
the original forms will still exist. no one is suggesting they are all burned; (that's a right wing tactic isn't it? lol)
People really should engage a brain before flinging out their tired old clichés and ill thought through slogans
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