the caution is confined to the audiobooks and seeks to provide context, stating, “The first book in the Discworld series – The Colour of Magic – was published in 1983. Some elements of the Discworld universe may reflect this.”
That’s it. That’s the whole “story”.
Penguin Random House delineated that the notice should not be misconstrued as a trigger warning, but rather a note meant to situate the reader in the timeframe of the book’s origins.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with this. That whole site smells.
Yeah, because times change, of course it wasn’t needed before. When Huck Finn was new it didn’t have that kind of reminder either. It does now due to different attitudes toward slavery. (Yes, even though it’s partially satirical.)
If anything, a reminder that things were created in a different time, and should be viewed through that lens, should be given far more often, not less.
the context is that it wouldn’t been needed before.
Before like in the past? Of course it wasn’t needed in the past. Times change, what is considered offensive evolves. It’s a good thing to have a little side note saying “Just so you’re aware this author isn’t a racist/sexist/homophobic/transphobe. The terms used in book were not considered offensive at the time of publishing and no disrespect or insult was intended”. Including notes like that are pretty important so that we can enjoy older media in the way it was intended and not make important works taboo because they don’t conform with today’s standards.
I’m in my 30s and there’s already a lot of words I used in childhood that are considered offensive now. And I’d put money on the likelihood that some words I use now won’t be considered appropriate within my lifetime. That’s not censorship, it’s progress.
Once upon a time people caree about context and time periods
Adding a note that literally is adding context that the book was published in a different time period is an indicator that we no longer care about context and time periods?
Yeah I’m trying to work out what “outdated attitudes” are in Discworld. Racism, sexism and whatnot are present, sure, but only really to be made fun of
I’m guessing a lot of it is that Pratchett’s takes on identity politics haven’t always aged well, despite being generally progressive at the time of writing.
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