[ SECRET POST #3336 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #3336 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 03 pages, 059 secrets from Secret Submission Post #477.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

OP

[(Anonymous)]

1. Guys, I am perfectly aware that Colin wasn't really disabled. I've read the book. It's still considered by many to be ableist if a work shows a presumed disability and then reveals that it never existed in the first place. It could either be taken as implying that all disabilities are fake, giving false hope to kids with real ones, or it could be seen as implying that the only happy endings happen when the disability does turn out to be fake, and that staying disabled for real is tragic.

2. I also know the racism is Mary's opinion and not meant to be taken as fact by readers, but like I said upthread, it's the kind of thing that was acceptable in the time period as a way of showing that a character was unpleasant. Today, a character who says things like that is always going to be downright evil unless the entire plot of the story is a lesson in them learning not to be racist. Plus, back then it was very unlikely that any Indian people were expected to be reading the book. Not so today. I just think some things need to be updated for the time. And of course uncensored versions should also be available.

Re: OP

[(Anonymous)]

1) who, exactly, considers this to be an ableist work? Give actual examples of these many people, please.

2) acknowledge children as being intelligent enough to know that books written 106 years ago may have protagonists whose values reflect the period in which they were written.

Seriously, read a different book or offer the children of your acquaintance a different book if you think this one isn't suitable. Indian children who read it can make their own minds up about Mary's attitudes without being mollycoddled by you.

Re: OP

[(Anonymous)]

Sorry, but I don't think it makes sense to update literature for modern sensibilities. Not only would it be a never ending process, you'd lose out on so much. For many books, the social and historical context is a big part of the plot and characters. You change that or edit it so that it reflects modern attitudes about race, gender, etc. and you lose the point of the story.

Re: OP

[(Anonymous)]

I think you're underestimating modern readers, or at least worrying overmuch about people misinterpreting the book because it doesn't fit with modern standards for how characters are written. People DO understand that a book written in another time period won't necessarily be modern. The Secret Garden was published in the early 1900s, but it's been a classic for decades... because people understand the concept of an old fashioned story with different standards for what was and was not acceptable.

I'm not sure why you seem to think that today's readers won't be able to jump the same hurdle as their parents, grandparents, great grandparents, etc. did, but I promise you, it's not impossible for them. But by removing trivial challenges or obstacles, it's not only an insult to their intelligence, it won't be doing them any favors, either. You don't learn to swim by avoiding water.

Re: OP

[(Anonymous)]

1. I think you're battling shadows. No-one is trying to change The Secret Garden. Colin's illness is clearly shown to be a combination of his own depression and the fears and superstitions of the adults in his life.

Re: OP

[(Anonymous)]

This, and in that sense it IS a disability the same way any mental illness is a disability.

Re: OP

[(Anonymous)]

If anything it would teach that people who fake disabilities are assholes. How would it say anything about all disabilities being fake? That's quite a leap of logic.

Re: OP

[mimi-sardinia.livejournal.com]

I think date it might need is a foreword that says it reflects racist views of an older era that would in modern times be considered a lot worse than they would have been in the era of it's writing. With something like that, the main text of the story can be left alone, in it's original state.