"The Times Have Changed"... '007' Series Revises Racist Expressions

70th Anniversary Revised Edition of the Series Released
Extensive Revisions of Discriminatory Terms Including Black Slurs

Racially discriminatory expressions in the legendary spy novel series ‘007’ by British author Ian Fleming will be extensively revised. The publisher plans to release a revised edition that maintains as much of the original work as possible while making various modifications.

The British daily The Telegraph reported on the 25th (local time) that “Ian Fleming Publications, which holds the copyright to ‘007,’ will publish revised editions of the entire series in April, with racially discriminatory expressions deleted or modified.”

The ‘007’ series follows the exploits of secret agent James Bond, who carries the code name ‘007.’ Since the first work, ‘Casino Royale,’ was published in 1953, the series has enjoyed unparalleled popularity. It was also made into a highly successful film series, producing stars such as Sean Connery and Daniel Craig in the role of Bond.

However, even considering the era in which it was written, the ‘007’ series contained many controversial discriminatory expressions. In ‘007 Goldfinger,’ Koreans were depicted almost as barbarians. The publisher explained, “These books were written at a time when terms and attitudes that modern readers would find offensive were commonplace.”

For the revised edition commemorating the 70th anniversary of the publication of ‘Casino Royale,’ the publisher requested readers to review the racially discriminatory expressions within the works in advance.

A scene from the movie '007 Casino Royale' [Image source=Naver Movie]

In the revised edition, many expressions regarding Black people are reportedly deleted or modified. The racial slur ‘negro’ is replaced with ‘black person’ or ‘black man.’ Criminals appearing in ‘007 The Spy Who Loved Me’ are described without specifying race, simply as ‘gangsters,’ and other characters’ races are not mentioned.

According to the publisher, in addition to references to race, many instances of misogyny and discrimination against sexual minorities are also being revised.

Ian Fleming Publications stated, “A notice explaining that various modifications were made while maintaining as close a connection as possible to the original work and its time period will be included in the revised edition. We hope readers will check for themselves once the revised edition is published.”

Meanwhile, news of the revised ‘007’ series attracted attention amid controversy over the unauthorized modification of works by British author Roald Dahl, famous for ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.’

Recently, when the publisher released a revised version of Dahl’s works with outdated expressions corrected, criticism arose that literary works should not be altered simply because times have changed. As a result, the publisher ultimately decided to reissue the unmodified versions.