Cracks in the Groupthink: Augustus Gloop Is Still Fat

Roald Dahl won’t be Seussed and many progressives cheer

Two years ago, a once-beloved author turned problematic. 

Despite being deceased, Dr. Suess was stirring up trouble. Dr. Seuss Enterprises decided it would no longer publish six Seuss books said to contain racially offensive imagery, and soon the books vanished from some libraries. 

Today, the works of another similarly-scrutinized author won’t suffer the same fate. Roald Dahl won’t roll over in his grave because Augustus Gloop is still fat. 

Puffin, publisher of Dahl classics such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Witches, planned to release new editions of the books that would bend to the sensitivities of modern readers.

Here’s Robbie Soave at Reason:

New editions of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory … have removed references to Augustus Gloop as "fat." While the child-killing villains of The Witches were previously identified by their bald heads, the book now contains the disclaimer that "there are plenty of other reasons why women might wear wigs and there is certainly nothing wrong with that."

But after a backlash, the publisher backed off—sort of. 

Readers may choose between two options, the original Dahl in all its naughtiness or the new Dahl scrubbed of its problematic bits. 

Robert F. Graboyes says that makes Dahl this decade’s Coca-Cola:

In 1985, the soft-drink manufacturer decided that the public was looking for something sweeter and gentler, so they bowdlerized their venerated 19^th century recipe. After three months of withering criticism and ridicule, the company announced that the original recipe would once again be available under the name “Coca-Cola Classic.” The teeth-chatteringly sweet version, dubbed “New Coke,” lingered for a few years, was renamed “Coke II'' in 1990 and ultimately terminated in 2002.

Time will tell what happens to the New Dahl, but let’s return to the F-word, and remember the Iron Law of Outrage: Activists don’t necessarily represent the group they purport to represent. 

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Publishers have responded to activist complaints by giving lots of business to one of the newest offshoots of Diversity Inc.—sensitivity readers. 

As the new, behind-the-scenes gatekeepers of the literary world, sensitivity readers help decide what reaches readers and how. They enjoy a great deal of power, but who do they represent besides the most sensitive sliver of Twitter? 

Take the decision to scrub the word fat from Dahl’s books. 

It’s not some objective act of pure goodness. It merely reflects the peculiar opinion of a particular group. Yes, those who wish to shield children and the rest of us from this F-word may be found on the left, but don’t assume their passion is a progressive one.

Progressives do not agree that the word fat is demeaning. Many in the fat acceptance movement regard it as empowering. Note the National Association of Fat Acceptance and its stated vision: “We envision a culture where all fat people are free, celebrated, and liberated from every form of oppression.”

Over at the Big Fat Gay Podcast, you’ll find the hosts criticizing sensitivity scrubbing from a progressive point of view (they liken it to the “whitewashing of history”). They reflect on the spectacle of some trying to banish the word fat while others (like them) are trying to take it back.

Readers may disagree with some of Dahl’s opinions and still affirm parts of his vision. Soave notes that The Twits contains an excellent summary of Dahl's outlook: 

"You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double-chin and stick out teeth, but if you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams." For some reason, the new version omits the "double-chin" part, which is coming perilously close to negating the entire point.

Beauty comes from within—why mess with that message? It’s one bound to be supported by readers of any age or political persuasion. 

A lazy gloss might lead one to cast the Dahl dispute as a left-right, blue-red culture war skirmish. But the real split seems to be between a tiny group on the extreme left and everybody else.

Ted Balaker is a filmmaker, and former network newser and think tanker. His recent work includes “Little Pink House starring Catherine Keener and Jeanne Tripplehorn,” “Can We Take a Joke?” featuring Gilbert Gottfried and Penn Jillette, and a forthcoming feature documentary based on the bestselling book, The Coddling of the American Mind by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt.