Judge, 1923-10-20 · page 7 of 36
Judge — October 20, 1923 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Sterilizing the Classics This satirical article by James Montgomery Flagg mocks the trend of expurgating classic literature to make it "safe" for children. The cartoon shows an older man (likely representing W.S. Gilbert, who recently rewrote "The Mikado" for young audiences) literally scrubbing books with disinfectant. Flagg's target: the overzealous censorship of beloved works. He parodies how sanitized rewrites eliminate any potentially suggestive content—removing words like "night," "bed," and "flirted" from classics like "The Night Before Christmas" and Robert Burns's "Comin' Thro' the Rye," replacing them with absurdly bland alternatives like "carefully patrolled suburbs." The satire argues this "denaturation" destroys the literature itself. Flagg suggests the American tendency toward protecting children from any adult thought has gone too far, rendering immortal masterpieces into meaningless pablum. The joke: such aggressive sanitization makes the classics completely unrecognizable and pointless.
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ow tHat W. S. Gilb of the famous comedy duo, Gilbert and Sullivan, has seen fit to rewrite "he Mikado,” for con- baby buggy gentry, carefully expurgating from it any: words, phrases or suggestions which could lead to uncomfortable queries on the part of terpie sumption by t the unformed mind as in Pish Tush’s: song, he has carefully extracted words like “flirted.” “winked,” and “connubial bliss,” it opens up a wide field for similar rewritings of classics in order to render immortal gems of literature fit for the contemplation of the adolescent: inhabi- tants of the (whatever is) the modern equivalent of the) nursery. How charmingly in sympathy with the present. American tendency toward the return to the broad-minded ulean statutes if Kipling would run the vacuum over his Vampire, starting in this fashion: A moron there was and he made his prayer (Even as you and I!) To arag doll, and a bunny and bog of anii crackers! (Even as . . . etcetera.) JAMES moutecweRr FASE To render immortal gems of literature fit. STERILIZING THE CLASSICS by James Montgomery Flagg “The Night Before Christmas” much to be desired in 100 per cent. purity of thought and should start this way: “Twas the evening before Christmas (Leaving the word “night” out—a teeny bit off color, that word “night”). And all through the house Not a creature was stirring Not even a mouse. (Those lines ca couldn't — find there!) Ma in her sealskin coat And Tin my full-dress evening clothes ad just settled down To a long game of Parchesi, (In this way we alo away with any men- tion of bed or night clothes!) When out on the le There ‘rose such a clatter I jumped from my Morris chair (again eschewing the word “bed”!) To see « etcetera, etcetera. Even Sumner anything suggestive Now that the denaturizing of the clas- sies is under way there is no reason why 5 the kids should be deprived of our old buddy Omar. As for instance: A book of Peter Rabbit underneath the hough A jug of cambrie tea, a loaf of whole wheat bread—and thou Beside me singing in the carefully patrolled suburbs O carefully patrolled suburbs were para- Why should “Comin’ Thro’ be left entirely as an enco opera divas when it can so fied for the delectation of the cent of the nursery? More follows: the Ry lor decrepit ily be puri- stb-adole or less. as Gin a body meet an aunty Comin’ thro’ the r. Gin a body Ne kiss Lan aunty ery? All the | Never a one hae I. All their aunties smile at me When comin’ thro’ the rye! +s hae an aunty, comicbooks.com