‘The exploitation of the Oompa-loompas has been discussed’
Roald Dahl’s books about friendly giants, marvellous medicine, witches and champions of the world have played a major part in the childhood of millions.
They have spawned film and stage adaptations and turned his catalogue of work into a multi-million pound industry. It was bought by Netflix last year in a deal thought to have been worth around £500 million.
But with society ever-changing, aspects of Dahl’s work have been criticised for his questionable takes
on female characters, race and mental health.
Dr Dimitra Fimi, a senior lecturer in fantasy and children’s literature at Glasgow University said adult “gatekeepers” have a responsibility to contextualise Dahl’s work to a younger audience.
She said: “Dahl’s writing is very funny. He’s really good with language, inventing words, capturing a child’s character and dealing with subjects that are often difficult to deal with in a humorous way.
“But there are instances of things such as body shaming with a character like Augustus Gloop in Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, and I’ve also seen discussions about the Oompa-loompas asking why these native people are being exploited in this way.
“There are also throwaway comments which hark back to an imperialist attitude in British literature. But he’s not the only one there.
“The way to deal with those things is to be open about them as a teacher or parent. There’s been discussion about rewriting bits of Enid Blyton’s racially aggravated language. Dahl’s is not as in-yourface, but it still merits discussion.”