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obviousthings's review against another edition
Graphic: Body shaming and Fatphobia
Moderate: Body horror, Misogyny, Racism, and Classism
Minor: Child abuse
katharina90's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
At its core Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is such a magical story that continues to bring joy to children and adults alike.
Unfortunately its flaws are impossible to ignore: repeated body shaming/fatphobia, patriarchal ideas of how women and girls ought to behave, ableist language.
Even the whitewashing of the original text (which introduced the Oompa-Loompas as Africans smuggled to the UK in crates... yikes!) doesn't obscure the icky owner-property relationship between Wonka and his factory "workers".
I'm leaving my 4 star rating in place for now but reading this book definitely involves a lot of cringing these days.
I continue to wrestle with the legacy of authors like Roald Dahl. He was a man who unashamedly held incredibly harmful views and wrote children's books that perpetuate antisemitism, racism, sexism, fatphobia and ableism.
And yet, his stories are whimsical and fun and beloved by so many.
Can we hold space for both of these truths?
Unfortunately its flaws are impossible to ignore: repeated body shaming/fatphobia, patriarchal ideas of how women and girls ought to behave, ableist language.
Even the whitewashing of the original text (which introduced the Oompa-Loompas as Africans smuggled to the UK in crates... yikes!) doesn't obscure the icky owner-property relationship between Wonka and his factory "workers".
I'm leaving my 4 star rating in place for now but reading this book definitely involves a lot of cringing these days.
I continue to wrestle with the legacy of authors like Roald Dahl. He was a man who unashamedly held incredibly harmful views and wrote children's books that perpetuate antisemitism, racism, sexism, fatphobia and ableism.
And yet, his stories are whimsical and fun and beloved by so many.
Can we hold space for both of these truths?
Graphic: Body shaming and Fatphobia
Moderate: Sexism
Minor: Ableism, Racism, and Classism
nikexistiertnik's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.25
"tv bad books good >:("
"overeating digusting >:("
"chewing gum bad >:("
idk i just really didn't enjoy this, and what the hell does willy wonka think he's doing with the oompa-loompas?
"overeating digusting >:("
"chewing gum bad >:("
idk i just really didn't enjoy this, and what the hell does willy wonka think he's doing with the oompa-loompas?
Graphic: Fatphobia
Moderate: Racism
njw13's review
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Minor: Racism