Latest news with #DolenPerkinsValdez
Telegraph
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Putting trigger warnings on George Orwell's 1984 is the most stupid, 1984ish thing ever
' Orwell will be turning in his grave,' read one of the online comments posted in response to yesterday's piece about 1984 getting a trigger warning. 'Turning'? I think it's more likely he'll be laughing. What, after all, could be more of a validation, a rubber-stamping, and an 'I told you so' – delivered through a megaphone – than a thoughtcrime conviction for a futuristic cautionary tale… about thoughtcrimes, published 76 years ago? In the introductory essay featured in the new 75th anniversary edition, US novelist Dolen Perkins-Valdez describes the book's protagonist, Winston Smith, as 'problematic'. So much so that it may once have led to her abandoning the book, she admits. Warning modern readers that they may find his views on women 'despicable', she writes: 'For example, we learn of him, 'He disliked nearly all women, and especially the young and pretty ones.'' Whoa, wait a minute, Orwell. There's so much to unpack here. First, that with everything currently going on in the world – you know, the rise of modern totalitarianism, technology spying on us and all that – Winston Smith's view of women should be the main area of focus. Second, that word 'problematic', which almost always precedes something cretinous, but in this context was genuinely baffling. Name one successful novel, TV show or film that doesn't feature a 'problematic' character, and I will show you something I have no interest in reading or watching. Do you know anybody who enjoys reading about nice, blameless people going about their nice, blameless lives? I don't. Also, by all means, find Smith's views of women despicable – when you start reading the book, but not before. If and when you are appalled by his behaviour, let that not be off-putting, but a jumping-off point for meaty discussions; an opening up of your mind to human complexities. Someone who has been eloquent on this subject is the British Museum's brilliant new director, Nicholas Cullinan. Asked recently whether he agreed with the idea of trigger warnings and apologies on museum labels, Cullinan replied: 'Labels should be accurate, not partisan or political or conforming to a contemporary fad.' For me, the most extraordinary aspect of trigger warnings has always been their pomposity: the implicit conviction that in 2025, our view is not only more enlightened than any view that came before, but the final word on the subject. Unlike Orwell's, I suspect that those words will look embarrassingly outdated in just a couple of years.
CTV News
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CTV News
‘This version has a trigger warning': New foreword for George Orwell's ‘1984' divides audiences
The literature community has erupted into eloquently articulated chaos after a new foreword written for the novel 1984 by George Orwell provided a warning for readers looking at the book through a modern lens. The new foreword, written by American author Dolen Perkins-Valdez for the 75th anniversary edition release, was endorsed by Orwell's estate and published by Berkley Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House. 1984 explores the life of Winston Smith, a minor bureaucrat who decides to rebel against the authorities with Julia, another party member. Perkins-Valdez wrote that she was looking at the novel through the lens of a new reader, entering 'the Orwellian universe for the first time.' She goes on to call the protagonist Smith's views on women 'despicable to the contemporary reader,' adding the character is 'problematic' and 'guilty of more than just thoughtcrime.' However, Perkins-Valdez eventually says that Orwell's portrayal of deep-rooted misogyny is to highlight the issues in totalitarian societies in the novel. 'Somehow I have managed to discover a way to enter 1984 (75 years) after its initial publication and find new appreciation for it, new love for it,' Perkins-Valdez wrote. Dolen Perkins-Valdez Dolen Perkins-Valdez is a three-time nominee for a United States Artists Fellowship and is currently Associate Professor in the Literature Department at American University. (Dolen Perkins-Valdez/Norman E. Jones) 'This version of 1984 has a trigger warning' Perkins-Valdez's foreword has provoked some backlash. 'We're getting somebody to actually convict George Orwell himself of thoughtcrime in the introduction to his book about thoughtcrime,' Walter Kirn, a novelist and critic, said on America This Week, a podcast hosted by journalist Matt Taibbi. 'We're not yet in a world where books and classic books are being excised or eliminated.' He called it 'the most 1984-ish thing' he ever read. 'This version of 1984 has a trigger warning!' Kirn went on to say that this foreword served as a 'Ministry of Truth-ism,' referring to the Ministry of Truth from the novel. 'They're giving you a little guidebook to say, 'Here's how you're supposed to feel when you read this,'' he said. 'Shallow reading' A Reddit thread posted on r/literature brought together critics and more to discuss the new addition to the novel. Reddit user YakSlothLemon called it a 'shallow reading.' 'Shouldn't the place of a foreword be partly to help readers understand the context of what they will encounter in the book, rather than simply slapping the current standards of uninformed readers onto a book almost a century old?' they wrote. Another Reddit user named Grin_N_Bare_Arms agreed. 'Understanding Winston's thoughts and feelings allows us to get to one of the root causes of misogyny, especially the type of misogyny that thrives in a lot of highly repressive religious communities,' they wrote. Other Reddit users have come to the defence of Perkins-Valdez's comments. One user named Maleficent_Sector619 argued that it should be acceptable to say certain things about the characters' behaviours – like them being 'problematic' – after the passage of time. 'I think it's fine to mention that one character in a book from over fifty years ago may have some unpleasant thoughts about women (you could also argue that that was what Orwell intended),' they wrote. Another user named Brodernist pointed out that an introduction which talks about historical context and changing views is not the same as punishing thoughtcrimes. 'Drawing attention to those characters in the introduction feels like the opposite of punished thoughtcrimes,' they wrote.
Daily Mail
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
George Orwell estate accused of censorship after putting trigger warning at start of Nineteen Eighty-Four
George Orwell's estate has been accused of censorship after a 'trigger warning' was added to his classic novel Nineteen Eighty Four. The preface of the the 75th anniversary edition suggests Orwell's protagonist Winston Smith is 'problematic' and that readers may find his views on women 'despicable'. The introductory essay was written by US novelist Dolen Perkins-Valdez and critics claim it risks undermining the revolutionary novel's warning against state control of thought. Orwell's dystopian hyperbolic future is set under an authoritarian regime, where citizens are punished by the 'Thought Police' for subversive thoughts. It follows Winston Smith and a minor bureaucrat who secretly rebels against the regime with Julia, a fellow party member. But their doomed affair comes to an end and the hearts of readers are broken when they are arrested, tortured and brainwashed into betraying one another. The novel has been hailed as one of the most influential pieces of literature of all time. Now, the author's estate has been accused of ideological policing. US writer Walter Kirn said on the podcast America this Week: 'We're getting someone to actually convict George Orwell himself of thought crime. 'We're not yet in a world where books and classic books are being excised or eliminated,' Kirn added, but warned the Orwell estate-approved edition of 1984 had been 'published with an apology for itself'. The book already had a foreword written by American novelist Thomas Pynchon, leading Mr Kirn to question why a second was needed. 'These people felt they needed an introduction before the old white man's introduction. So this version of 1984 has a trigger warning!' He called it 'the most 1984-ish thing I've ever f***ing read'. Ms Perkins-Valdez wrote she was enjoying the novel until Winston revelas himself to be a 'problematic' character who 'disliked nearly all women, and especially the young and pretty ones.' She added the novel doesn't address race and as a black woman she found it difficult to connect with the characters. The anniversary edition of the 1949 classic is published by Berkley Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
Telegraph
07-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Orwell's 1984 now comes with ‘trigger warning'
George Orwell's estate has been accused of attempting to censor 1984 by adding a 'trigger warning' preface to the 75th anniversary edition of the dystopian novel. The new introductory essay describes the novel's protagonist Winston Smith as 'problematic' and warns modern readers may find his views on women 'despicable'. Critics claim the preface, written by Dolen Perkins-Valdez, an American novelist, and included in the 75th anniversary edition published in the US last year, risks undermining the work's warning against state control of thought. In 1984, citizens of the superstate Oceania are punished for subversive thoughts by the Thought Police. Now, in a real-world twist, the estate that oversees Orwell's literary legacy stands accused of ideological policing. 'We're getting somebody to actually convict George Orwell himself of thought crime in the introduction to his book about thought crime,' said Walter Kirn, a novelist and critic, on the podcast America This Week, hosted by journalist Matt Taibbi. 'We're not yet in a world where books and classic books are being excised or eliminated,' Kirn added, but warned the Orwell estate-approved edition of 1984 had been 'published with an apology for itself'. Ms Perkins-Valdez's preface is included in the anniversary edition of the 1949 classic, published by Berkley Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House. In it, the award-winning novelist said she aimed to approach 1984 as a new reader, and admitted that, given the protagonist's views, she might once have abandoned the book entirely. 'I'm enjoying the novel on its own terms, not as a classic, but as a good story, that is, until Winston reveals himself to be a problematic character,' she wrote. 'For example, we learn of him: 'He disliked nearly all women, and especially the young and pretty ones'.' The novel follows Winston Smith, a minor bureaucrat who secretly rebels against the regime with Julia, a fellow party member. Their doomed affair is cut short when they are arrested, tortured and brainwashed into betraying one another. Although Ms Perkins-Valdez eventually concludes Orwell was portraying misogyny as a feature of totalitarianism, her comments have provoked a backlash. Her preface also takes issue with the novel's handling of race. As a black woman, she says she finds little to connect with characters in Oceania. 'The most 1984-ish thing I've read' Mr Kirn questioned the need for Ms Perkins-Valdez's introduction, pointing out the 75th anniversary edition of 1984 already included a foreword by Thomas Pynchon, one of the greatest living American novelists. 'If you have a foreword by Thomas Pynchon to a book, you don't need another foreword, right? You got maybe the greatest living novelist of our time, who's also a recluse, to come out and write something. That's all you need. 'But no, these people felt they needed an introduction before the old white man's introduction. So this version of 1984 has a trigger warning!' He called it 'the most 1984-ish thing I've ever f---ing read'. The controversy follows real-life cases of so-called 'thought crime' in Britain. In February, The Telegraph revealed that Julian Foulkes, a retired special constable, had been wrongly arrested and cautioned by Kent Police over a social media post that warned of rising anti-Semitism. Officers who raided his home commented on his 'very Brexity' bookshelves and leafed through titles including The War on the West by Douglas Murray and The Demise of the Free State by David Green. His caution has since been deleted, and he has received compensation. Last month, The Telegraph reported that Scotland Yard had charged a Jewish counter-protester for holding a placard mocking Hezbollah's leader, claiming the sign could 'distress' terrorist sympathisers. The charge was dropped after eight months. Orwell himself has not escaped modern reassessment. In 2023, his wife's biographer Anna Funder described him as 'sadistic, misogynistic, homophobic, sometimes violent' and claimed 1984's darkness reflected the author's own. 'He desperately wants to be decent,' she told an audience at the Cheltenham Literature Festival in 2023. 'But writing a book like 1984, which is violent, misogynist, sadistic, grim, paranoid: that comes out of a writer's flaws.' Nor is this the first time 1984 has been flagged for 'problematic' content. In 2022, the University of Northampton warned students it contained 'explicit material' that may be 'offensive and upsetting'.
