Classics done wrong

Audiences have always enjoyed a fresh take on a beloved story. Today, too many fresh takes involve 21st-century takes on gender and sexuality. Still, parents and teachers can find positive reboots if they look carefully.

To start with, beware publishers who equate sexual and ethnic diversity. Yet in the new Remixed Classics series for teens, authors retell stories like Treasure Island with, as Publisher’s Weekly puts it, “a diverse cast of characters, both in terms of sexuality and ethnic background.” If that’s not clear enough, the same outlet describes one title in the series as “carefully crafted queer interpretation.”

Many books signal this kind of content, making them easier to avoid. Parents and teachers may or may not notice gender-bending cover art for Jo: An Adaptation of Little Women (Sort of). But the Amazon.com description states plainly, “things get complicated when [Laurie] tells Jo he has feelings for her. Feelings that Jo doesn’t have for him … or for any boy.”

Parents and teachers may struggle to spot other problematic books. Cover art and book descriptions can downplay or ignore important changes to an original text. For instance, readers may find it hard to know whether a particular copy of Anne Frank’s diary contains sexual content edited out of earlier versions. Or take the 2019 Classic Graphic Remix version of Little Women titled Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy. The book’s Amazon.com description vaguely hints that Jo “feels like no one will accept her for who she truly is.” In the book, author Rey Terciero centers Jo’s coming out as gay. He also depicts her religious Aunt Cath as suffering from “horrible” anti-gay attitudes inherited from racist parents. (Note the linking of sexual and ethnic “diversity.”)

Thankfully, some content creators still attract new audiences without adding offensive content. Last September, actor Andy Serkis—who played Gollum in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films—released a riveting audiobook version of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy novels. In Fellowship of the Ring, Serkis brings to life the many “races” of Middle Earth (elves, men, dwarves, hobbits) as Frodo and his eight companions seek to destroy an evil ring of power.

Christian author Mitali Perkins points out in Steeped in Stories that Tolkien wrote derogatively about Jews in private correspondence, comparing them to “tricky” and “treacherous” dwarves in his novels. But that connection isn’t made in The Lord of the Rings, and Serkis will draw in reluctant readers of many ages and backgrounds with his vocal acrobatics.

Another positive reboot—Mariner Books’ Animal Farm: The Graphic Novel from 2019. It does include violence and drunkenness, but Odyr’s bright, colorful illustrations soften the horrors of communism for teens and up. Another plus: Orwell’s animals invite readers from any race or ethnicity to see themselves easily in the text. Similarly, Joe Sutphin’s Little Pilgrim’s Progress depicts Bunyan’s moral and spiritual lessons through kid-friendly animals. It’s a great option for multiracial churches, families, and schools.

So long as classics endure, new generations will seek to remake them. That means Christian readers will continue to face new challenges and opportunities to take every thought captive for Christ.