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Meisha Lohmann, Lecturer in English Literature, Binghamton University, State University of New York

'Wonka' movie holds remnants of novel's racist past

A storyline in the forthcoming 'Wonka' movie is that the central character can change a dutiful young girl's life. Warner Bros.

Several years ago, I made a visit to a local book sale and came across a rare 1964 edition of Roald Dahl’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” Popular in its own right, the novel has also served as the inspiration for a number of movies, including “Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory” – the classic 1971 movie starring the late Gene Wilder – a 2005 reboot starring Johnny Depp, and “Wonka,” the 2023 version.

As a child of the 1980s, I had voraciously consumed Dahl’s novels, so I knew the book well. But the illustrations in this particular edition looked unfamiliar.

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