Apple Censors Joyce, Oscar Wilde iPad Comics?

Nicole Martinelli ()

Apple Censors Joyce, Oscar Wilde iPad Comics?

One of the offending panels from iPad comic "Ulysses."

Apple execs have a hard time telling the difference between porn and literature.

First Apple removed images from graphic novels of classics “Ulysses” and “The Importance of Being Earnest” for being, well, too graphic for the device that has been touted as “freedom from porn.”

Robert Berry, the illustrator of “Ulysses Seen,” told the New York Times that an image of a woman with exposed breasts was one of the offending panels in the comic version of the book.

Berry offered to pixelate the image or cover it up with a fig leaf, suggestions that were rejected by Apple. “We basically had to lose all of her body and just tighten in on her face,” Mr. Berry said. “It is rather disappointing.” (You can still read the original version online.)

Belgian artist Tom Bouden, who turned Wilde’s farce into an all-male one, found the panels of his iPad “Earnest” blotted with blackouts over the offending bits.

Then, according to blog the big money, Apple thought twice about it. They have now asked both devs to resubmit the original content.

Apple Censors Joyce, Oscar Wilde iPad Comics?

Porn, mobile lit or just a ruined comic? The Wilde graphic novel.

In an email, Apple spokesperson Trudy Miller said: “We made a mistake. When the art panel edits of the “Ulysses Seen” app and the graphic novel adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s “Importance of Being Earnest” app were brought to our attention, we offered the developers the opportunity to resubmit their original drawings and update their apps.”

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We’ll keep you posted on whether the apps get reinstated and in what form.

But the episode does seem to place those prankster ad-busting porn protests we’ve written about recently in a new light.

8 comments »

About the author

nicole_martinelli

Nicole Martinelli is a San Francisco native who has lived in Milan and Florence, Italy. She's written for Wired.com, The New York Times and Newsweek. You can find her on Twitter , Facebook and Google+.

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  • porkchop1234

    Everyone should watch what they wish for because they could just get exactly what they asked for. Why is it I foresee people a few years down the road screaming about there being to much porn on iTunes? Mrs Martinelli as a modern intelligent liberated woman I’m highly surprised you would condone the open exploitation of men and women by supporting the porn business. If anything I would have thought you would be one of the loudest voices in the no camp.

    I agree with you in that Apple should NOT have banned the graphic adaptation of Ulysses BUT I also don’t think a app titled Penthouse, Hustler, or Backdoor Bitches should ever be allowed on iTunes. As it is I’m highly disillusioned by how short sighted some people are when it comes to this issue. Let me make it absolutely clear what someone chooses to watch in the privacy of their own home is their business BUT when their personal choices ENCROACHES ON ME AND MY FAMILY I take a stand. Its already hard enough for parents to raise children in this day and age and next to impossible to be there watching what they’re doing online 24/7 without the added concern of these younger users downloading porn directly from iTunes.

    In past articles bloggers have responded by saying put it in an adult section and turn on the adult filter so kids can’t get at it. These filters are useless in today’s world because kids have grown up with computers and are by far more tech savy and know how to turn off these adult filters or know the work around for it. As it is its beyond me why people are complaining so much because as far as adult content is concerned an idevice isn’t locked down. You can easily click mobile safari and access all sorts of porn sites that are designed for mobile browsers like the iphone plus there are even apps you can directly download from some porn sites that will install onto the iphone/ipod touch allowing you to directly download from their site. Matter of fact if bloggers look back a few pages there was even an article about such an app on COM a few months ago. I think it was Leander who wrote the article. Apple knows of these sites and their apps and couldn’t care less they just don’t want to be the ones selling them.

    If I own a corner store and I decide as an owner I don’t want to sell Playboy, Hustler, Vixen etc what business is it of anyone’s except mine? Someone who wants to buy a porn mag or movie can just walk down the street and they’ll find tons of other places to buy their adult fix. I’m not stopping anyone from doing what they choose I’m just choosing not to be involved because I want no part of it. This is exactly what Apple has done and people should respect THEIR GOD GIVEN RIGHT OF FREE CHOICE on how to run THEIR PLATFORM MARKETPLACE. Someone doesn’t like it you only have to hit safari and your problem is solved.

    To loosely quote a past blog post “I don’t expect to see dildos at Toys R Us and neither do I expect to see apps named Sorority Sluts on iTunes.” People who have a problem with this should just shut up, get a life, find a significant other and try enjoying real sex instead of masturbating to porn.

    That’s my 2 cents on the matter

  • http://retromaccast.ning.com/profile/JamesWages James Wages

    porkchop1234, you should be senior editor at Cult of Mac. Perhaps then we would have fewer articles here plagued by the porn theme. For truly, I can only come here late at night, when my family is asleep, for fear someone may glance at the Cult of Mac site and think I am somewhere else. As an Apple enthusiast who generally likes some of the articles here, I must say it is quite disheartening indeed.

  • John Brownlee

    James Wages —

    “porkchop1234, you should be senior editor at Cult of Mac. Perhaps then we would have fewer articles here plagued by the porn theme. For truly, I can only come here late at night, when my family is asleep, for fear someone may glance at the Cult of Mac site and think I am somewhere else.”

    lolwut.

  • Frank

    I don’t think you understand the issue at all.

    It’s not really about pornography, it’s about censorship.

    I don’t think you have to worry about Steve Jobs selling your kids pornography. You do, however, have to worry about them growing up in a world where device manufacturers have the final word on what is moral and what is not.

  • charli

    Ulysses as written by Joyce and The Importance of Being Earnest as written by Wilde are literature. Adaptions of said works are not. Apple should have never recanted the rejections, particularly by those screaming they were censoring literature, because they were not.

    @Frank, actually the Earnest app was pornography, straight up. I saw the comic, and it was nothing but gay porn disguised as an adaption of the play. And while I have nothing in particular against gay porn I didn’t sell it in my bookstore and Apple has the same rights not to sell it in their stores. Never did I or Apple say it should be sold at all. Just go get it at the shop down the road. Mr Bonte could have sold it directly as a PDF or whatever (which would still work on the ipad without jailbreaking) but was by his own admission too lazy.

  • Mezzrow

    All this proves is that the world is not black and white. Any time there are shades of gray, as with these illustrated books (which no parent would want their underage kids to download, classic lit though they may be), there will be judgement calls. In my view, Apple has responded responsibly. Neither of these works were illustrated books in their original form but have been adapted to be such, and become different animals. I do not read Apple’s actions as censorship.

    Not sure about “Earnest”, but I just downloaded “Ulysses Seen” with no problem, and it seems that panels in question are being restored. It is also available online, in its original form, for those not having an iPad.

  • http://northwestcomics.com Zan

    @porkchop1234 I’m not eager to live in a sanitized world where everything you find objectionable is pushed behind closed doors. When your wish to hide parts of the world from your kids unreasonably encroaches on my rights as an adult to artistic freedom, I “take a stand”, too.

    @charli There was no frontal nudity in “Earnest” and anyone who bought it for the purposes of titillation would be disappointed mightily. This book might not be your cup of tea, but if this is porn, then Showtime and HBO must be hardcore fetish channels.

    You’re being disingenuous when you say you “saw the comic”; I doubt you took the trouble to find it in a bookstore or library, or actually bought the app to read the entire book. I’m sure what you saw were news reports and sample images, not the actual work.

    If the collection of the censored panels—which fit on half a page—could be reasonably considered pornography, why are they being published in story after story as illustrations? Last I checked, most news sites refuse to publish pornography.

    You have no idea what you’re talking about.

  • porkchop1234

    @ Zen
    quote:
    @porkchop1234 I’m not eager to live in a sanitized world where everything you find objectionable is pushed behind closed doors. When your wish to hide parts of the world from your kids unreasonably encroaches on my rights as an adult to artistic freedom, I “take a stand”, too.

    And I’m equally not eager to have whatever flavor of the day stupidity forced down my throat whether I like it or not just because you like looking at boobs wieners or whatever. You just proved the point I was alluding to by throwing the ART CARD in my face. Tell me something Einstein is this what you and all your fellow brainless artistic hacks consider true art?

    http://www.slutsbitchesandhoes.com/
    http://www.biohazardbitches.com/

    I found those two in all of 5 seconds and there’s tons more where that came from. I guess the creator who thought up a name like sluts bitches and hoes is gonna be the next Rembrandt. Heck lets find the guy who thought up biohazard bitches and offer him a position teaching photography at the nearest University. He can teach all his students the proper techniques to accentuate drool when taking pics of women gagging on large dicks. I’m positive most of the women students in his class would love that.

    Listen man you want to look at a porn mag be my guest I couldn’t care less just DON’T FORCE IT ON ME just because you CAN’T GET LAID. Those apps which were nearly banned from iTunes weren’t art they are modern day adaptations in graphic novel form which is the polite way of saying A COMIC BOOK. Its a comic book NOT a literary work its a stupid ADULT COMIC BOOK and speaking as a comic enthusiast from the little I’ve seen the so called art work in them isn’t even all that good. Now grow up and shut up idiot. You want porn hit safari and you’ll get as many boobs and dicks to your hearts content.