Director Spielberg says about the modification of ET, ``It is a mistake to modify the past work according to modern values.''

In recent years, there have been an increasing number of cases in which the contents of past novels and movies have been altered to match modern values. Meanwhile, Mr. Steven Spielberg cites the fact that the 20th anniversary edition of ' ET ' changed the gun to a walkie-talkie as an example, and expressed the view that 'the past work should not be changed.' showed.

Steven Spielberg: 'No film should be revised' based on modern sensitivity | Steven Spielberg | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/apr/26/steven-spielberg-et-guns-movie-edit

Novels, manga, and movies often contain ``expressions that are inappropriate in the present day, when values have changed since they were first published'', and expressions that have become discriminatory due to changes in values have been deleted. There are many cases where For example, in 2023, when the new version of the work written by Mr. Roald Dahl, the original author of ' Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ' was released, the text expressions related to 'character weight', 'mental health', 'race', and 'gender' were changed significantly. was announced to This change was criticized by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Queen Camilla, and caused a great deal of controversy over restrictions on writers' expression.

Pointed out that the expression of classic novels is distorted by vulnerable readers and experts called 'sensitive readers' - GIGAZINE

Spielberg's representative work `` ET '' also had a modification that `` guns are replaced with transceivers in the 20th anniversary edition ''. Regarding this modification, Spielberg, who took the stage at the ' TIME100 Summit ' held in New York, said, 'The modification was a mistake.' He added, 'ET is a work of the era in which ET was filmed. It should not be altered in line with our contemporary values.' ``What was the world like when the story was released to the world?'' ``What did the world receive from the work?'' I regret that,' and expressed the view that alterations to past works should be avoided.

You can check Spielberg's remarks in the following movie.

A Hollywood Masterclass with Steven Spielberg | 2023 TIME100 Summit-YouTube