South Africa

[Bigfootman]

According to this:
http://keeline.com/TS/1995-05-17-MacIntyre,FGwynplaine-LetterReTomSwift.pdf
Ghostwriters were not allowed to write Hardy Boys books taking place in South Africa due to aparthied.

[MacGyver]

Wow- that's interesting. I guess they didn't want to have to deal with the politics and ethical issues of apartheid with The Hardy Boys and the largely child to teenage audience. Of course, this wouldn't have been an issue after 1994. Nonetheless, I don't know if I can think of any books set in South Africa offhand right now....

[SDLagent]

Interesting. I wonder if there's any countries the current ghosters aren't allowed to write about?

[Hardy Boys UB Fan]

That's interesting about the DNA Disaster. I didn't see anything about Ghostwriters not allowed to write Hardy Boys books taking place in South Africa. Did I miss that part? I know they could write about the USSR in Strategic Moves. What's the deal with that?

[tomswift2002]

Wow- that's interesting. I guess they didn't want to have to deal with the politics and ethical issues of apartheid with The Hardy Boys and the largely child to teenage audience. Of course, this wouldn't have been an issue after 1994. Nonetheless, I don't know if I can think of any books set in South Africa offhand right now....

I know that Endangered Species takes place in Kenya, but both Revenge of the Desert Phantom & The Ocean of Osyria also take place in Africa, but I'm not too sure where, plus Revenge's country is made up.

But there was also the 70's episode Mystery of the African Safari.

[Hardy Boys UB Fan]

When they wrote about the USSR in Strategic Moves, it seemed hard to understand, why?

[tomswift2002]

When they wrote about the USSR in Strategic Moves, it seemed hard to understand, why?

What do you mean?  If you were talking about the collapse the USSR, then you have to realize that the book came out when the USSR was trying to keep all it's countries united.

[Hardy Boys UB Fan]

What do you mean?  If you were talking about the collapse the USSR, then you have to realize that the book came out when the USSR was trying to keep all it's countries united.

I thought the wall had come down by then, but from the way it read it sounded like it didn't. Am I right on that?

[SDLagent]

I thought the wall had come down by then, but from the way it read it sounded like it didn't. Am I right on that?

It was published after the fall but it was probably written before.

[Hardy Boys UB Fan]

It was published after the fall but it was probably written before.

Oh so is that why they said the USSR instead of Russia?

[MacGyver]

Well, though the Berlin Wall came down in November 1989, Strategic Moves was released in September 1990. At that time, the USSR was still in existence. It didn't collapse until 1991. But it was definitely on its way down by that point. If the book made it sound like the Berlin Wall was still up, it may have been written at a time when it was still up- or it could have just been set right before the Wall came down- I imagine the fall of the Berlin Wall may well have been the impetus for writing a book set in the USSR and dealing with such issues for The Hardy Boys. But I don't think that would be exactly on the same level of dealing with the apartheid in South Africa- though communism and dictatorship governments do come pretty close on the tyranny level.

[SDLagent]

Oh so is that why they said the USSR instead of Russia?

There was still the USSR for awhile after the fall of the Berlin Wall. But, yes, they said USSR instead of Russia because that's what it was called back then. Soviet Russia was the largest and most powerful republic in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

[Bigfootman]

That's interesting about the DNA Disaster. I didn't see anything about Ghostwriters not allowed to write Hardy Boys books taking place in South Africa. Did I miss that part?

It's only in one sentence, and it's later on in the document. If I could, I'd copy and paste the sentence, but I can't.

[Hardy Boys UB Fan]

Well, though the Berlin Wall came down in November 1989, Strategic Moves was released in September 1990. At that time, the USSR was still in existence. It didn't collapse until 1991. But it was definitely on its way down by that point. If the book made it sound like the Berlin Wall was still up, it may have been written at a time when it was still up- or it could have just been set right before the Wall came down- I imagine the fall of the Berlin Wall may well have been the impetus for writing a book set in the USSR and dealing with such issues for The Hardy Boys. But I don't think that would be exactly on the same level of dealing with the apartheid in South Africa- though communism and dictatorship governments do come pretty close on the tyranny level.

I just read it today and it seems like the wall had come down, but I assure they didn't start calling it Russia, until later?

[MacGyver]

Even though the Berlin Wall had come down, the USSR had not fully dissolved until 1991. At that point in history, Russia was still part of the USSR.