Week 2 Questions

4.What issues do his albums raise in terms of representation of ‘race’, and particularly ethnic and cultural stereotyping?

Tintin, a bestseller that was first published in 1929 and has so far gained worldwide popularity in more than 100 languages, was criticized by the public for its racist content in its early cartoons.
Hergé was active from 1930 to 1970. Since the early days of his activities were when all European powers had colonies since World War I, Hergé draws on his advocacy of imperialism in line with the media’s tone without any other concern. In particular, Tintin in the Congo, which tells an episode about Congo, a colony that was ruled by King Leopold II of Belgium, describes the natives as monkeys, and they serve Tintin and Milou as gods. They say, “The white master very fair! He gave half hat to each one!”( Mountfort, 2016). or they say, “White man very great! Has good spirits … White mister is big juju man!”. However, Hergé took steps to retrieve all the books that were sold and delete the problematic scenes in 1946, as criticism mounted that it contained white supremacy and racial bias.

The views and descriptions of Asian and Native Americans, as well as African-Americans, are not very fair.
In Tintin in the Land of Soviets,” Chinese depicted as pigtailed torturers”( Mountfort, 2016). Hergé also reveals his stereotype of the Chinese, saying that China was just a place full of cruel people who ate rotten eggs, braid their hair, and threw young children into the river.
However, by meeting his Chinese friend Chang Chong-Chen, he learns about Chinese art, philosophy and history and breaks his preconceived notions about the East. Since then, Hergé has repeatedly said he regrets and regrets the racist content he wrote, and when he publishes in the U.S., he accepts the publisher’s demands and modifies racist scenes.

References

Mountfort, P. (2016). Tintin as Spectacle: The Backstory of a Popular Franchise and Late Capital.

Hergé, (1931). Tintin in the Congo.