When it comes to critiquing Herge’s popular magnum opus with all its contextual vulgarities of Othering processed to anything but male Eurocentric centrism’s.

Another facet depicted of Herge’s problematization: the subtle Othering of women in his medium of fiction of Les Aventures de Tintin.

The portrayal of women protagonists in such a canonically widespread (and children’s comic) are often “semi-tragic sexualized objects”. to which such portrayal completely lacking any depiction is either infantilized or characteristically missing from the popular leaven pages of the medium whatsoever.

The iconic exception being here, of course, as Madame Bianca Castafiore (with her position within explored The Castafiore Emerald). her presence  does not excogitate the masculine centred narration vastly found throughout Herge’s medium. And is an embarrassment of note.

To which Herge’s replies reflect the recursive perspective reflects of garnered male privilege a neologism entirely  coined during the formative inception of the comic and reflected in the art form.

The grotesque social oeuvre applied to recent classical postmodern neologism applied as “Tintinology” has paid a careful study and attention to the widespread decadence portrayed through the medium.

A reflection of study, an examination of the early 21^st century of art form and vehicle of commentary and change.

Which brings forth the vicissitudes of the ethereal questions posited: Where are the women?

Why is there a complete lack of formative representation of the female gender? The promotion of gender and feminism during such early moments of the 21^st century? Where society in grand requisition, desperately needed such promotion, during such sexist points of time?

And why (if so characterized) are female characters from the ornate (and quite socially reflective) piece of the tablet so vastly, so poorly represented?

Comparative critics and studied contemporaries of Tintinologism have subsequently recognized the obvious academic discrepancies of Herge and his popular works.  

As a mainstream accessible modern genre carrying flaws, breaking through the assumptions of the adventures of Tintin being a  “timeless” or “a flawless classic” for “all ages” that patrons of its viewership cling unto its belief.

To which Herge himself presently orates his argument:

‘Women have nothing to do in a world like Tintin’s. I like women far too much to caricature them. And, besides, pretty or not, young or not, women are rarely comic characters’.

A conversation recorded by noted modern Tintinologist Numa Sadoul(Sadoul, 2003)

This oeuvre where such anti-egalitarian tropes were acceptable as “social norms” during regressively un-cultured and collectively remembered as indeed classified as  “primitive times”.

Tropes accepted have been, through have a processional re-examination of what is acceptable within his portrayal as “fiction” in a social contextual sense.

Because fiction, in the 20^th century, rose to become in itself (indeed a fact considered true today), a prominent place in society’s path and means of self-reflection, the issue is problematic and (in context of society vastly relevant) more important than appears by the non-tintinologists. A lesson is here to be learned.

A lesson is most necessarily requisite for academic reception to ensure we do not fail to learn from our histories and repeat mistakes of ignorance, prejudice or privilege. Our past is ours,  whether it be othered, socially reprocessed or antiquate unfairly represented – The future should encompass all without fail.

Bibliography

Mountfort, P. (2016). Tintin as Spectacle: The Backstory of a Popular. Auckland: AUT.

Paul Mountfort (2020): ‘Tintin, gender and desire’, Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics, DOI: 10.1080/21504857.2020.1729829

Sadoul, N. (2003). Tintin ET Moi . Flammarion .