What issues do Hérge’s albums of Tintin raise in terms of representation of ‘race’, and particularly ethnic and cultural stereotyping?
Hergé may have received numerous accolades of his sensationalised works of Tintin, but his albums managed to cause controversy under the surreal depiction and representation of race, those particularly being ethnic and culturally stereotyped. Some of the though notable issues that are exemplary of critique are Tintin in the Congo, Tintin and the Blue Lotus, and Tintin in the Land of the Soviets.
In Hérge’s work of Tintin in the Congo, the native representation of the Congolese in Belgium were portrayed as stark caricatures of dark skin, ‘juju-lipped Negros’, and their speech in pidgin English (Mountfort, 2012). One scene in the illustrated issue shows Tintin resolving a fight over a straw hat, to which the Congolese rejoice with the dialogue “White master very fair…!”. This particular scene depicts implementation of civilisation that was sought as a colonialist commitment; a way to restore civility which was apparently perceived as idiocy and ignorant behaviour of the natives (Mountfort, 2012). Another dialogue of disturbance is when Tintin stands before a classroom of the Congolese and educates them about their country: Belgium; this comes as a shock as the Belgian Congo was mercilessly administered as a European colony (Mountfort, 2012). Critics posit that Hergé firmly asserted and perpetuated xenophobia through racial caricatures and dialogues thereof. Although Hergé supported his depictions with the claim of paternalistic spirit that cascaded prejudices of the Bourgeoisie, his works nonetheless remained controversial (Farr, 2001).
Hergé’s Tintin and the Blue Lotus is an exemplary classic of orientalism. For this issue, The artist collaborated with an art student namely Chang Chong-chen who attempted to resolve misconceptions of ethnic representation. In efforts to display sympathy for the Chinese during the Japanese invasion, Hergé illustrated a Chinese man whom Tintin befriends; his attempt to derive sympathy from reader audiences as well though remained less than effective as a change in perception. The shift back to apparent xenophobia was the stereotypical depiction of a Japanese man that was ‘pig-shouted’ with ‘buck teeth and visibly subhuman’ (Mountfort, 2012). Illustrations continued to perpetuate Japanese propaganda, Mukden Incident and the invasion in Manchuria that raised the stakes on Hergé’s racial depictions and political leanings (Mountfort, 2012). Hergé’s effort to counterbalance his controversial, political inclinations through invoking sympathy towards Tintin’s companion Chang were proved futile (Mountfort, 2012).
A third example of racial stereotyping by Hergé is found in the issue of Tintin in the Land of the Soviets. There is an illustration of the Englishmen being taken in by the Soviets under their propaganda, sustaining a Bolshevik Russia (Mountfort, 2012). Another illustration in the same issue portrays a voting system that is a concerted attempt to preserve the Soviet regime. Critics argued that it displayed the Soviets as unrelenting, vicious leaders under Bolshevism, a Democratic Party that seized reign in 1917; though the political misrepresentation continued in this issue. Caricatures of the Chinese made another appearance in this issue, wherein they were portrayed as pigtailed torturers in fancy robes. Evidentially supported, it can be argued that Hergé perpetuated his political inclinations, apparent xenophobia and ethnic stereotypes through several albums of Tintin.
References
Farr, Michael. Tintin: The Complete Companion. London: John Murray, 2001
Hergé. The Adventures of Tintin: The Blue Lotus. London: Methuen, 1983.
Mountfort, P. (2012). ‘Yellow skin, black hair … Careful, Tintin’: Hergé and orientalism. Australasian Journal of Popular Culture, 1(1), 33–49. https://doi.org/10.1386/ajpc.1.1.33_1
Mountfort, P. (2020). ENGL602 Popular Genres: Lecture 2/Week: Tintin and The Blue Lotus_2019 [PowerPoint slides] AUT Blackboard. https://blackboard.aut.ac.nz/
Pop Genres 2020 