Author: siddhisharma

Week 2 Question

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/

Week 1 Questions

  1. How has the academic reception of popular genres changes over time and what might the value be of studying them?

In the field of literature, popular genres such as science fiction, fantasy, and comics were not considered categories of literary worth. For a long period of time, literary convention consisted of theatrical drama, prose literature and poetry that appealed to academics and such niche audiences. Literary convention followed or consisted a set of rules and criteria to which ideal compositions adhered.

Over time, the introduction of novel forms of literature, more modern canon such as comics, fantasy, and science fiction were initially considered trivial and not worth being categorised as literary works, as their basics of composition did not consist of dimensions of complexity that is observed in conventional literature. Fortunately, with time and its gradual increase in acceptance from a growing audience normalised its literary components, such as two dimensional plot structures, multi-modal elements such as visuals and audio embedded, and its constant improvement due to technological innovations in terms of cinematography and visual effects. The aspect of such popular genres that portray fictitious realms is what led critics to categorise such productions apart from conventional literature and deem them as trivial. Plot structures are generally inspired of ancient mythology and stereotypical characterisation.

Although it may not adhere to factors of realism, modern productions have crafted plot structures around contemporary issues to address them on screen and raise awareness. With the increase from television screens to modern media platforms such as Netflix, such productions are now widely accessible. Popular genres is also recognised as academic courses in various universities, and explores them in different perspectives in terms of craft and cater to audience perception. Studying popular genres can allow people to understand, accept new concepts, and break free from predispositions about societies and marginalised groups that popular genres attempt to highlight.