Pop Genres 2020

Week Two – Tintin

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

Tintin is an adventure, a traveler and a hero. Interestingly his stories often overlap with foreign cultures and are set on foreign lands. Most of these lands have been colonized by European nations who are in the process of civilizing the natives.

In studying the series of Tintin adventures there are numerous depictions of either an oversimplification of race or a blatant reinforcement of the cultural stereotypes already in existence. Moreover, Tintin’s adventures are from a Euro-centric point of view and leave him in the position of the white saviour with each heroic victory. Some of his depictions of the ‘other’ seem almost are unaware of the stereotypes Hergé is reinforcing, while other Tintin serials represent race in a blatantly racist way.

The most famous early works to cause racial offence is Hergé (1930-31) Tintin in the Congo. In this serial he depicts the indigenous population as being childlike, unintelligent, with features that closely resemble Gorillas.

Other problematic depictions are of Arab people, Indians, Chinese and Japanese. Each ethnicity or culture is usually depicted as either underestimated or as needing their European Colonizers or Allies to survive. Curiously the depiction of Japanese in “The Crab with Golden Claw” is one of mutual respect for a Japanese policeman who helps Tintin unveil an international drug smuggling ring. Whereas, the depiction of Japanese in The Golden Lotus, show Japanese people as evil, manipulative and invaders of the Chinese. This is shown with the caricature of the Japanese appearance with large oversized teeth, extremely slanted eyes and an almost pig like nose.

This change in the physical appearance of race could signal a change in Herge’s political affiliations, his new found friendship with a Chinese student, or it could be used in the popular way that villains are depicted in fairy tales. These evil doers are often portrayed with ugly, oversized features. It is worth considering this as an option in this book. Although Chang’s warning, “be careful, they are not Chinese,” may point in the direction of racism.

His later works, The Black Island (1938), his villains are of German ethnicity. They are portrayed as calculating homicidal criminals. They are drawn with thin moustaches and pursued mouths. This serial coincides with a time in history leading into World War Two when anti-German sentiment is high amongst Belguim, France and other Allies such as the British. Tintin travels through these countries on his hunt for the German Dr Mueiller. He finally tracks him down in Scotland. While in Scotland Herge again reinforces the stereotypes of the Scottish with Tintin taking on the traditional Scottish costume, wearing a kilt. Inherently, the other Scottish people are not wearing kilts in the story.

The question I’m left with; Is Hergé racist, naive or does he create art based on the political climate of the times?

References:
Dunnett, O. (2009). Identity and geopolitics in Hergé’s adventures of Tintin. Social and Cultural Geography, 10(5), 583–598. https://doi-org.ezproxy.aut.ac.nz/10.1080/14649360902974449

Frey, H. (2004). Contagious colonial diseases in Hergé’s The adventures of Tintin. Modern & Contemporary France, 12(2), 177–188. https://doi-org.ezproxy.aut.ac.nz/10.1080/09639480410001693043

Hergé (1930-31) Tintin in the Congo

Hergé, (1931) The Blue Lotus

Hergé (1938) The Adventures of Tintin – The Black Island

Hergé (1941) The Adventures of Tintin -The Crab with Golden Claw

Mukherjee, D. (2016). Domesticating the “Other”: An Analysis of the Appropriation of Non-Humans by Humanistic Discourse in Herge’s The Adventures of Tintin. Rupkatha Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities, 8(1), 214.

Racism in Children’s Books: Tintin in the Congo. (2007). The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, 56, 14.

Week 6 Question

According to Joshi (2007), a tale from the Cthulhu Mythos has several defining features that occur regularly throughout Lovecraft’s work. What are these features and how are they used in The Shadow Over Innsmouth? Furthermore, can you see any of these features being used in The Colour out of Space?

There are six recurring themes and features that appear within the majority of tales with the Cthulhu mythos, however I will only be discussing five of these. The first is the theme of anti-anthropocentrism and misanthropy. Lovecraft (1927) said himself, “All my tales are based on the fundamental premise that common human laws and interests and emotions have no validity or significance in the vast cosmos-at-large”. Though the gods and creatures within this mythos are frightening by themselves, it is what they represent that it the consistent underlying fear. Freud (1955) stated his writing is “an “ego-disturbance”, where the very sense of ourselves in the world and our place is attacked”. This theme is especially prevalent in ‘The Colour Out Of Space’. The entire premise and event was a vast concept. Whatever this phenomenon was, it was beyond any human’s comprehension, being able to bend space and time. Humans seem like nothing compared to these beings and their planet.

The second feature that appears in many of these tales are viscerate textures. Specifically, protean semi-gelatinous substances, such as slime and tentacles over typical horror tropes such as blood or claws (Wikipedia, 2020). In ‘The Shadow Over Innsmouth’, the Deep Ones seem to have features fitting this profile, being described in the book as “shiny and slippery”. In ‘The Colour Out Of Space’, the grass eventually becomes tentacle-like, grabbing at our protagonists and trying to pull them down. Also in the film, when Theresa Gardner is mutating with her son, her body seems to be semi-gelatinous, and when Nathan Gardner kisses her, her saliva has become slime-like.

The third common feature is the outsider archetype. Protagonists often have academic intents. However, they tend to be reclusive and socially isolated (Joshi, 2006). This is evident in both studies. The protagonist in ‘The Shadow Over Innsworth’ is a lonely individual, and he is actually not named in the story (though it was later revealed to be Robert Olmstead). In ‘The Colour Out Of Space’ there are multiple layers of isolation. The whole family is in an isolated location, deep in the woods and many miles from help. Within the family dynamic, Lavinia is isolated from her family, precisely because she wishes to escape her family’s isolation and live in a city-like environment. In terms of an academic backround, Ward Phillips, the lone survivor of the incident is a hydrologist and has attending university.

The fourth feature is the feeling of hopelessness. Humanity is not alone in the universe and neither religion nor science is any match for the scale of horror (McConeghy, 2020). Any victories are temporary, and a price is usually paid for these small victories. In both of these stories, they don’t defeat anything, the only reason characters survived is because these lifeforms decided not to. They could have been easily killed, and in ‘The Colour Out Of Space’, the entire family was. In ‘The Shadow Over Innsworth’, though he survived, it turns out he is the very creature he despised, and there is nothing he could do about it.

The final feature is the recurring theme that these creatures are not meant to be discovered, and the comprehension of these are damaging to the point of insanity. McConeghy (2020) says “When Lovecraft’s characters meet an elder god, they want to look away but cannot. They are transfixed by what they cannot rationalize. Moreover, faced with a non-rational experience, they go mad trying to understand it.”. When characters comprehend these creatures, they realize they are not who they think they are. They do not live where they think they live. This moment drives them insane, because they realize they are going nowhere and realistically amount to nothing (Freud, 1955). In ‘The Shadow Over Innsworth’, the protagonist sees The Deep Ones and cannot comprehend it, so he faints. In ‘The Colour Out Of Space’, Nathan Gardner cannot comprehend the events, and as a result turns insane.

References

Joshi, S (2006). The Cthulhu Mythos.

McConeghy, D (2020). Facing the Monsters: Otherness in H. P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos and Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim and Hellboy. Vol. 11, no. 2. Religions. Retrieved from http://apps.webofknowledge.com.ezproxy.aut.ac.nz/InboundService.do?customersID=EBSCO&mode=FullRecord&IsProductCode=Yes&product=WOS&Init=Yes&Func=Frame&DestFail=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.webofknowledge.com&action=retrieve&SrcApp=EDS&SrcAuth=EBSCO&SID=F363IvfSRmNKAdb1JW9&UT=WOS%3A000519615300030

Wikipedia (2020). Lovecraftian Horror. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lovecraftian_horror

Week 1, by Rachel Banks

How has the academic reception of popular genres changes over time?

Traditional academic studies of culture have tended to focus on “high” culture subjects, such as Art, classical music and literature. This academic study was based on European and Western culture. Contributors to this kind of culture were predominantly White/European males with access to education and wealth. To create such cultural contributions the authors needed independent wealth or wealthy benefactors. This made it unlikely for the mass population to be able to contribute to culture in this way.

With the technological progression of printing presses rose a new form of cultural literature. These were often in the form of pamphlets, newspapers, short stories and novellas. Further technology rose to include coloured printing and the ability to print pictures in mass. These mass produced materials became popular with the less educated classes and were described by academics as being of “low taste” verses the “high taste” literature studied by the elite.

“Despite the popularity and critical impact of comics and graphic narrative, academics have been late to the examination of the field.” Freedman, A. (2011).

With the increased publications and creation of more than classic literature, telling stories, academics must accept that these forms of popular genres have a place in the study of society, McAlister, J. (2018). Popular genres, such as television, film, comic books, radio, fantasy and science fiction are also using subject material to give voices to those more marginalized members of society.

What might the value be of studying them?

“The mixture of advocacy and analysis, fandom and critique, amateur and professional study, and artistic self-definition and critical examination characteristic of comics criticism poses challenges to the border between high art and popular culture and between word and image.” Freedman, A. (2011).

Popular genres offer another window into society’s popular culture. By studying these works we can ascertain more about societies political, social and religious beliefs. Popular genres often give voices to those not traditionally celebrated in classic literature or “high taste” culture. These included women, the working class, sexually diverse, gender diverse, culturally diverse and indigenous voices and those affected by post colonization.

Furthermore, popular genres are less constrained by classic literature. They can explore notions of magic, science fiction, the future, fantasy worlds etc. For example Tolkien (1954) Lord of the Rings Trilogy explores the notions of philosophical consequences, Mountfort, Paul (2020). Likewise, Hergé’s series of books give Tintin an opportunity weave in social and political discussion, as is shown in Hergé (1931)The Blue Lotus, where Japanese invade China.

References:
Freedman, A. (2011). Comics, Graphic Novels, Graphic Narrative: A Review. Literature Compass, 8(1), 28.

Hergé, (1931) The Blue Lotus

McAlister, J. (2018). Defining and Redefining Popular Genres: The Evolution of “New Adult” Fiction. Australian Literary Studies, 33(4), 1–19.

Mounfort, P (auth). (2020). ENGL602 popular genres. Retrieved from https://blackboard.aut.ac.nz/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=96250_1&content_id=_5273101 1&mode=reset

Tolkien, J. R. R (writ). (1954). The lord of the rings. United Kingdom: George Allen & Co

Week 4 Question

Question 1: What was the cultural impact of Akira (1988), and why does it occupy a key place in the canon of anime greats?

The release of Akira in 1988 marked a pivotal time in anime. This film was at the time seen as sophisticated for anime in Japan. This may be due to it being one of the most highly produced anime with around a billion yen being invested into it (Bolton, 2018). It set a new technical bar for anime. Furthermore, it popularised the art form for North American audiences (Bolton, 2018).

Before Akira, anime in America was present but was often seen as something for children or limited to Speed Racer which most people didn’t even recognise to be of Japanese origin (Napier, 2005). Then when Akira did come out in America in 1990, it was seen as a sophisticated, complex work of art that baffled and inspired its Western audiences. According to Peter Chung who was a director and animator in the 1990’s, he thought that one of the reasons Akira was unique was because they tried to make it appealing to an international audience (Chu, 2018). Due to this spark in popularity and influence Japan opened up a whole new market of animated films (Napier, 2005).

Apart from its groundbreaking animation skills and technical breakthroughs, Akira has strong political messages sewn throughout it. The atomic explosion that occurs at the start of the film is a nod to the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs which were released in 1945. We later find out that the explosion was caused by Akira as she represents the famously destructive nuclear bombs, and Tetsuo who has developed telekinetic powers is the consequence of the explosion (Chu, 2018).

As well as these political messages, Akira has been seen to be an influence to many shows and films and other such media that audiences love presently. Shows such as ‘Stranger Things’, movies such as ‘Looper’, and Kanye West music video ‘Stronger’, all the way down to the clothes brand Supreme coming out with an Akira line have all been influenced by the movie (Chu, 2018).

References

Bolton, C. (2018). Interpreting anime. University of Minnesota Press.

Chu, H. (2018, July 14). Why the pioneering Japanese anime ‘Akira’ is still relevant 30 years later. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/why-the-pioneering-japanese-anime-akira-remains-relevant-30-years-later/2018/07/12/b7577c74-813f-11e8-b851-5319c08f7cee_story.html

Napier, S. (2005). Anime: From Akira to Howl’s moving castle. Palgrave Macmillan.

Week 3

Question week 3

What is Castafiore’s role in the Adventures?

Bianca Castafiore, La Castafiore, the Melanese Nightingale or “Blanche Chaster Fleur” – the holy white flower is one of the most important characters in The Adventure of Tintin she is a distraction, helping hand and loyal friend. She is also a strong, female character, which the Tintin comics definitely need. Her first appearance in the series was in Le Sceptre d’Ottokar (King Ottokar’s Sceptre) in 1938 and her importance and presence in the comics increased over the years (Newark, 2013).
Castafiore is an Italian diva, based on the famous opera singer Maria Callas, but also Hergé’s aunt Ninie. Hergé’s aunt would visit his family as a child and entertained them with her loud, shrill singing (Apostolidès, 2010). Castafiore is a strong character with an overpowering personality, she tries to live her life as if her reality is a grand opera where she of course is the start (Apostolidès, 2010). She has a powerful physique and a matching voice, and although one could think she’d have an aggressive personality the only thing who ticks her off is poorly cooked pasta (Newark, 2013).
She is classy and dresses in very elegant, fashionable clothes, and does in fact become more attractive as the series progresses. Her most important and strongest traits however is her loyalty and her courage (Apostolidès, 2010).
As I mentioned earlier Castafiore is a reoccurring character and she seems to pop up in the most unlikely places and often serves as a distraction and helping hand. Some of the elements in the Tintin universe seems to be trapped in time, this is not the case with Castafiore, she is not stuck in just one moment and she keeps evolving. Newark (2013) says that Castafiore represents a threat to Tintin and the Captain’s blissfully unchanging pre-sexual existence and that the three of them are caught in a never-ending game of cat and mouse.

Although Castafiore is a soprano she only ever preforms one song: The Jewel Song from Charles Gounod’s opera Faust. Apostolidès (2010) writes that the song perfectly reflects Castafiore’s narcissism and that she uses the song as a personal hymn. “She totally identifies with Marguerite’s story” and claims to be “utterly divine (Apostolidès, 2010). Hergé was not a big fan of opera and Newark (2013) writes that her never changing performance is a metaphor for the petrification of the opera repertory, “for it’s homogeneity as a cultural object around the world”.
Castafiore might be a famous soprano but her voice is describing as anything but pleasant and it does not represent anything positive. Her voice is described by Newark (2013) as “a sound to be avoided at all cost”.
Although her voice is described as something dreadful it only seems to be bad for Tintin and Haddock. In Cok en Stock Haddock would rather get back on a raft with no water then to be on the same boat as Castafiore. Newark (2013) says that the reason for the dramatic effect her voice has on the heroes is simply because they belong to another world and not the world of opera.
Castafiore is also a representation of sexuality throughout the series. She tries to supress it, but it keeps popping up and is reflected in things such as her jewels. Her jewels repeatedly being stolen is an allegory for sexual exchange (Apostolidès, 2010).
Castafiore is the only female character in the series with a personality and real meaning and to me it seems like Hergé took everything he hated about opera and (accidently?) turned it into a strong woman who worshipped her own sexuality.

Sources:

Apostolidès, Lean-Marie. (2010). The metaphors of Tintin or Tintin for Adults. Stanford University Press. https://books.google.co.nz/books?id=8TizX-868GgC&printsec=frontcover&hl=no&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=Castafiore&f=false

Tintin.com. (n.d.). Bianca Castafiore.
http://en.tintin.com/personnages/show/id/18/page/0/0/bianca-castafiore

Newark, Cormac. (2013). Faust, Nested Reception and La Castafiore. Cambridge University Press. https://www-jstor-org.ezproxy.aut.ac.nz/stable/pdf/24252367.pdf

Week 1 Questions

How has the academic reception of popular genres changed over time?

– Popular genres refers to the broad spectrum of new media that is often overlooked by ‘serious’ authors. Throughout the earlier centuries, popular genres were disregarded and other types of literature such as poetry, drama, and non-fiction were the peak of popularity. However, in today’s society, popular genres have become a growing market for many new authors. Some of the most popular genres that are taking over from Shakespeare include fantasy, science fiction, anime/manga, and action and adventure (Mountfort, 2020).

Popular genres has changed drastically over time. During the earlier periods of literature, it was very much romanticised and related to its own specific time era. For a while Shakespeare took over with many of his works which became the normal back then. Today however, we have our own types of literature that have changed and will consistently change as we and the earth ages.

One of the biggest changes that has happened over time is the introduction of pictures into literature. Categories such as Manga and comics have become incredibly popular through the twentieth century, up until now. Newer genres seem to be getting more creative and they really let the author do whatever they want to do, whilst letting readers imaginations run wild.

What might the value be of studying them?

– Popular genres have generally not been used with teaching and studying primarily because they are a new type of literature. It is argued that the value that may come out of studying the newer genres is they have the potential to offer us a better perception into society which is something that classical literature could not do. It is also noted that newer genres of literature actually give us better images, adventures, and relationships which many of us understand and like a lot more than the ‘high’ literature.

Another reason that popular genres should be studied today is that they seem to interest a wider range of society and they could teach us and give us a better insight into the world of reading and literature. The newer genres help us to understand ourselves and our ever-changing society. Science fiction is often set up to show its readers and watchers about the future and what possibilities await.

Much like people, the world and society change almost every ten years. New trends are discovered and forgotten just as easily but they always find a way of coming back. Popular genres are much like that. Of course, no one will ever forget geniuses such as Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, and Edgar Allan Poe, but many of their works do not and cannot relate to modern age studies, which is why introducing new genre’s is so important.

Mountfort, P. (2020). ENGL602 Pop Gen Week 1 Intro [PowerPoint slides]. Blackboard. https://blackboard.aut.ac.nz/

Week 5 Question

What is the ‘shōjo’ and how does it often function in anime?

Shōjo is a Japanese word that literally translates to “young girl” in English. However, it does convey more specific connotations inn Japanese pop culture. It carries the images of “female pureness, virginity, vulnerability, romanticism and nostalgia” (Berndt, Nagaiki, Ogi, 2019). Generally, shōjo in anime can be separated into two categories; over-sexualized and boy-crazy or the ‘innocent’ girl, protected by the male protagonist/s and conveyed as a role-model to other young girls. In the early 90s however, with the release of Sailor Moon, it offered an alternative to the stereotypical image of this submissive obedient woman, making them more empowered and strong, though they still kept other stereotypical shōjo traits (Berndt, Nagaiki, Ogi, 2019). However, strong female heroines did come before Sailor Moon. The most popular would be the maho shōjo, or the magical girl. Another typical example is the deadly “girl with guns” archetype (Toku, 2015)

Hayao Miyazaki was a anime director that revolutionised the shōjo character throughout his films. Cavallaro (2006) said that “while the average shōjo is portrayed as a passive being suspended in something of a timeless dreamland, Miyazaki’s heroines are active, independent, courageous and inquisitive – to the point that some commentators have described them as youths wearing shōjo masks” (Cavallaro, 2006). They are not traditionally portrayed in a ‘beautiful’ light as other animes portray woman, instead he lets the inner beauty speak for itself. For example, in Princess Mononoke, there is a scene in which San’s face is blood-stained as she looks at the protagonist, however this experience is actually a nurturing act, as she is sucking a bullet out of the Wolf God’s body (Cavallaro, 2006).

References

Berndt, J, Nagaiki, K, Ogi, F (2019). Shōjo Across Media: Exploring Girl Practices In Contemporary Japan. Springer International Publishing.

Cavallaro, D. (2006). The Anime Art of Hayao Miyazaki. McFarland & Company.

Toko, M (2015) International Perspectives on Shojo and Shojo Manga: The Influence of Girl Culture. Taylor & Francis Group.

Week 2 Questions

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

Within the realm of Tintin, not only has Herge managed to annoy many females, but he has also managed to gain backlash from other individuals stating that his comics show blatant racism, xenophobic themes, and ethnic/cultural stereotyping. Many of his comic volumes have landed him in deep water due to their depiction of other races and stereotypes.

One example of plain racism and stereotyping within the Tintin universe comes from two comics titled ‘Tintin in The Land of the Soviets’, and ‘The Blue Lotus. Both of these comics look specifically at the race of people from Asia (particularly China) and show them in both xenophobic ways. In the land of the soviets, two Chinese individuals are depicted as “pigtailed torturers”. In the Blue Lotus, a specific white European character shows distaste and even hate towards a peaceful Chinese man. In one of the particular scenes, a character by the name of Thomson (or Thompson) is not looking where he is going and a rickshaw driver apologetically crashes into him. After this Thomson (Thompson) begins throwing a tantrum towards the man and even says “Dirty little China-man, to barge into a white man”. This clearly depicts racism and the idea that even though this European man is in China, all the other Chinese people must look up to him because he is better and more sophisticated. Thomson (Thompson) even goes as far as to beat up Tintin because he defended the Chinese rickshaw driver (Mountfort, 2020).

Another example of racism within the comics is the idea that all dark-skinned individuals look and act a certain way. In the famous comic, Tintin in the Congo, many of the indigenous people are depicted as having “rubbery lips” and an odd way of talking, making them seem uneducated and rather mindless (Hunt, 2002). Many of the indigenous and especially African people within the comics were also displayed as spineless slaves and in one chapter of Tintin in the Congo, they even referred to Tintin as ‘white master’ (Mountfort, 2011). This not only stereotypes the indigenous people as passive slaves, but it also depicts them as incoherent and easy to slander.

Tintin in America is another comic that received a big amount of backlash due to the exploitation of native Americans. In one chapter of the comic, there is an uproar on the spillage of oils which brings the common white business to the native lands to mop up with the money. After that, it is shown that the native Americans are held at gunpoint and forced to leave their own lands (Ha, 2015).

References

Ha, T. T. (2015). Is Tintin Racist? Uproar in Winnipeg opens new chapter in the old argument. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/is-tintin-racist-uproar-in-winnipeg-opens-new-chapter-in-old-argument/article23552666/

Hunt, N. R. (2002). Tintin and the interruptions of Congolese comics. Images and Empires: Visuality in Colonial and Postcolonial Africa, 90-123.

Mountfort, P. (2011). ‘Yellow skin, black hair… Careful, Tintin’: Hergé and Orientalism. Australasian Journal of popular culture, 1(1), 33-49.Mountfort, P. (2020).

ENGL602 Tintin and the Blue Lotus [PowerPoint slides]. Blackboard. https://blackboard.aut.ac.nz/

Week 3 Question

What is Castafiore’s role in the Adventures?

Tintin has become an increasingly popular comic series from its inception to today’s era. One of the most notable things about Tintin, besides the loud racism, is the disappearance of femininity and females in general. Rather interestingly though, the main protagonist (Tintin) seems to scream androgynous, but he also has been referred to as appearing more feminine by many theorists.

Madame Bianca Castafiore is a character within the Tintin universe that seems to be the only proper woman ever introduced to the young boy. Throughout time this has sparked both curiosity and annoyance within the community of popular genres because of the blatant misuse and slander towards women. Mountfort (2020), explains that the character of Castafirore may be female, but she is definitely not portrayed as the nice typical feminine beauty or even as a normal woman. In fact, she often gets in the way of Tintin and whenever she does make an appearance it is either at bad unwanted times, or she is invading the space of others around her.

Mountfort (2020), discusses that women in the Tintin universe are more often either non-existent or far off background characters. This relates to the ideologies of Herge and his opinions on women. Herge once said that women strictly do not belong in Tintin’s world and that they are hardly ever characters in comics anyway (Mountfort, 2020). Taking all of this in, it is hard to digest that Herge blatantly refuses to draw women within his comics, but even harder to understand is when he does decide to depict a female they are bigheaded divas.

The eighteenth volume of Tintin, The Calculus Affair, shows a softer side to Madame Castafiore as she actually helps Tintin by distracting the character Colonel Sponsz which aids the escape of both Tintin and Captain Haddock (Herge, 1992). This is, however, one of the only times she is presented as useful within the series. Any other times of representation, Castafiore’s personality is the dramatic diva that ruins the masculine atmosphere surrounding Tintin. Her physical appearance is no better. Herge has drawn Castafiore in such a way that quite resembles the boarish depiction of Viking woman. Undoubtedly she stands taller than most male characters, with a monstrous bust, large eagle nose, and a bigger body mass.

Another point that has readers rather choked up with the portrayal of women is the blatant sexualization of Madame Castafiore with the twenty-first volume titled The Castafiore Emerald. If the title was not revealing enough, the comic goes on to correlate the emerald with Madame Castafiore’s clit and the idea of her “removing it from her box-” and “touching it” whilst singing “Ah, ahhhh”. (Mountfort, 2020).

Herge. (1992). The Calculus Affair [Cartoon]. Spain: Methuen Children’s Books.

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

Mountfort, P. (2020). ENGL602 Tintin and Gender Part 1 [PowerPoint slides]. Blackboard. https://blackboard.aut.ac.nz/

Mountfort, P. (2020). ENGL602 Tintin and Gender Part 2 [PowerPoint slides]. Blackboard. https://blackboard.aut.ac.nz/

Week 5 Questions – Anime Pt.2

What is the ‘shōjo’ and how does it often function in anime?

The term ‘Shojo’ first showed up in 1903 it is actually originally derived from a chinese form of expression made up of the same characters (Wikipedia, 2012). What is Shojo? Initially it is one of anime’s numerous subgenres, shojo is a segment marker for anime and manga (Japanese comic book) its purpose is to be focused on younger females audience in terms of readership. Shojo is related with visuals and set in a narrating style instead of with a segment. These bases of visuals that are found inside shojo are in clear differentiation to the ones that tend to be more realistic and grounded in comparison to other anime which highlights aspects of violence and modernism. Another minor subgenre that can be from the shojo found inside anime, making it much more otherworldly and dream-like, would be the maho shojo which further translates to enchanted or magical female. This subgenre has an uplifted spotlight on otherworldly and dream components. The concept of Shojo is the literal, direct opposite of shonen. While shonen is the manga aimed at teenage boys, such as for example naruto, bleach, one piece, my hero academia, death note and many more. Shojo is manga aimed at teenage girls. It is a genre of its own, for the means of having a target audience and thus catering the media to a specific demographic. Japan is a male dominated country. The various female appeal are usually to be distinguished as a persevering difference to the male in the anime. This is “subverting convention” the gender commanding force in the nation of history. The capacity of shojo in the anime is to raise the other entangled beings (Napier, 2005.) Shojo characters are bound to be distinguished as a solid, strong young lady who happens to “save” the world or shield them from enemies of all sorts. Then again, some different creators recognize them as feeble and shortcoming. A prominent example of such a character that had been more or so believed to be a solid hearted courageous woman was San in Miyazaki’s film Princess Mononoke yet she didn’t show the characteristics of for instance, like being what is deemed cute or in japanese terminology “kawaii”, by any means in any way at all. She was depicted to be wild and fearsome going up and standing her ground for what she believed, what she trusts in and suddenly giving her adoration for creatures and security of the forest. This in correlation to when (Napier, S. (2005) stated that “Perhaps many of anime’s most important characters are female because it is so often the female subject who most clearly emblematizes the dizzying changes occurring in modern society.” Overall the aim of shojo is to empower “girlhood”, in 20 century Japan. It is a way for Japan to contribute in the means of contemporary, feminist art (Wakeling, 2011). Asides from this, the concept of both daughters and lets say, maiden both suggest the closeness of a male master in choosing a seemingly young ladies personality while the possibility of shōjo has neither of these affiliations. The shojo is deemed to be free spirited and bold particularly in contrast to normal and ideal female roles in the Japanese culture.

References:

Napier, S. (2005). Why anime? In Anime: from Akira to Howl’s Moving Castle (pp.3-14). Hampshire: Palgrave/ Macmillan.

Shōjo. (2020, August 1). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved August 29, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ShōjoWakeling, E. J. (2011). “Girls are dancin”: Shōjo culture and feminism in contemporary Japanese art. New Voices, 5, 130-146. https://doi.org/10.21159/nv.05.06