Tintin might not be the most appropriate example by today’s standards
I guess that’s a fun comment and observation for modern times, but if you know anything about the history of Tintin, then you know that like many other media and creative media of the time, it evolved greatly over the years in terms of fair-minded portrayals. In fact, Hergé wasn’t too happy with his earlier, borderline-racist stances and depictions as I understand it, and as the years passed, he went on to include all kinds of subtle human commentary in his work.
So actually I’d argue the reverse-- Tintin is in fact an EXCELLENT (and appropriate) modern representative of “the ninth art.”
It’s a mixed bag. Tintin au Congo isn’t “borderline racist”, it’s violently and unapologetically emblematic of deep unquestioned colonial racism at a time where the Belgian Congo was only a few short years removed from genocide and chopping hands as a matter of colonial policy. It’s shocking even for its time.
The anti-imperialist messaging in the Blue Lotus is a nice sentiment (this was the '30s and Japan being the bad guys was an unpopular opinion in conservative European circles at the time) and that marks his turnaround on these reactionary views as he wrote the Blue Lotus in collaboration with an actual Chinese friend of his. However criticizing Japanese imperialism through racial caricatures of the Japanese occupiers is more than a bit gauche. Collaborating with the occupier during WWII to get published also didn’t earn him any good boy points and actually got him banned from publication for a spell.
I’m not gonna freak if a young relative of mine is reading Le Lotus Bleu or whatever, but it’s important to keep in mind the flawed and narrow worldview of its author.
Fair!
TBH, I barely leafed through Congo, as I was already turned off by the way various animals were callously treated in the beginning. Not surprised that it got even darker from there. I guess then that my updated argument is that Tintin is still an excellent modern (while also stretching many decades in time and length) representative of BD, WITH the qualification that the earliest stuff is much less so, just as with many, many other media from the period.
Collaborating with the occupier during WWII to get published also didn’t earn him any good boy points and actually got him banned from publication for a spell.
From what I’ve read, “collaboration” isn’t a very fair accusation in the overall sense. More than anything else, he evidently wanted to keep making his comics for a living, and had to make certain compromises in order to do that with the war situation as it was. So yes, like many others afterwards, he got hung with that reputation for a while, but I don’t believe the existing BD community ever really bought in to that, nor the long-term scholars. As I recall it, he suffered for a while as the spotlight was trained on him, but managed to pass that test, with his reputation not really suffering in the end.
…it’s important to keep in mind the flawed and narrow worldview of its author.
That’s all well and good, but let’s not also forget that the man’s work (and presumably himself) grew in many ways over the years, with plenty of both overt and subtle critiques of authoritarianism appearing in his work, along the way. Also, I’m not going to blame him for being ‘narrow-minded’ in a way that most everyone else was, at the time. Generally-speaking, I find that a low-quality way to judge others from afar.
Indeed, part of the very reason I like recommending Tintin is because of HOW MUCH it grew and became more self-aware over the years.
Thanks for your comment!
Is Asterix better?
For me, the caricatures in Astérix aren’t especially problematic, as absolutely *everyone* got caricatured. The series is literally a work of relentless, gentle parody and hilarious absurdities.
I like Asterix and get it’s a product of its time, but the Asian and black caricatures in particular are pretty bad by today’s standards.
I think you’re kind of answering your own point, there.
Also, let’s be real-- Asian characters barely appear at all in the books. I’m not even sure where the Chinese pirate does, above, and I’ve tried my share of googling on it.
Asian characters barely appear at all in the books.
That’s correct. But the few times they do, that’s what they look like. If you grew up reading it, it’s kind of grandfathered in, but the racist caricatures are simply not acceptable by modern standards.
I don’t think anyone’s really arguing that, but also, I’m not sure Astérix is a very good place to be fighting those battles, as every single person, ethnicity, gender and so forth is parodied.
Hmm. That said, there are some old stereotypes of Asians in the West that to my mind are pure invention, and aren’t fairly representative of the peoples. In fact, they were probably deliberately designed to be hurtful and mean-spirited, like those ridiculous propaganda posters the USA produced during WWII, depicting Japanese people, i.e. ‘the enemy.’ So, a caricature based on that model isn’t really a fair caricature. I guess I agree with you, after all.
Oof.
I read TinTin comics in Bengali(yes the ones in the pic as well). Still gives weirds me out the dogs English name is Snowy. I knew him as কুট্টুস(Kuttus).
I tried looking “Kuttus” up as a Bengali word, and got a response that it was a custom word created for Tintin’s companion-dog. But then, in a general search, I found this:
- A user from India says the name Kuttus is of Fiction origin and means “Kuttu a tipical calling name used by elders to youn boy and girl”.
- A user from India says the name Kuttus means “Good girl”.
- According to a user from India, the name Kuttus means “Cute baby or small Kid. Its a common baby name used in Kerala/Tamil Nadu, India. The word orginated from malayalam (language) word ‘Kutty’ - infant or a (young) kid”.
- A user from India says the name Kuttus means “Adorable child”.
- A user from India says the name Kuttus is of Indian (Sanskrit) origin and means “Gift of god”.
Sound about right?
In French, “Milou” is a name with multiple meanings, most commonly used as a short form of the names Marie-Louise or Émile/Émilie, meaning “wished-for child,” “famous warrior,” or “kind.” --Copilot
Interesting that the French name for the dog and the Bengali / Malayalam name are so similar in meaning, wherein the English “Snowy” went for a physical desription.
OK so foremost, I don’t think there is any specific meaning to the word “kuttush” in Bengali. It’s gibberish. It’s just a cutesy word that you say to a cute animal. I don’t think it came from Malayalam either. It’s a completely separate language. The Malayalam translation for Tintins dog might be a different word too.
There could be a meaning behind this word, but I highly doubt it’s anything beyond just sounding cute.
I was wondering if কুট্টুস was a typical Bengali dog’s name or if it had a specific meaning!
From what I’ve read, Milou was the nickname of an ex-girlfriend of Hergé (her actual first name was Marie-Louise — Hergé wanted to marry her but her parents refused because he was too poor from their point of view…). I doubt the etymology had any part in the choice, it had probably more to do the fact that it sounds cute; or maybe it was some kind of private joke between them, who knows. (Also I’m a bit suspicious of the etymologies given by Copilot anyway.)
I love the panel with translations of Milou’s name. They’re actually not as diverse as I expected, most of them copy either the French or the English name. The Arabic, Chinese and Korean names are transcriptions of “Milou” and the Japanese and Thai names are transcriptions of “Snowy”. Unless I’m mistaken, “Struppi” comes from the German adjective “struppig”, which basically means “shaggy”.
Interesting… thanks for adding on!
Also I’m a bit suspicious of the etymologies given by Copilot anyway.
Yah, I was getting totally lazy at that point. XD
I totally get that, since I was too lazy to take the time to actually research these etymologies before commenting, ha ha.
Oh, do you have a community or hobby project online? I’m curious to hear more about wherever the wind blows your fancy. You seem interesting.
It’s also of course nice to have actual French readers for this project, as there’s a load of Franco-Belgo culturalisms in BD that I don’t understand very well. :S
Yikes…
I’m sure there’s more to it but superhero comics and manga all seem quite same-y in their respective styles.
Considering UK, back long before they split from the EU, made Sonic the Comic, I can’t fully disagree.
Haha, I’m with you, Sten.
Altho I started with Marvel / DC stuff, I haven’t had any use for it in many years. To me, the bulk of the superhero stuff is about people who never existed, don’t exist now, and probably never will. So it’s pretty much just endless stories about a bunch of nobodies, what it comes down to it.
Meanwhile, I find that manga has a bunch of interesting series, altho a lot of them seem heavily gimmicky to me. There’s also the fact that adults are regularly portrayed in manga with childrens’ faces, tiny mouths, huge, watery eyes, and all that stuff. Who needs that shit, in effect…?
So yeah, I greatly prefer BD, because for the most part it speaks to me of real life… of real issues and situations… and real people (especially as with historical fiction) that I can relate to and even learn from. Even as it also delves in to sci-fi, magical realism, and parallel worlds. And of course, can also be cute, clever and funny without the cloying, Disney-esque formulae.
