Belgiam might be banning Tintin in the Congo

[samurainoir]

BBC News - Belgian bid to ban 'racist' Tintin in the Congo

A Congolese man is trying to get a controversial Tintin book banned in the cartoon star's home country of Belgium.

The ginger sleuth's "little (black) helper" in Tintin in the Congo is seen as "stupid and without qualities", Bienvenu Mbutu is quoted as saying.

"It makes people think that blacks have not evolved," said Mr Mbutu, who lives in Belgium.

A court is to rule on whether the book can be sold in Belgium and, if so, whether it should carry a warning.

[Joe90]

BBC News - Belgian bid to ban 'racist' Tintin in the Congo

"A youthful sin which reflected the prejudices of the time."

I think the Tintin author, Herge, summed up his own wrong doing quite appropriately. Racial and ethnic prejudice often turn to violence.

We have many refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo here in Canada. I wonder if Mr Mbutu is a refugee from the ethnic violence that has plagued the Democratic Republic of Congo?

[ctc]

>I think the Tintin author, Herge, summed up his own wrong doing quite appropriately.

Yeah. Hard to believe it's almost 100 years old. (Really....?) I'd sell it with a disclaimer. I've always been a "warts and all" kinda guy, and I don't think it's right to gloss over the bad things. (Do it too often and people forget....)

Don C.

[Meule]

Exactly. If this was a new comic I'd totally understand, but this was written in the late 1920s, times were completely different then.

[thunderbolt]

Does DC alter the Spirit reprints, or do they just let the old stuff as is? I know on the old Popeye cartoons there is a disclaimer at the beginning about different times, etc.

[Riffster]

the Tom and Jerry dvd's have Whoopie goldberg explainng Mammie 2 shoes. and her voice is edited on any episodes playing on tv

[EMCE Hammer]

>I think the Tintin author, Herge, summed up his own wrong doing quite appropriately.

Yeah. Hard to believe it's almost 100 years old. (Really....?) I'd sell it with a disclaimer. I've always been a "warts and all" kinda guy, and I don't think it's right to gloss over the bad things. (Do it too often and people forget....)

Don C.

I totally agree. I'd rather see a disclaimer with some context and have the material remain accessible, than have it altered or removed altogether. Ignorance isn't bliss in this case IMO.

[samurainoir]

Given the output of Tintin related books out there, one would think that this would be another opportunity for the publisher to put out a high quality book package of Tintin in the Congo filled with extra material and writing that takes a scholarly approach to contextualizing the material. Particularly covering Herge's own evolution in cultural sensitivity, showing the original crude version that saw print serialized in magazines (which is currently-in print) alongside his re-drawn, revised and coloured version done many many decades later.





Follow up volumes can include Tintin in America (the depiction of Native Americans by Herge) and the Blue Lotus. In fact, I believe there is already plenty of in-print material that does contextualize and deal with the subject of Herge's racial depictions.

With an emphasis on the fact that these are often "Mythical" approaches to other cultures seen through the eyes of Westerners.

This approach seems to work well in the field of Live Opera performance, given the importance of potentially controversial work as Madame Butterfly and Otello (which is often performed in Black-Face).

I would also love to see Song of the South rereleased in our lifetime. Hopefully packed full of material to contextualize the oral storytelling tradition of American slaves keeping the Trickster mythology of Africa alive in their community, how they came to be appropriated by Joel Harris, and coverage of both sides of the fence surrounding the controversy of the original release of the Disney film and it's depiction of slavery at a time where many parts of the US were still deeply segregated.

[palitoy]

As someone of Scottish/German descent, I have campaigned for years for the removal of Uncle Scrooge and Captain America comics to no avail.

[samurainoir]

As someone of Scottish/German descent, I have campaigned for years for the removal od Uncle Scrooge and Captain America comics to no avail.

Did you also picket the cereal aisle of your local Loblaws?
"IT'S NOT OATMEAL!"


On a purely tangential note, I am completely baffled why I have a decade old box of Oatmeal Crisp cereal signed by Nigel Bennet in my house.

[palitoy]

On a purely tangential note, I am completely baffled why I have a decade old box of Oatmeal Crisp cereal signed by Nigel Bennet in my house.

It's worthless without Christopher Wiggins signature on it as well.

[EMCE Hammer]

It would have been cool if there had been a sinister cereal box in Friday the 13th to tie that all together.

[Meule]

Given the output of Tintin related books out there, one would think that this would be another opportunity for the publisher to put out a high quality book package of Tintin in the Congo filled with extra material and writing that takes a scholarly approach to contextualizing the material. Particularly covering Herge's own evolution in cultural sensitivity, showing the original crude version that saw print serialized in magazines (which is currently-in print) alongside his re-drawn, revised and coloured version done many many decades later.

http://www.rightreading.com/blog-images-07/TinTin-in-the-Congo.jpg

http://www.spacejock.com.au/Tintin/Congo.jpg

Follow up volumes can include Tintin in America (the depiction of Native Americans by Herge) and the Blue Lotus. In fact, I believe there is already plenty of in-print material that does contextualize and deal with the subject of Herge's racial depictions.

From what I've heard Hergé's family is a pain to deal with, all they care about is money, lotsa money. Plans for such a book package may already exist, but maybe the family wants too big of a cut