(I also seem to have answered in part 'How does Farr(1991) justify Tintin's appeal to adults?', though in responding I only had the title-question in mind).
Herge accommodated audiences both young and old by refining a boldly distinctive visual style and adopting a classic adventure narrative for his younger readership, while at the same time providing provocative political commentary and mature-satire of more ‘difficult’ current affairs for his older readership. To the extent that a comic book or ‘graphic novel’ can carry a message above and beyond visually fettishistic storytelling for its own sake (which comics admittedly have a habit of doing), then comics as a genre or media-style do indeed hold an ‘adult’ interest.
Tintin definitely holds such adult-interest in that it politically contextualizes it’s ‘Indiana Jones’ type fantasy, in ‘The Blue Lotus’s comment on and eerily accurate foreshadowing of Japan’s quitting the League of Nations in 1933 especially (Farr, 1991); thus did Herge elevate his beloved Tintin from pop-cultural to cultural participant.
Herge however received some criticism as to the overt political nature of ‘The Blue Lotus’, one Belgian general expressing his concern that Lotus was “not a children’s story . . . it’s just a problem for Asia!”(Farr, 1991). The strength of Herge’s agenda in Tintin does invite debate over whether or not children should be exposed to material that, no matter how cleverly disguised, essentially remains a vehicle for Herge’s stance on (then) current affairs. Should Herge’s political views be at variance with those of parents, then by default the answer is no. As for censorship, Tintin is free of explicit content, what little violence there is being either suggested or slapstick, therefore Tintin for the most part is child-friendly. And Herge’s ‘agenda’?; his fictionalized representation of key-players in current events was only ever exaggerated to reflect actual participation so that a mature reader might more easily recognise the allegory (again for example, the Japanese), these being surrounded by representations otherwise positively themed to promote a message of cultural diversity and equality. Hardly a damaging motif for children.
Hello again
ReplyDeleteMy apologies - I see a second answer (or even a third) posted here now :) Great work!
Your views are again coming across loud and clear, and are well considered and well written - keep doing what you are doing and refer to the secondary/ critical readings where applicable.
So the comics do, as you clearly argue, hold and appeal and relevance to adults and children alike. Should they? Is it the genre itself that leads us to look for an appeal to both? Do we ask this question of other literary genres, like Novels, fantasy and so on?
Yes, I think it might be the comic-book genre itself that instils an expectation of it to provide for more than one age group, simply because of its visual element and the genre’s misplaced resemblance to children’s picture books, despite subject matter that can (especially today) be completely inappropriate for anyone under the ages sixteen to eighteen years. There might then be a leniency both with parents and critics alike, as explicit content innocently disguised as children’s illustration slips through censorship nets to unwitting and decidedly underage audiences. It’s the more ‘pulp’ genre entries housing this kind of material, and it’s perhaps time the thematic ‘maturation’ of comics be acknowledged and a stricter distribution enforced.
ReplyDeleteTintin is pretty innocent though, and unless it’s discussing neo-Nazism a strip asserting a particular political stance shouldn’t be considered ‘explicit’; rather, a premature exposure to the powers that shape our world might result in a keener political interest and insight when said-reader is of age.
Great work Sam!
ReplyDeleteTintin is also cute :) Perhaps his innocence and lack of awareness aids in the communication of political ideas
I think Herge does a well enough job not letting the political soapboxing get in the way of the fun.
ReplyDeleteThe political elements here feel natural; simply coming out of the world around Tintin as he goes on his adventures.
While Tintin is a cute and innocent character, I do like that he isn't entirely one-dimensional in that regard -he exhibits a range of emotions all-throughout.
This makes him more real and interesting.