Reading racism? Tintin in the Congo
Hard to imagine that a skinny, innocent-looking Belgian kid could spark an international furor over racial profiling, but that's what has happened to Tintin. Anyone who ever took French knows him as the cartoon character who helped you learn to conjugate verbs such as aller and vivre.
But "Tintin in the Congo," which chronicles his travels in a former Belgian colony, has sullied his reputation (and that of creator George Remi, known as Herge). The Congolese come off as buffoons in the 1931 book, and that has triggered crtiticism. The Brooklyn library recently pulled the book from the open shelves. And back in Belgium -- a country that treats comics as an art form and that also brought us the Smurfs -- the controversy has simmered for years.
I can understand pulling the book from shelves in the children's section (as some bookstores have already done). There's a danger in exposing kids to a book like this -- they don't understand the historical context. But we can't completely censor such books, or we'll lose "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" and "Gone with the Wind" as well.
Comments
Tintin is very entertaining at the same time, it is quite deplorable. To say it is primarily racism is only part of the story. Herge was an ardent colonialist. The history of the Congo is quite extreme. His books don't just reflect colonialism in the Congo, they reflect it in countries all over the world. There is a historical lesson here.
Posted by: Book Calendar | September 3, 2009 6:54 AM
I don't remember Tintin from French classes but I do remember him from our time in France - our dog is named Milou, after his dog, even though she's a totally different breed. I do understand removing this book from the children's section, but I am against book banning. Did you know they're making a Tintin movie? I think it comes out next year.
Posted by: Kathy | September 3, 2009 8:17 AM
It seems "silly season" isn't over yet. Again this theme of Tintin and racism as an excuse to censor books. I dismiss the racist accusation on Tintin for ridicule. Tintin was, and is, a true role model, defender of all oppressed, critic to all dictatorships, morally impolluted, a pilar of the community, a true scout.
The book in question must be read in his historical context, as our children do, because they know that those Congolese (as depicted on the comic book) don't exist (because they see black citizens everyday) and the black race is not that (because they have black friends at school) and the values that we, as fathers who love and encourage them to read Tintin, teach them at home aren't those of racism or of undermining of any other race nor creed.
The images of books being burnt in 1938 Berlin come to mind whenever a book is banished or redrawn from shelves. We all have the right to read whatever book we wish. From "Mein Kampf" to "Das Kapital".
And were is the borderline and who defines them and who decides on what books I may read ? Begin with Tintin and soon is bye bye Tarzan, so long Phantom, good bye Mandrake. And why stop at comics ? Throw "Huckleberry Finn" as well, or "Uncle Tom's Cabin".
Posted by: Jorge Macieira | September 6, 2009 5:36 PM