Weeks 1 & 2 The Blue Lotus
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1) Are comics just a children's medium. What does Blue Lotus show us?
2 How does Farr (1991) justify Tintin's appeal to adults?
3How does The Blue Lotus relate to what Said (1997) terms 'Orientalism' ?
4 Is The Blue lotus a racist text? Give your reasons.
5) Herge used the expression 'the wind and bone' to refer to his art work. What do you think he meant.
Do you think comics are a children's or adult genre/media?
ReplyDeleteI think comics can be classed as both an adult and children’s genre/media. Much like any media, it heavily depends on the underlying themes and messages of the content. Comics that contain erotica and extreme gore are perhaps not suitable for children. On the other hand, G rated comics like Tintin, according to Michael Farr, are able to appeal to universal demographics “because of its rock solid foundation in reality” in which the fictional hero Tintin lives and battles evil in our real world. Farr states that this realism enables the appeal of Tintin comics to “transcend fashion, age and nationality” and attract readers internationally (1991). He goes on to identify the reasons for Tintin’s appeal to differing ages; children are able to enjoy Tintin for its excitement, comedy and farce, and adults enjoy it for its political satire, parody, puns and prescience (Farr 1991).
References:
Farr, Michael. (1991). Tintin: the complete companion. London: John Murray.
I agree with you Sam.
DeleteInitially I thought comics were strictly for children because of the themes, easy to read narratives and accompanying art work which made them very accessible to youth. My reasoning for that is because they similarly resemble children’s picture books. But I now believe the target audience for comic books can vary from children to adults. Farr (1991) explains that Herge’s target audience ranges from 7 to 77. Each person’s interpretation of the comic will be different.
Tintin debuted in 1928 and holds adult themes, and issues. But Farr (1991) states that Tinitin is internationally popular and that the character accommodates to both young and old audiences. Herge received criticism as to the overt political of the Blue lotus as it was deemed not suitable for kids.
References
Farr, Michael. (1991). Tintin: the complete companion. London: John Murray.
Well answered Sam.Note that when a comic becomes too adult, we call it a graphic novel.
Delete4. Is The Blue lotus a racist text? Give your reasons.
ReplyDeleteTo some extent the Belgian cartoonist Herge has made the Blue Lotus a racist text. However, being of Belgian descent, he has created a white man character within The Blue Lotus to portray racism. In the text when the Asian man fails to stop his form of transport and barges into the white man crossing, the white man retaliates in such a disgraceful manor. He yells abuse to the Asian man, calling him a “dirty little China-man” and a “useless native,” as he tries to punish him with his cane. By doing so, this character is showing clear signs of superiority by looking down on the Asian man by calling him things like “dirty” and “useless” making himself out to be the clean and prosperous being. To some extent, the situation with the white man character makes The Blue Lotus a racist text not to show racism, but to raise awareness of the time of the creation of this text about the way that Asians were being treated by white men.
Mammoth, H. (1936). The Adventures of Tintin: The Blue Lotus.
In the rickshaw example, Herge is exposing the racism that he observes in the European, but in his portrayal of the Japanese, he reveals his own racist tendancies.
Delete4. Is the blue lotus a racist text? give your reasons.
ReplyDeleteAfter thoroughly reading through and analyzing the text, I can genuinely and honestly say I do believe the text is racist. Although the text itself is subtle about its racism it sure is noticeable. In a couple of circumstances in the comic there is racism. One particular sequence in which stood out to me was when Tin Tin and snowy are being transported via an asian man. As they're travelling the asian man accidentally bumps into what appears to be a privileged white male who is extremely abusive and yells "Dirty little china man" and "useless native" he even abuses Tin Tin when Tin Tin tries to defend the asian man. The man continues to say things such as "Stop me punishing a useless native..would you? interfering brat." sequences such as these are extremely racist. Although Herge is trying to shed light on an ongoing topic it is still racism none the less. White males are portrayed in this text as racist, hypocritical, mean, argumentative and basically anything negative you can come up with. The text itself isn't necessarily all to do with racism but this is definitely a huge part of it. I don't agree with the way that Herge tried to portray white men, but as far as saying that goes this is his text and he did what he wanted with it.
References:
Farr, Michael. (1991). Tintin: the complete companion. London: John Murray.
See my comment Leeana above.
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DeleteThanks, noted.
DeleteMy first belief as a child was that comics were only meant for children/teenagers but as I grew up it came to my senses that comics are actually ageless, which means that it can be branded and categorized as both an adult and children’s genre. But like any TV Shows/Movies/Comics it solely relies upon its meaning and motifs to decide which audience it is suitable for. For example, a comic like Sin City would not be appropriate for children because it has a lot of cussing and nudity, but a PG rated comic (like Tintin: The Blue Lotus) is able to attract larger audiences of all ages because of it’s similarities to reality. Michael Farr backs up my opinion of Tintin being ageless when he says Herge devised “a character who would appeal to children just as much as grown ups” he also talks about how “the child would be gripped by the excitement of Tintin” (Farr 1991). Even though Tintin covers mature subjects and concepts, it is still very popular because it can entertain both young and old audiences.
ReplyDeleteReferences:
Farr, Michael. (1991). Tintin: the complete companion. London: John Murray.
Main point covered here, but what do you mean 'similarities to reality?'
Delete2 How does Farr (1991) justify Tintin's appeal to adults?
ReplyDeleteInitially i thought that Tintin would appeal to and engage more with the children or younger aged group, due to the story being a cartoon character based comic. I have never read this story before (up until now) so I assumed that this type of story would target children. It wasn’t until i read that Herge’s intentions and understanding was for “all young people aged seven to seventy” (Farr 1991, para. 14). However after reading The Adventures of Tintin: The Blue Lotus and Farr’s (1991) Introduction on Herge’s life I was able to understand Tintin differently.
Farr(1991) comments on the fact that children will take a particular interest interest in the book because of the excitement of events going on and the adults become more enticed with what is happening in the story because of the parody, mockery and humorous puns.
Farr (1991) describes the appeal of Tintin's story as more of a self generating take to the text. He explains that for in due time the children become adults furthermore they become parents themselves allowing the Tintin tradition to be carried on. Implying that readers become more prone to reading the comic because they are able to grow with the character and experience some of the life experiences that Tintin is faced with. This may also appeal to adults because of the longevity of the story and how it is a fond childhood memory.
References:
Farr, Michael. (1991). Tintin: the complete companion. London: John Murray.
A good answer that attempts to explain Farr.
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