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Tintin in the Congo: The race row

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Borschtisov
Member
#21 · Posted: 13 Jul 2007 21:43
I know, I saw that. But that's just a little blurb. I'd like to have a bit more than that.
Ranko
Member
#22 · Posted: 14 Jul 2007 11:25
I assume then, that the CRE will decide to apply its criteria for race relations to other older books?

Just what we want, hundreds of titles removed from shelves just in case they offend someone or something.

I'm late to this thread, but have certainly been keeping up with the stories in the media. You've said it all really and I'm in agreement.
The story made it to a UK daytime chat show the other day which made me laugh a bit... however of the callers laughed out loud at the idea of Tintin being racist. He even suggested that a child today wouldn't be remotely interested in Congo. Having put my brain into child mode (not difficult after last night!) and skimmed the first few pages, I agree.
labrador road 26
Member
#23 · Posted: 14 Jul 2007 16:22
I guess the CRE are of good intent, but banning books or censoring them sure is the wrong way. Sounds almost like they want to put on book burning pyre.

I wonder if CRE will visit second hand bookstores and make sure that no copies of the earlier editions of this Agatha Christie novel will be sold:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/And_Then_There_Were_None

Something similar to this witch hunt happened to a icecream here in Sweden two years ago when a swedish CRE got outraged about the name of a innocent little icecream.

And why do the man from CRE refer to Hergé as "they" in the cnn-video? Can't even get his facts straight?

For all I care, Bianca should visit CRE and tell them "I laugh" and burst into the Jewel aria.

I find it most strange that these persons are educated adults with sort of a playground mentality. Guess they never read any Voltaire.

Wont take long I guess until "The Hat and Cane Society" will make sure that every book where the Thompsons are portrayed as nitwits be banned as insulting to their members.
cornelius
Member
#24 · Posted: 15 Jul 2007 17:38
We seem to be going through an era of over-sanitising the world at the moment. The only surprise here is that it has taken this long to get to Tintin in the Congo.

I think most intelligent people would agree that to actually keep this book alive is culturally important and significant. People will learn far more if this book is still out there than if it is banned or censored. What's annoying is that, as Labrador Road points out, the people causing all the fuss are presumably educated types.

Disney have had similar issues with Song of the South and it is largely down to misunderstanding the context of the material.

It's a shame really.

Edit:
Posted: 15 Jul 2007 18:35:33
I just have to add that, judging from his comments and what he does for a living, David Enright comes across as someone who is just trying to make a name for himself. He also comes across as self-righteous and obnoxious.

I find it hard to believe he just came across the book. In my opinion he had prior knowledge of the book and has deliberately targeted it to get his name in the papers.
jockosjungle
Member
#25 · Posted: 15 Jul 2007 20:01
There are hundreds of books that have just as much place being banned as Tintin in the Congo, in a historical context this was simply how Africans were depicted in the 1930's. You can probably read similar sentiments in various reputable journals of the time.

The funny thing is that they tested the waters with the facsimile edition of Congo before releasing the colour version for fears of such a 'backlash' and it took them almost 2 years to come up with it.

Congratulations though to the book, it's now 8th in the Amazon bestsellers list. The 3-in-1 edition is also up very high, as is Soviets!

My guess is that former Tintin readers have decided to pick up a new Tintin book and also noticed Soviets as another book they haven't read!
Golf Tango Fox
Member
#26 · Posted: 19 Jul 2007 05:20
Borders in Australia have now followed suit.
It's quite obvious the lawyer who made the original complaint is a troublemaker who is probably out to try & get some cheap publicity.
In one breath he states that he found the book with the red band around it & in the next breath claims he was about to hand it to his African wife & kids.
So even though he has had to remove the warning from the book to able to open it, he still thought he would show it to his family.
The guy is a grub & so is the CRE for upholding this stupid self indulgent complaint.
Harrock n roll
Moderator
#27 · Posted: 19 Jul 2007 08:49
Golf Tango Fox
Borders in Australia have now followed suit

And in the U.S. too.
Ranko
Member
#28 · Posted: 19 Jul 2007 11:12
For our UK members, this issue has now been lampooned in the current issue of "Private Eye" (For our overseas members this is a weekly satirical magazine which basically makes fun of politicians, media, global events, etc...)

For those who do not have access I'll reproduce the gag here. (No web link to this, unfortunately)

The gag shows a mock up of an album entitled "Tintin In The Quango" where Tintin is standing contritely in front of a desk whilst appearing to be lectured by two stern looking chaps. (Very accurately drawn, I must say. The woman secretary, I think, is taken directly from a scene in one of the books which completely escapes me at the moment. Perhaps someone can help?)Later Edit: On closer inspection, she appears to be the nurse from Black Island. The one at the beginning who spills a bed pan over Snowy upon hearing that Tintin is discharging himself from hospital.

The caption reads:
Tintin, the boy reporter, embarks on his most comic caper yet when he is hauled up in front of the Commission for Racial Equality and is accused of being a racist. Will he escape? Will plain-clothes policemen Thompson and Thompson (sic) arrest everybody in Borders for selling material liable to incite the public to racial hatred? Why is Snowy white?

I was quite proud seeing our hero in this mag!!
Harrock n roll
Moderator
#29 · Posted: 1 Aug 2007 12:15
The controversy hits South Africa!

The South African publisher of Tintin in the Congo, Human & Rousseau, will not release an Afrikaans version of the book following the CRE complaints in the UK. See the article below from the Guardian.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6812375,00.html

The article also mentions that Penguin will be placing notices on the English version of the book, warning potential buyers of the racial sensitivity of its contents.
Ranko
Member
#30 · Posted: 1 Aug 2007 16:09
*Sighs*

Alison Lowry, the CEO of Penguin Books South Africa, said the English translation of the French original would still be distributed. According to the SABC Web site, the English version will carry a notice warning potential buyers of the racial sensitivity of its contents.

What then is the point of publishing in English?
Isn't the issue with Afrikaans then?

We cannot re-write the past so that none of this "unpleasantness" happened. I believe a school once tried to ban learning about Nazi Germany.
Do me a favour, what next? Let's attack the creators of Mr Bean? After all, he portrays Englishmen as bumbling moronic imbeciles, and he wasn't written in the '30's!

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