Tintin Forums

The best thing to do would be to keep publishing the book but with a text putting it back in its historical and social context. We should all assume the reality of what happened in every colonies, the good and bad things.

Greetings from Brussels!

The book is an Historical Document.Are we to assume that any other stereotype that is portrayed is racist.Just look at The Castafiore Emerald the gypsies are portrayed in a good light when it would of been easy to portray them in a negative light.I hope this row is something that will die down.The worst thing is that when ever Tintin is featured on the news.The race issue is always mentioned.Not the facts that so many children have learnt to read from them.That Herge is one the best artists to have ever lived a great story teller a perfectionist.

Indeed number1fan, do you remember these drawings of all these people on various continent listening to the same news on the radio, from India to Europe and from America to Africa. Before the internet a global view on information bringing people together!

Alot of films have English people either blacked up to play Indians but it doesn't mean that its racist.The media will never ever talk about the positive side only the negative.Mein Kempf is still in top 500 Autobiograpys book charts and will Waterstones stop selling it I Dont think so.It is an Historical Document of the times.

Well, it doesn’t mean that it isn’t, either. Not having been on the wrong end of the issue, it’s very easy to dismiss it as trivial - if you were being beaten up, taunted and disadvantaged because of the colour of your skin, you might feel differently.

The thing is, Mein Kampf is a genuine historical document, that like it or lump it, has had an effect on the lives of everyone in Northern Europe and much of the rest of the world today, shaping much of our history, politics and the state of things as they stand, thanks to the impact of what it did.
Tintin in the Congo, however, is a piece of cultural trivia - to recognize its problems only requires the exposition of one or two frames; it could be consigned to the dustbin of history without leaving a vacuum, which can’t really be said of Mein Kampf.

Yes and we could be big and leave it in history. There used to be signs in windows in Britain, saying “No dogs, no Irish, no Catholics, no blacks.” They too could be considered “historical documents” - doesn’t mean we should still be seeing them…

Though disgusting as that is it is a part of our dark history.We can now look back on the ignorance and be thankful that its not like this any more.When I first read this book back in 2005.
I really didn't see anything offensive because I understand history and history around the time.How can anyone disagree with this book seen as Tintin goes there and is touching young African children.

It all so showed how white people were exploiting them.Tintin helps them.The world should of maybe woken up when this come out and the sort of stuff being refereed to in this book are still happening.As the Blue Lotus was I do believe this is a social commentary.

But I all so believe Herge wasn't to keen on the story as the story comes to an Anti Climax end.As well in Tintin in America the White man is exploiting Native Americans.Herge is white and he is portraying the white American capitalist in a bad light.Animal Farm is a direct reference to the Soviet Union but I'm sure people in Russia to this day really Dont care about the social commentary as the times have moved on.

But for many people racism isn’t in the past, in some vague period - it’s now, and present, pernicious, and if recent statistics are accurate, growing in this country and elsewhere…

This again might be because you and many others of us have the luxury of not being directly the subject of racism…?

That’s missing the point, I feel - the “help” that is offered in the books is paternalistic and patronizing: it suggests that the Congolese are not capable of helping themselves, and that only by the actions of the plucky white boy is “order” restored, with the white hierarchy still in place.

But the book doesn’t offer critique of the status quo - it doesn’t highlight problems and criticize them, it just goes along with a “solution” which perpetuates the injustice. So at this moment in time, it’s still just part of the problem: casual racism and inappropriate depictions of an oppressed people.

That’s almost too depressing for words: that Hergé brought the story to an end just because he didn’t care for it is about as harsh an indictment of it as can be given.

That’s not a reasonable argument for pardoning the fact that his depiction of Congolese people is offensive to many, and especially to black people, Congolese or not. If someone punched you, they couldn’t use the fact that they’d punched someone else as well as a defence, could they?

I think we will simply have to Agree to disagree on this one.

Valery de Theux de Meylandt, a Belgian Procureur du Roi (=state prosecutor or thereabout, I'm not familiar with their legal system) has given his opinion.

In short he recommends the judges to drop the case. That's part of his written statement, which is not a binding order for judges, just a recommendation.

Report from the Daily Telegraph:

Nick Seaton, secretary of the Campaign for Real Education, claims that the restrictions put upon the book: shrink-wrapped, a warning about its content and being placed in the adult graphic novels section of book shops is "another example of political correctness gone mad."