Richard
UK Correspondent
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#4 · Posted: 26 May 2006 22:49
I think there's plenty of political references and slants in Tintin. I've summarised the ones that I think would be most relevant:
Tintin in the Land of the Soviets : anti-Communist, portrays the Soviet state as built on lies and oppression of the people. This may not have been Hergé's personal view but he was told by the head of the newspaper to write a story following these lines, and was given a book for reference (Joseph Douillet's Moscou sans Voiles); sections of Hergé's book are pulled directly from Douillet's.
Tintin in the Congo : Belgian dominance of the Congo. Again, towing the line of the newspaper, Hergé simply wrote what he was told. This was very much the view of the time in Belgium during the '30s so it wouldn't have been considered reactionary.
Tintin in America : criticism of the capitalist system and parodies of the US (big business, the Depression, prohibition); it sort of mentions the US attitudes toward the native Americans.
The Blue Lotus : heavily political; supports China and criticises Japan's actions such as the invasion of Manchuria following the blowing up of the railway. It was written with the assistance of Tchang, so he was able to give Hergé the truth. This is Hergé's first serious work, it goes against the view prevalent in Belgium at the time and received a lot of complaints from the Japanese embassies.
The Broken Ear : South American revolutions (Alcazar and Tapioca), based on the events of the day. Also US big business - witness the war fought for oil, which is sadly as relevant today as ever.
King Ottokar's Sceptre : analogy of current affairs, Nazi Germany's Anschluss of Austria. Also pro-monarchy which is significant as Hergé was a personal friend of the King of Belgium.
The Shooting Star : possibly analogy of the war, the threat of the end of the world being a metaphor for the state of Europe. All scientists are members of neutral or Axis countries, and in the original edition went up against a US-funded expedition. There's loads of info about this on the net.
The Calculus Affair : analogy of the cold war, secret weapons that the Bordurians covet to use against Syldavia and vice versa; similarities can be drawn with the US and Soviet Union. Secret services and military control of the countries is also a strong feature of this book. You could possibly argue that Hergé was a pacifist and chose to have Calculus to destroy all his work instead of risking it falling into the wrong hands.
The Red Sea Sharks : political turmoil in the Middle East, slight questioning of suitability of the people in power (Kalish Ezab's pandering to Abdullah's every request, although that's perhaps just for comedy).
Flight 714 : the revolution in Sondenisia is used by Rastapopoulos as a way to exploit the people. Carriedas is shown to be a cheat and no different to Rastapopoulos, which could perhaps be linked to the big business criticism from America.
Tintin and the Picaros : one of the most political books in the series along with The Blue Lotus, it takes the themes explored in The Broken Ear but to a more mature level. Strongly cynical, shows the impact that revolutions have on the people (contrast of panels showing the people living in shantytowns under Tapioca and Alcazar). Critical of Alcazar who's shown to be after power and little else - he threatens to execute Tintin- and Tapioca is shown to make alcohol drops by parachute to cripple the Picaros. Their discussion toward the end about the non-execution shows how neither is better than the other. Foreign diplomats are also drafted in to assist in security and setting up of the secret services.
There's probably more I've missed, but that should give you a good structure to work with. Michael Farr's The Complete Companion might perhaps be of help if you can get a copy. Good luck with the project!
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