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Thread: Tintin in the Congo

  1. #1
    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    Tintin in the Congo

    I find this story interesting because it shows how perception has changed.
    South African publishers have placed restrictions on the comic book Tintin in the Congo following complaints of racism in Britain.

    The Afrikaans publisher of the popular Tintin series, Human & Rousseau, has decided not to release an Afrikaans version of the book, South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) radio reported on Saturday.

    "We felt that it depicted indigenous African people in an unflattering ... stereotypical fashion, said spokesperson Carina Diedericks-Hugo.

    "We realised that the creator, Hergé, did comment on various treatments of indigenous peoples, such as the Chinese in Tintin and the Blue Lotus and also in Tintin in America, with the Indians.

    "But we felt that we have a particular situation in South Africa, and that [the book's] depiction of indigenous people, we can't agree with that," she was quoted as saying on the SABC news website.

    Remi depicts the white hero's adventures in the Congo against the backdrop of an idiotic, chimpanzee-like native population that eventually comes to worship Tintin -- and his dog -- as gods.

    Remi later said he was embarrassed by the book, and some editions have had the more objectionable content removed. When an unexpurgated edition was brought out in Britain in 2005, it came wrapped with a warning and was written with a forward explaining the work's colonial context.
    full story from M&G here
    The book was first published in 1931.

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    just me duncan drennan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dave A View Post
    The book was first published in 1931.
    Quite a different context and understanding of the world. On a separate Tintin note, apparently a Tintin movie is going to be made by Dreamworks.
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