Blog 1- Tintin and the Blue Lotus
Question – How does Farr (1991) justify Tintin’s appeal to
adults?
Herge’s graphic novels of Tintin is aimed at creating to
protagonist which can appeal to both adults and children through various
characteristics and plots. Herge mentioned, “Tintin was aimed at all young
people aged from seven to seventy-seven” (Farr, 1991. Pp 8).
Herge caught the attention of the adult audiences by
incorporating adult social and political themes into the Tintin adventures. Herge
has captivated and international audience by using themes from various corners
of the globe, for example; Herge has written about a character who is a
journalist which travels around the world solving mysteries (Herge, 2005; 1935).
For example, ‘The Blue Lotus’ is focused in China where Tintin is attempting to
solve the mystery revolving around the Opium trade which further delves into
topics revolving around the Opium war and further political issues surrounding
China during the 1935 for example where Japan begins plans of invading China, “His
use of Chinese in The Blue Lotus, thanks to Chang, has much greater depth and
can be very subtle… when the appalling Gibbons beats the unfortunate rickshaw
driver, the poster behind proclaims, ‘down with imperialism!’ in Chinese (Farr,
1991. Pp 52).
Herge has also used comedy which all various ages will find humorous
for different reasons. For example, in the blue lotus Herge has incorporated the
two British police officer twins Thompson and Thompson, which are depicted as idiotic
and incompetent with their investigative skills which gives Tintin an opportunity
to escape for their arresting captivity (Herge. 2005;1935). Thompson and Thompson
the clumsy police officers are the longest running characters in the Tintin
series who have appeared in twenty of the twenty-four book series of Tintin (Studios
Herge. 2014). My views of the use of
using Thompson and Thompson as clumsy police detectives is Herge’s way of taking
the micky out of the authorities in odd means in solving crimes, yet also gives
the character Tintin a greater meaning to the stories.
References
Farr, M. (1991). Introduction, Tintin: an imaginary hero in
the real world. In M. Farr, Tintin: the
complete companion (pp.8-9). London: John Murray.
Herge. (2005; 1935).
The Adventures of Tintin: The Blue Lotus. London: Methuen.
Farr, M. (1991). The Blue Lotus. In Tintin: the complete companion. (pp. 50-59). London: John
Murray.
Studios Herge. (2014). The
adventures of Tintin. http://us.tintin.com/meet-the-characters/thomson-thompson/
.
By Alex Day
1111957
Thanks Alex. A good response. Your APA is excellent - although note you only use 1 'p' for a single page reference and double 'pp' for a multiple page reference. A good mention of the primary text ("Down with imperialism") but would have been great if you had noted the page this appears in the comic. Some good points about Thompson and Thompson, but do you think Herge might also be taking the mickey out of the English (he was writing from a very French perspective - a Francophile paradigm).
ReplyDeleteYour comment is good. I agree with your point of view. Herge made a character 'Tintin' as a journalist which travels around the world solving many mysteries. There are many political and social events happening throughout the adventure. that perhaps caught many attention of adult audiences.
ReplyDeleteYour referencing is very thorough and you have analysed the text well, hearing more of your subjective opinions of the material would be great because your finishing observation is concise, good job.
ReplyDelete