Weeks 1 & 2 The Blue Lotus
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1) Are comics just a children's medium. What does Blue Lotus show us?
2 How does Farr (1991) justify Tintin's appeal to adults?
3How does The Blue Lotus relate to what Said (1997) terms 'Orientalism' ?
4 Is The Blue lotus a racist text? Give your reasons.
5) Herge used the expression 'the wind and bone' to refer to his art work. What do you think he meant.
Comics, what are they? As I was looking for a definite meaning of the word, I find that most definitions contain the words: “for children”. According to dictionary.com, a comic is “a periodical containing strips, intended chiefly for children.” So, are comics really just a children’s?
ReplyDeleteI beg to differ. In my opinion, any age group can read comics.
Here’s a little bit of history, much of the reputation comics has had in the early 20th century is that are a lowbrow genre because they are seen as entertainment for children and illiterates. Critics would say that “reading comics is actually a simplified version of reading that doesn’t approach the complexity of ‘real’ books…” (Ciciora, 2009) I will argue that whether one is reading a book, a journal article or a comic strip, it requires understanding and comprehension. I believe that one’s understanding of a story changes as time progress and as they get older.
A case in point is Herge’s: The Adventure of Tintin (The Blue Lotus). If a child reads this story, one can assume that they would only see the outer part of the story, which is, a wholesome boy hero, accompanied by his dog Snowy, finding new adventures throughout the world fighting crime and corruption. Perhaps, those simple archetypes of a story are what appeals to each generation. However, as a young adult, one can delve deeper into the story.
The story of The Blue Lotus demonstrates the struggle of Hergé as he tries to escape his own ingrained racial prejudice. As Hergé came to realize that he has a responsibility to objectively portray other races. Although The Blue Lotus certainly wasn’t objective, it did include values of tolerance and respect and understanding of other people. Herge’s works, specifically The Blue Lotus is not unbiased or unprejudiced. There are many examples in both the comic and the animated film that shows that Hergé is struggling with his own racial attitudes as he tries to compensate for European racism but he still manages to not escape them as he continues to perpetuate stereotypes.
Reference
Cambridge Free English Dictionary and Thesaurus. (n.d.). Retrieved July 30, 2016,
from http://dictionary.cambridge.org/
Jacob, T. (n.d.). Great Snakes! The Adventures of Tintin: The Blue Lotus - An Analytical Reading. Retrieved July 30, 2016, from http://www.tintinologist.org/articles/greatsnakes.html
Lechner, J. (n.d.). The Genius of Tintin. Retrieved July 30, 2016, from http://johnlechner.com/the-genius-of-tintin/
News Bureau | ILLINOIS. (n.d.). Retrieved July 30, 2016, from https://news.illinois.edu/blog/view/6367/205780
I agree with your argument Keren. Comics are for people of all ages. Not just people who struggle to read or like to read something that is simple. You also stated that you believe that people who read comics actually have to have some sort of understanding and comprehension of what is going on in the text, again I agree with this. People who are 'illiterate' in my opinion would find it very difficult to underpin and understand the hidden messages in The Blue Lotus. I mean I never read it as a child but I would assume that people who did read it as a child would definitely not picked up on the stereotypes and archetypal nature of the story. Do you agree?
DeleteGreat use of research,Karen. Note the rise of the term 'graphic novel' for adult comics.
DeleteVanessa, that's what I thought. The Blue Lotus is pretty difficult to understand completely for children because there are many hidden messages in the story. Then why did the wirter pick a comic? In general, comics are targeted at children. (I put emphasis on "In general.") And I think The Blue Lotus is more suitable for an adult reader. What does the writer really want to say through the Blue Lotus?
Delete2) How does Farr (1991) justify Tintin's appeal to adults?
ReplyDeleteAll of the Tintin series, there is a narrative who told in image or text. A narrative is very important because he/she leads and tells the story by moving through time. The characters including Tintin and Snowy are same in all of the adventures which helps the readers feel comfortable and get closer.
And the way graphic artists set the environment of stories with their stunning graphic looks realistic and lively. They tried to show the country’s real culture where Tintin was. When it comes to “The Blue Lotus”, Shanghai in China is the main setting of the story. Crowded people on the street, the clothes people are wearing, and Chinese letters on the stores make the readers feel as if they are in China while they are reading it. It looks like a picture.
Also the situation that Tintin always faces is related to the real incident. In 1936 was the time before Japanese invasion of China (It happened in 1937). But Japanese troops were occupying parts of the Chinese mainland. At that moment the ‘Mukden Incident’ which blew up of the South Manchuria railway took place. That accident can be found in the story easily. It was drawn on real world.
I think reflecting the real world in the story is the biggest appeal of Titin’s from adults. Farr, states “As in the best fiction, the sotries were anchored firmly in fact…. There was Hergé remarkable ability to anticipate world events” (1991, para. 7). Even though there many adults, they can’t stop regarding this comic which revealed the historic circumstance that really happened before is only for children. As well as Farr seems to ask readers to study more if you want to read this. There are some words connected historical or political things. And there are kind of political issues like racial stereotype of Chinese among Europeans. If we knew the background of those things, we could understand easily and get more interesting.
A good answer, Faye. Your English is getting stronger! children and adults will find different things to like about the stories
DeleteHi Faye,
DeleteI think that the historical references are things that adults can understand and are intrigued by. After reading the Blue Lotus I went and read many things on the Japanese invasion of China because i am interested in these historical things. I think the use of real world events is the biggest appeal for older readers
Question 1.
ReplyDeleteDespite being stereotyped as a children’s genre, I believe that this generalisation is an inaccurate and unfair way of judging comic books as a whole. After reading through The Blue Lotus and looking into the themes covered in it, I think that it is unfair to say that comic books and cartoons in general are targeted directly towards children. I believe this because many of the themes that are in some comics are not really issues that younger people would understand and not something that directly affects them when they are young.
Perhaps the idea of comics being for children is the fact that they are a visually based way of conveying a story. This makes it easier for anyone to read and understand the storyline, regardless of their reading ability. This attitude could be created because of the way the so-called ‘mainstream’ view content that is not seen to be of a higher class or presented in the way they deem acceptable. The reader of a comic may not be the same reader who is interested in long novels, but that does not mean they are simple minded or incapable of reading conventional texts.
The Blue Lotus is a text that covers many issues that are not geared towards a younger audience. Themes such as drug use and violence are throughout The Blue Lotus and I feel these themes are more targeted at a young adult audience than children. You could argue that in this pre-politically correct time an author or cartoonist would not consider the content of this text and the audience who would read it, but I think this comic is not meant for young children anyway based on the themes used in it as they wouldn’t fully understand.
The character of Tintin is a very basic unflawed character who I think is the type of protagonist that would appeal to younger children. Perhaps this innocent appearance is what makes the stories appear to be targeted at a childrens demographic.
Overall I feel that comics are just another way of telling a story and a way of entertaining people.
Thoughtful, but it would help if you could include the opinions of others, and demonstrate some research!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteReferences
ReplyDelete4) Is The Blue Lotus a racist text?
Yes I think the Blue Lotus is a racist text.
The Blue Lotus was first published in 1936, and it portrays China prior to as well as during the Japanese Imperialistic invasion
Why, well there are a few reasons, but here are my top 3;
The caricatures of the Japanese and the Chinese are very different from one another and they are quite outrageous looking, but also stereotypical, with the slanted and squint-like eyes as well as the type of clothing the characters are wearing.
“Herge tackled racism in The Blue Lotus, particularly when Tintin and his young friend Chang laugh at the ridiculous racist stereotypes ascribed to Chinese people. The book is also scathing in its representation of arrogant Westerners in the Shanghai International Settlement. Decades later, Herge repeated the dose in his respectful portrayal of Tibetan monks in Tintin in Tibet.” (Joseph, 2011)
The names of the Chinese and Japanese characters are also quite racist and stereotypical. For example; Ta’i Ping Liu, Mitsuhirato, Wang Chen Yee, Didi and Cheng Fu.
When I think about it there are also other races that have stereotypical first names, street names as well as last names, no just the chinese. Think of the last name “Smith” or the first name Matthew, they are very common European names.
References
Joseph, S. (26 December 2011). Tintin human rights and politics. Retrieved August 09, 2016, from http://theconversation.com/tintin-human-rights-and-politics-4874
ignore the random "References" up the top of my post ha ha, that was an accident.
ReplyDeleteIs The Blue lotus a racist text? Give your reasons.
ReplyDeleteI believe the blue lotus is racist in multiple ways, the way it portrays people and a culture is stereotypical. The first thing that caught my eye when it came to the Blue Lotus being racist was the way Matsumoto looks, he was drawn to look unlikeable with emphasis on his buck teeth and attitude, compared to how the Chinese were portrayed as being kind looking. The second thing I think was racist was the portrayal of the English, I feel like they were stereotypical in what they wore and always having a cigar in their mouths and a big nose. The third is the Maharaja and the Farkir Ramacharma is shown with very dark skin and shown wearing clothing that people from India are stereotypically thought to be in.