Tintin and Other Comics Appeals To People Of All Ages (Week 2)
As listed explained in Farr (1991), Herge devised Tintin as
a character with broad appeal. Herge himself said that Tintin was aimed at
people aged from “seven to seventy seven” (Herge). He feels the appeal of Tintin grows because people
who grew up reading Tintin become parents and introduce their kids to Tintin.
Therefore, the number of people that are introduced grows with each generation
that is passed.
The appeal of Tintin is broad because of the content that is
included in his adventures. Children will love the colourful illustrations and
high paced action while the adults appreciate the “political satire, parody,
puns and prescience”.
This is a true statement because some of the kids that are reading Tintin and the Blue Lotus (especially today) won't know the political and historic significance references that are portrayed in the book. The cartoon of Tintin added more kid friendly moments such as when Tintin tried to become an "Action Man". Most people wouldn't know about Japan's rule over China at the time that historians and older people will understand. I'm sure my late Grandmother would have liked the books as she experienced first hand the brutality of Japan in China at the time as she nearly got killed by a bomb. It's this type of realism that makes Tintin so appealing for many people of all ages.
An example of this type of realism is a scene in the comic book version of Tin Tin and the Blue Lotus. It was the first meeting between Tin Tin and the Chinese boy Chang. Even though Tin Tin save him from drowning, Chang questioned Tin Tin's heroics by saying "Why did you save my life? I thought all white devils were wicked". During that time, Chinese people didn't like Westerners, although Westerners take too kindly to Chinese people either. This can be seen earlier in the comic book where the European man shouts to the Chinese person "Dirty little China man! To barge into a white man!
It's this level of historical realism that makes the comic book version of Tin Tin appealing to older readers as well. This is a direct contrast to the Tin Tin and the Blue Lotus' animated version where all of the racism elements were cut out in favor or more "kid-friendly" entertainment such as the infamous scene where Tin Tin becomes "Action Man".
An example of this type of realism is a scene in the comic book version of Tin Tin and the Blue Lotus. It was the first meeting between Tin Tin and the Chinese boy Chang. Even though Tin Tin save him from drowning, Chang questioned Tin Tin's heroics by saying "Why did you save my life? I thought all white devils were wicked". During that time, Chinese people didn't like Westerners, although Westerners take too kindly to Chinese people either. This can be seen earlier in the comic book where the European man shouts to the Chinese person "Dirty little China man! To barge into a white man!
It's this level of historical realism that makes the comic book version of Tin Tin appealing to older readers as well. This is a direct contrast to the Tin Tin and the Blue Lotus' animated version where all of the racism elements were cut out in favor or more "kid-friendly" entertainment such as the infamous scene where Tin Tin becomes "Action Man".
Although the appeal of Tintin appeal to people from all
ages and in most countries, the character still fails to appeal to American audiences like other
comic book heroes do like Spider-Man and Batman. The newest Tintin movie
directed by Steven Spielberg made most of its box office money outside of the
USA. According to figures
from Box Office Mojo, only 20.7% of the movie’s $377 million earned were from
the USA. It failed to gross over $100 million in the USA like most other comic
book adapted movies.
From my own experience, other comic books I read when I grew up were for adults especially the ones written in the '90s. As a kid, I loved reading Spider-Man comic books mainly because he was tough yet nerdy and had cool powers. As an adult, the Spider-Man comics are still appealing because he's an individual with a less than glamorous job still trying to makes ends meet. It's quite humorous how Spider-Man needs to buy his own suit from a costume store when it gets ruined. He's far from Batman/Bruce Wayne who is rich and can afford any upgrades he sees fit. Other graphic novels I like to read are certainly not for adults like Sin City and The Punisher which includes high levels of graphics violence.
Comic books in general are becoming mainstream thanks to Hollywood. Marvel's The Avengers has become the third highest grossing movie of all time. As listed by Box Office Mojo, the movie has beaten the likes of Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings at the Box Office and only James Cameron movies have beaten it.
References:
The Adventures of Tintin. (2011). Retrieved 23 July 2012, from http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=main&id=tintin.htm
Farr, Michael. (1991). Introduction.
In Tintin: the complete companion
(pp.8-9). London: John Murray.
Hergé. (2005; 1935). The Adventures of Tintin: The Blue Lotus. London: Methuen.
References:
The Adventures of Tintin. (2011). Retrieved 23 July 2012, from http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=main&id=tintin.htm
Hergé. (2005; 1935). The Adventures of Tintin: The Blue Lotus. London: Methuen.
Hi Damian, I certainly didn't understand any of the racial tensions when i read these books as a kid. I didn't think of the Japanese as bad people, I just thought these funny looking people were evil. I thought they looked that way because they were the baddies, not because they were japanese. Interesting to see it now through adult eyes.
ReplyDeleteOh and as an aside, did you watch the Sin City movie? How did it compare to the graphic novel? I haven't read it, but I quite enjoyed the movie.
I was totally the same. I didn't connect 'the bad people' with a particular race. In fact I still probably wouldn't have if it weren't for this class haha xD I just hate thinking like that I think. I judge a person for a person, so I do that when I read too, and miss things.
DeleteHi Damian :)
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting hearing that Tintin didn't earn as much in the USA compared to the rest of the world. It caused me to google it, because I wanted to know why. But this comment is mostly pointless because I couldn't really find anything except a couple of blogs saying that tintin as a comic never appealed to them. Do you know why?
And also I found some blogs about English as a second language readers loving Tintin for it's 'well-written, smart, fast-paced adventure stories, making these comics a steppingstone for learning to read English.' And I love this comment I read "Several of my friends are going to see the movie this weekend, and some are even bringing their kids along." As if Tintin was of course of adults but so wonderful they had to share it with their children.
Just randomly I thought I'd share that because it was interesting to me haha.
I love that comics are becoming more mainstream. I am enjoying all the movies coming out, Avengers especially was good.
Hey Che,
DeleteI could not find a real reason either why Americans don't like Tintin. The only conclusion I can come up with is the fact that Americans only like things that are "Made in USA". James Bond is a pretty popular icon but his movies aren't as popular in the USA either. This is because he was invented by a Britis writer. Also, the PS3 is less popular in USA than the Xbox 360 which is American made.
I guess Tintin isn't an All-American hero type of character that the patriotic American love?
Me too, I like how comic book movies are becoming mainstream. This means stuff like Vampires and High School Musical are gone now lol.
I duno, I don't think Americans only like made in USA things. Often when I talk to Americans they instantly refer to LOTR and wanting to visit where the hobbits are. But then I suppose at the same time, LOTR is filled with American actors etc haha.
DeleteI wonder if the reason they don't like TinTin is because it touches on themes they find uncomfortable. Like racism, and pieces of history they don't like to remember?
But then at the same time, when talking about PS3 vs Xbox, from what I have heard, Americans are very big on supporting their own. I think it's why shows like Extreme makeover: house edition, can be done. You have one guys company come in and offer to build the house out of their pocket, and different stores donating furniture and appliances, and it works because Americans pay them back ten fold by hiring/shopping there for helping out a family that needed it.