Tintin in the Congo is the second of the Tintin series comics written by Belgian writer and illustrator Herge featuring Tintin, one of the most popular comic characters and his adventures in the Congo. This comic was first published in 1930 and very soon it became the most controversial among all other Tintin adventures. The adventures of Tintin in the Congo is said to have colonial or racist views developed in it. Because of high amount of controversy this comic was excluded from many reprints of the adventures of Tintin.
Recently in another movement in England, Borders bookstores across the country have decided to remove the novel from children section and will place it in the adult graphic novel section keeping in view the racial context of the novel. The Commission for Racial Equality said that it is unethical and unacceptable for any bookstore to stock or sell this particular novel due to its content. While sighting an example a spoke person mentioned the incident when in the novel Tintin Is made chief of an African village because he is a ‘good white man’ and a black woman bowing to Tintin saying: “White man very great ... white mister is big juju man!” In today’s context these terms are considered vulgar and extremely racial with colonial touch. She found saying
This book contains imagery and words of hideous racial prejudice, where the ’savage natives’ look like monkeys and talk like imbeciles... How and why do Borders think that it’s OK to peddle such racist material? This is potentially highly offensive to a great number of people
Not only racism, this novel is also accused of portraying vulgarity towards animals. The allegation is accepted, if we consider it in today’s point of view. But back in 1930, the situation was somehow different. Harge has later claimed that he was just depicting the social structure of that time. When the novel was re drawn in 1946, Herge made sure to remove traces that highlighted the fact that Congo was ever a Belgian colony. However, this never satisfied the critics. Today they feel that the novel should be placed in a museum with a sign accompanying it saying ‘Old fashioned, racist claptrap’.
The entire controversy started with a petition filed by David Enright, a solicitor. while shopping with his African wife and two sons he came across the novel in the children section and was stunned that this kind of novel can be accepted in that particular section. Later he told
I was aghast to see page after page of representations of black African people as baboons or monkeys, bowing before a white teenager and speaking like retarded children
After his petition, the Commission for Racial Equality issued an instruction to the Borders chain of shops to remove the book from their list. Borders later has removed the book from the child section and put it in the adult graphics section. A spoke person said they really do not believe in removal f the book. They want to make the customers have the final say. So they have removed it from the children section, but have not withdrawn it from the store.
While racism is a burning issue today, it is not legal and human to use racist comments these days. But back in 1930 the situation was definitely different. If a novel depicts the scenario of that time, be it in a humorous mood, will it be ethical to call it racist and ask for its withdrawal? The publishers have already issued an illustration with the first publication of the colour print of the book explaining the attitude of the society back in 1930. Still if there is a controversy, it is better to leave the entire matter to the readers rather than putting pressure in certain shops to withdraw the books from the store. Let the people decide what they want.
Source: The Guardian
