Tintin and the Blue Lotus

Do you think comics are a children’s or adult genre/media?

In my opinion, comics in our generation have no limits on one age group and there are many different kinds of comics that can appeal to either the young audience or an adult audience.

According to what Hergé has said, “Tintin was aimed at all young people aged from seven to seventy-seven.” Tintin: The Blue Lotus appeals to both a young and old audiences. Tintin: The blue Lotus involved many aspects such as political issues, drug issues which adults are interested in. These issues may be hard for children to understand but since this is comic book, children can look at the pictures and get the idea. Of course these aspects were pushed back in the film version of Tintin.

Farr (1991) also stated that “The child will be gripped by the excitement of Tintin, the comedy, even the farce. The adult will additionally find political satre and parody, puns and prescience” to support Tintin’s appeal to adults.

References:

Farr, Michael. (1991). Introduction. In Tintin: the complete companion (pp.8-9). London: John Murray.

Genre

Do you think comics are a children's or adult genre/media?

The comics Tintin are children's and adults genre/media. According to Farr (1991) the comic Tintin is all aged from seven to seventy-seven which shows that comics appeals for both children and adults. The children will be excited by the comic Tintin even adults will find it political satire and parody. The comic Tintin, even readers read it number of times they will still discover something new. The comics like Tintin are historical which it can be hard for children to understand but since it is a comic they can look at the pictures and understand. On the other hand adults could find comics wasting time but it has history and prescience so adults will find  the comic Tintin valuable and educational. The comics Tintin is adventure which will give imaginary for children to think widely.

Blog Entry 1: Tintin and the Blue Lotus

Do you think comics are a children's or adult genre/media? 
While comics tend to carry the social stigma and stereotype of being directed at children and early teens, they are certainly not exclusively intended for that audience.  Many examples exist which are intended for older teen audiences, if not exclusively for adults.  One such example is a Japanese manga known as Great Teacher Onizuka (GTO for short) which is about a 22 year old ex-bōsōzoku member (bōsōzoku - 暴走族, literally "violent running tribe" or more simply a gang member) who becomes a teacher at a private high school.  The manga touches on subjects such as blackmail, exploitation, sexuality and social taboos just to name a few and was rated as being for "Mature audiences" (16+ year old readers)


A second example though much more lighthearted is the manga Chobits, created by mangaka group CLAMP, while this series is much more lighthearted than something like GTO, it is tailored to older audiences through use of elements such as fan service (limited frontal nudity and implied sexuality, even if it is in a comical or humorous sense) and subjects surrounding adult relationships as well as deeper moral messages that may potentially be missed by a younger or more immature audience.

Furthermore, in more recent years as society has become more 'politically correct' and 'sensitive', in contrast comics designed for younger audiences tend to have a different set of 'rules' that are usually followed.  Traditionally they have a more simple storyline where any moral aspects are "black and white" (good vs evil) rather than having more deeply ingrained plots that may have morally 'grey' areas.  Another if there is any scenes of violence the one wielding the weapon will never physically hit their target with the weapon - If they are firing a gun it will generally miss its target or it will hit something nearby which will then cause the resultant effect, such as a barrel exploding; if they are using a bladed weapon - rather than striking their foe directly, they may strike a tree branch above their opponent which will then strike their foe and knock them down.

Week 2 * Tintin

 

The blue Lotus was another successful adventurous story by Herge (1935) and has a vivid back round of China. According to Farr (1991), students at the University of Louvain wrote to Herge asking him to research properly on Chinese and to avoid the stereotypes. Chang helped Herge in the politics of Asia and incorporates the Moukden railway incident in the story by Tintin being a witness of how Japanese saboteurs blow up the line. In page 42 from The Blue Lotus, shows Tintin saving a young Chinese boy in the river and this is the first contact with Chang Chong-chen. Chang is immediately surprised by Tintin’s action and tells him how he thought all white people were wicked. Then Tintin replies to Chang about how Europeans still believe all Chinese are cunning and cruel, it leads to a conversation where the two characters form a friendship and helps each other. Following on Farr (1991), Herge researched for the real pictures on China and make pencil studies of Chinese dress and buildings like as an artist would prepare for their painting. The meeting with the real life friend Chang was very important to Herge and learnt about Chinese art and the techniques of tradition painting where the culture was fascinating for Herge. The cartoon can be targeted for all audiences where the comic book has more depth about the history , politics and the back round of the adventure in Tintin.

Farr., M. (1991). Tintin: the complete companion. London: John Murray.
Herge., (2005; 1935). The adventures of tintin: The blue lotus. Methuen, London.

Weeks 1-2, Adventure; Tin Tin

 

 

Introduction to Tin Tin; The Blue Lotus

Before this course began, I was unfamiliar with the name Tin Tin, and couldn't have told you anything about him. However, when I saw the character and his dog in comic form, I immediately recognized the two. I must've come across Tin Tin and Snowy in my childhood at some stage, and their faces had stuck in my memory somewhere.

But why could I recognize his face with such ease? What makes Tin Tin and his adventures so popular, even today?

In our first tutorial, we discussed features Tin Tin possesses that we believe makes him a likeable, and therefore popular character that has stood the test of time. The most important characteristics that stood out to me, were the following;

Tin Tin is..

-Innocent

-Independent

-Resourceful

-Adventurous

But most importantly, he is a 'flawed hero'.

Tin Tin has no super powers, he is human. He is someone we can connect with on a closer, more realistic level as he is not above us in anyway, and like us, he isn't perfect. His innocence and naivety can get him into tricky situations, he is far too trusting; for example, he never questions who the notes he receives regularly are truely from. He immediately assumes they are legit, and follows their instructions, sometimes leading him straight into the hands of the bad guy.

Everyone loves a flawed hero, because they are a real person with real issues, just like themselves.

Genres: Comic

Tin Tin: The Blue Lotus

Before I was introduced to Tin Tin in this class, I had already come in contact with the comics throughout school.  I studied French throughout school and we studied the comics in the French language.  This is the first time that I would have read any of the Tin Tin comics in English.  

Do you think comics are a children's or adult genre/media?

Personally, I feel that the Tin Tin comics are relevant for all ages.  They cover different issues (racism, stereotypes etc.) that different age groups can not only relate to, but are also interested in.  In the first lecture that we had, we discussed that Tin Tin has ongoing popularity with all ages because Tin Tin is fallible (meets adult interests), and he is an animal love - his pet dog Snowy (which meets children's interests).

Within The Blue Lotus, there is a mix between real history and fictional characters.  All the places that are drawn within the comic are real places, current in time.  However, all the characters that have been drawn are sometimes unrealistic and also fictional.  We also noticed the fact that, Tin Tin has a minimal face, a face that Herge has not drawn in high detail - compared to some of the other characters drawn.  In addition, the face of Tin Tin has been drawn very similarly to a chinese character within the comic.  Herge has almost blurred the line between race in appearance.