Week 1

According to the second Farr extract (p. 50-59), how did Herge research China for The Blue Lotus?

Motivated by correspondence from Father Goaset, the University of Louvain’s chaplain to Chinese pupils, Herge decided to carry out more in-depth research for The Blue Lotus instead of using generally held assumptions about foreign people and places as he had done on previous works (for example, Cigars of the Pharaoh) (Farr, 1991). According to Farr (1991), Herge carried out research for The Blue Lotus by:

· Gathering newspaper cuttings, for example, motorcycle and side-car, (Farr, p. 57) and photographs (for example, of the ship Leviathan, Farr, p. 59);

· Seeking out only authentic pictures of China, for example, “prisoners wearing block collars” (Farr, p. 53);

· Having discussions with a Chinese student, Chang Chong-chen;

· Educating himself on aspects of Chinese traditions, for example, painting, art and poetry;

· Gathering data beyond popularly held political opinions to obtain accuracy;

· Gathering information on modern trends, for example, Bauhaus furniture (Farr, p. 53);

· Engaging with books about China, for example, the Biasco Ibanez book of China (Farr, p. 56).

As Herge (as cited in Farr, 1991) stated, he carried out appropriate research “out of a sense of honesty to my readers” (Farr, p. 51). This would have endeared him to readers and future readers.

How might “The Blue Lotus” address or relate to what Said (1977) terms ‘Orientalism’?

Herge aimed for realism in “The Blue Lotus” in an attempt to dispel the usual Western misconceptions about the Orient (Farr, 1991). By doing so, The Blue Lotus challenges the Western view of Orientalism. Or what Said (1977) refers to as a particular “style of thought” (p. 88) regarding the Orient which has a developmental history that spans centuries. This way of thinking about the Orient, because of European supremacy, was never challenged and so burgeoned within the Occident (West) through, for example, educational programmes and literature (Said 1977).

One way The Blue Lotus departs from the usual Western ‘style of thought’ in through its pictures. The large picture (page 6 of the coloured version - Herge, 2002) shows Tintin in a rickshaw in Western clothes set in an unashamedly Chinese street scene. Tintin is surrounded by Chinese who are not unrealistic representations of another race to be ridiculed, but representations of human-beings worthy of respect. This has been achieved in the comic medium through how the characters were drawn. As Taylor (cited by Varnum & Gibbons, 2001) “argues . . . character credibility, is largely determined visually rather than through language” (p. xvi). This new drawing style went against Tintin’s earlier renditions in which the popular notions of a race were presented in caricature (Farr, 1991). Herge’s research into the Orient also ensured other aspects within the pictures were accurate, for example, the Chinese writing on the banners, as well as dress and architecture (Farr).

Said (1977) also states that Orientalism is “a Western style for dominating, restructuring, and having authority over the Orient” (p. 88). Said’s notion comes alive in The Blue Lotus through the character Gibbons who holds the stereotypical Western view of the Orient that is clearly racist. For example, he states “Dirty little China-man! To barge into a white man” (Herge, 2002, p. 6); “You did that on purpose, yellow scum!... I’ll teach you respect for your betters” (Herge, p. 7); and “Yes, our superb western civilisation” (Herge, p. 7). Gibbons is domineering, in China for his own ends and with a superior attitude in the way he considers himself and the West in relation to the local population which he treats in an appalling manner.

Said (1977) states that Orientalism also represents “anyone who teaches, writes about, or researches the Orient” (p. 88), this in an academic sense. Herge may be viewed as an amateur Orientalist in that he carried out research and went out of his way to learn about China and its people (Farr, 1991) to create realism in "The Blue Lotus". For me, Tintin, in "The Blue Lotus", seems to be the re-educated Herge. By contrast to Gibbons, through language and behaviour, the reader learns through Tintin that China is a great culture in its own right and nothing to be feared. This is shown, for example, during the scene where Tintin rescues his future Chinese friend. Here, Tintin (Herge) and Chang Chong-chen (name of Herge’s real life friend - Farr, 1991) discuss and dispel stereotypes just as the two friends must have done in real life through intercultural exchange (Herge, 2002).

Does Varnum (2001) define the difference between a cartoon, comics and graphic novel?

Varnum and Gibbons (2001) do not specifically state the differences between the three. However, Varnum and Gibbons place the three in the same grouping because they have similarities, although they don’t have any particular commonality between them.

According to Varnum, what distinguishes comics from other media?

Comics have special characteristics which sets them apart from other media (Varnum & Gibbons, 2001). These include: “word balloons, zip ribbons . . . panel frames which enclose scenes or segments of a narrative” (Varnum & Gibbons, p. ix).

To enlarge on Varnum and Gibbons (2001), McCloud (as cited in Varnum & Gibbons) states that comics has a unique language that is produced by the special relationship between pictures and words. According to Kannenberg and Perret (as cited in Varnum & Gibbons) the application of the traditional linear reading style becomes questionable in comics. That is, comics utilize pictures and words in such a way and layout that they become a unified form of communication that is special to itself.

The article shows the contention surrounding comics as to which is the more important, the pictures or the words (Varnum & Gibbons, 2001). Perhaps this comes down to one’s personal approach to reading comics. I don’t find myself tending to one or the other. It seems to depend on what stands out to the eye which can be different for different picture/word combinations.

Lecturer questions:

Do you think Herge’s aim for realism was successfully achieved in ‘The Blue Lotus’ (as you say it, by the ‘Re-educated Herge’) in a 2010 reading of the work?

When I read “The Blue Lotus” or any other work outside my time-frame, I automatically tend to compensate for the time in which it was written. So, I think ‘The Blue Lotus’ does achieve realism successfully by Herge who went out of his way to educate himself by gaining a better understanding of his subject (as per question 1 referencing above). There are still Gibbonses today, too, for example, who hold the same bigoted views and who still consider the West and all that it encompasses as being superior to other parts of the world. And Herge has not included images that are markedly incorrect, for example, an African elephant as part of the background. I read it for entertainment I do not read it for the political satire, etc. so will make no comment on realism concerning the politics involved. The Chinese are speaking English, not Chinese, so this would not be considered real (but, then, it is the English version of the work). The dog also speaks English, for example, on page 1, and this is not real. But I accept this in “The Blue Lotus” because this is a comics and this is the type of thing the comics genre incorporates.

However, Herge was influenced by his Chinese friend for ‘The Blue Lotus’ (Farr, 1991), but did Herge get the Japanese perspective? Perhaps this would give some balance and might even have created a different perspective or story again. Perhaps it is not real because it is from his Occidental/Chinese viewpoint. According to Farr (1991), the Japanese are avid readers of this work even today and they have not complained about its realism, or the way in which they have been depicted.

Do you think the genre works well for today’s readers?

Yes, for both adults and children because the work can be read on different levels. Light entertainment or, if aware of what the subject incorporates (Japan/China conflict, for example) the reader would appreciate it on a different level.

And how would a 2010 reading experience compare to one in the 1930s?

The majority of people nowadays would read ‘The Blue Lotus’ on a superficial level. Let’s face it: many people today don’t know anything about the Great War, so I’m sure they wouldn’t know anything about the 1930s (unless they know the history involved). So, not being aware of the political intrigue of that era, of sensibilities of that era, of the technological limitations of that era, of the power structures of that era, etc, they can't but take it as read and would still read it as a form of entertainment, as they would read probably any comic.

However, in the 1930s, the events were happening before or after being depicted by Herge. This work would, therefore, have contained an entirely different reading experience for its audience - generally adult, I should imagine in this case, who might even have read it to get Herge's perspective, especially since he had the ability to predict future events (Farr, 1991), whereas children would read it as entertainment and probably not be as interested in the political aspects).

References

Farr, M. (1991). The Blue Lotus. In Tintin: the complete companion (pp. 50-59). London: John Murray.

Herge. (2002; 1935). The Adventures of Tintin: the Blue Lotus. London: Methuen.

Said, E. (1977). Orientalism. In Ashcroft, B. Griffiths, G. & Tiffin, H. (Ed.), The Post-colonial Studies Reader (pp. 87-91). London: Routledge.

Varnum, R. & Gibbons, C. (Eds.). (2001). Introduction. In The Language of Comics: word and image (pp. ix-xix). Jackson: University Press of Mississippi.