Rohini Lakshané10h ago

I picked up this copy of a Tintin comic in a waiting room. My first time reading Tintin as an adult. These comics are racist as f**k. The coloniser gaze is everywhere. As a child, I felt it but could never articulate it.

Edit: I found this Wikipedia page about it. This is indeed one of the most racist of the Tintin comic albums. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tintin_in_the_Congo

Show threadRohini Lakshané10h ago
I remember one Tintin comic calling gypsies (the Roma in Europe) thieves and other names.
Show threadDizzy8h ago
@rohini Sherlock Holmes calls street urchins Arabs; different times. This Tintin book was written in the 30s no? Very much an era of colonialist racism in general.
Show threadRohini Lakshané
@BubblegumYeti There is no note in this album contextualising it as a product of its time. It's up for sale and distribution in the present day. It's not an out-of-print copy. It will likely be read by children who will have less discernment than you and me.
2:35pmWeb
Show threadlou.7h ago

@rohini @BubblegumYeti

Wikipedia also says that the first _english_ Edition of this appeared in 2005

Show threadRohini Lakshané7h ago
@einsiedlerspiel @BubblegumYeti The copy I read today was fairly new. No markings of wear and tear.
Show threadDizzy7h ago
@rohini yes agree, that shouldn’t be the case
Show threadcatch6h ago
@rohini @BubblegumYeti iirc Hergé specifically said he regretted this and some other early TinTin comics due to the racism. Which if anything makes it even worse to reprint it without any contextualisation.