Tintin in the Congo - Star Trek - Celebrating Diversity and modern political correctness in media.

‘Tintin in the Congo’ was in the news in 2007 when Bienvenu Mbutu wanted the book banned in Belgium, saying it contradicted Belgium’s racism laws. Mr Mbutu said this because the native Congolese are portrayed in a racially stereotypical way and are also treated like they are stupid and “without qualities”. The bid to ban Tintin, however, was denied because the book did not intend to incite racial hatred.

The book tells of Tintin’s adventures in the former Belgian colony of the Congo, and the way he encounters many generalisations of Africa at the time that one should put down to being acceptable at the time, and wasn’t seen as racism, or wrong. The court case did ensure that a warning sticker was attached to each newly purchased copy of ‘Tintin in the Congo’, which reads ‘In his portrayal of the Belgian Congo, the young Hergé reflects the colonial attitudes of the time…he depicted African people according to the bourgeois, paternalistic stereotypes of the period – an interpretation that some may find offensive’.

‘Tintin in the Congo’ gives a positive insight into the changes in acceptance and multiculturalism since the days of the Empires and slavery, and even as recently as the 1930s. I then decided I should mix ‘Tintin in the Congo’ with something that changed attitudes towards race dramatically all over the world.

‘Star Trek’ is a television programme and movie franchise that began in the 1960s, when racism was a very important issue in American culture and society. It was originally written by Gene Rodenberry to encourage acceptance, multiculturalism and diversity. It did this through many means, but most noticeably at the time, writing leading roles for ethnic actors, and more importantly, having them on the same level as each other and actively working together. Examples of these characters include George Takei as Hikaru Sulu, Walter Koenig playing Pavel Chekov and Nichelle Nichols as Nyota Uhura, all very central characters who have important roles, and they all show their qualities and improved respect towards ethnic citizens, and therefore promoting acceptance and multiculturalism. But the most iconic character of the show is Spock, who was intended to appear as alien as possible but also human-like. His logical and intelligent personality forced people to rethink their attitudes towards people with differences they cannot help.

I decided to take the highly controversial comic strip and edit Spock into certain frames to highlight some particularly racist features. He also acts as the cartoon’s conscience; when he appears in the frame we are reminded that, even though he appears different, he is a figure to be treated with respect, and this in turn makes us view the other characters in the frame in the same light. Spock, being half alien, is not from any recognisable human race and he acts as a metaphor for any race that is in the position of being discriminated against.

I think Spock symbolises and summerises the cultural and ethnic diversity that should be accepted and encouraged in reality. If someone were to read ‘Tintin in the Congo’ with all of the racially controversial features highlighted, then I believe it would make people more aware of how racism and stereotyping can appear, and how subtly (or even not so subtly) it can be included in mass media like children’s comics and television.

I have also re-written the text in the speech bubbles for a more up to date and politically correct representation of the story. I included the same two pages from the very original comic to highlight differences in approach to race between now, and when it was first written in 1930.

I chose to look at the comic genre because I find it interesting how powerful comics can be in carrying a message, whether it is bad or good, intentionally or not. On the surface, comics look simplistic and childish but as the target audience is usually children, the negative aspects of the story and images can be underestimated.

These pages are scans from the very original copy of Tintin in the Congo, which was re-edited as it depicts the natives as an inferior race (unintentionally), but needed editing.

These are my edited pages of the same scene in the book. The reasoning and process and development are explained in my accompanying essay. I illustrated Spock in a way so he would appear most at home in a Tintin comic, photoshopped him into each frame, and also re-edited the dialogue in the speech bubbles.