Britain's Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) recommended that "Tintin in the Congo" be removed from shelves after it received a complaint from a member of the public who had seen it in a branch of the Borders chain of book stores.
..."Tintin in the Congo" is the second in a series of 23 books which depict the intrepid travels of a fictional young journalist named Tintin and his dog Snowy. The character was conceived by Belgian George Remi. Remi signed his works Hergé, the French pronunciation of his initials in reverse.
Hergé, Tintin and most specifically "Tintin in the Congo" are no stranger to criticism. Critics have accused Tintin's creator of being a racist and have blasted the Congo adventure for its scenes of violence against animals.
As the report states, this is just the latest flare up of controvery over the book, which should be treated as an artifact of a less-enlightened time--not banned. Indeed, Hergé himself came to regret aspects of the book.
Consider this more even-handed critical appraisal from tintinologist.org:
Tintin au Congo should still be regarded as one of the more silly and youthful albums of Hergé. At the time he was much influenced by his employer, Wallez. Wallez had decided that the Belgian youth needed to know more about the values of Colonialism. Hergé was instructed to show Belgium how the Congolese natives were introduced to civilisation. Throughout the album we will witness further displays of such Colonialism. Tintin shows a condescending - even despising attitude towards the natives. In 1954, as Hergé re-edits the story this attitude would soften, but not disappear.
Tintin doesn't show much respect for the flora and fauna either; in an ultimate effort to put down a comic scene, Hergé lets him kill 13 antilopes. At an earlier point in the story Tintin even kills a rhinoceros with dynamite (after first drilling a hole in the beast's back, where he could place the explosives!). Later Hergé would very much regret these scenes, and he took a firm stand against hunting and poaching.
This just in: A foundation which protects the rights of Tintin author Hergé leaped to his defence on Thursday after criticism from a British racism watchdog.
...The Hergé foundation said the 1931 "Tintin in the Congo" comic book...should be read in the context of the period when it was published.
...The Hergé foundation said the book is meant to be about fun and jokes and does not glorify the widely accepted notions about imperialism, race and ethnicity which were prevalent in Western society during the early 20th century when the book was written.
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Sean Penn and rocker Iggy Pop will add their voices to "Persepolis," the upcoming animated feature based on Marjane Satrapi's graphic novel.
Penn will play Satrapi's long-suffering father while Pop will voice the role of the young girl's rebellious and politically active uncle.
Work on the English-version dub will begin this summer. Pic will be released Stateside in the fall and producers are trying to ready an English-language version in time for its preem at the Toronto Film Festival in September.
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Actress Laura Vandervoort will star as the Supergirl-ish character on the "we're too embarassed to wear superhero costumes" superhero show Smallville.
Vandervoort begins filming next week and will be introduced to the public at Comic-Con International in San Diego.
Supergirl arrives in the Season 7 premiere. Her name is Kara and she is Clark's 19-year-old cousin. She was born on Krypton and is the daughter of Zor-El, Jor-El's brother. Kara possesses all of Clark's powers and one he doesn't yet have -- flying.
Kara also has a strong, rebellious streak that puts her at odds with Clark, and puts her onto Lex's radar. In addition, she takes a romantic interest in Jimmy Olsen.
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The official Indiana Jones site has posted a video of Harrison Ford once again donning his famed fedora.
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