Do you think comics are a children's or adult genre/media?
How does Farr (1991) justify Tintin's appeal to adults?
It could well be suggested in literature that what appeals
to children also appeals to adults, however seldom the vice versa. In an age
where adults can legitimately laugh at punchlines being dished out by cartoon talking
dogs and babies (I am of course talking about Family Guy), I might be mistaken
in initially thinking that this kind of animation is a recent trend in
literature. In fact it was January 10th 1929, which saw the debut of
cartoon reporter Tintin, in the pages of a children’s supplement paper Le Petit
Vingtieme (Farr, 1991). Tintin, originally intended to engage children in
European current affairs, quickly became popular among adults and children
alike. Taking away the fact that Tintin is the most obvious form of fiction; a
hand drawn cartoon, it is the content of every speech bubble united with image
to make these works both appealing to children and adults. The realism present in
the content of the adventures of Tintin creates an authenticity, as well as an
educational element to the storylines. Farr (1991) describes the ‘extraordinarily
accurate detail of every story, the result of painstaking research and Herge’s
constantly swelling archive files’ (pg.8) as having been a key ingredient in
the cartoons success. As a result Farr
describes Herge as having ‘struck gold’ (pg.9) in devising a character which
was equally appreciated by kids and grown-ups. He goes on to explain that ‘the
child will be gripped by the excitement of Tintin, the comedy, even farce. The
adult will additionally find political satire and parody, puns and prescience’.
In particular Farr notes that The Blue Lotus was a kind of turning point for
Herge where it contained ‘such inherent quality and class that it can be considered
a strip cartoon classic which raised the comparatively young medium to new
heights’ (pg.59). Tintin is a classic example of how comics are not just a
genre aimed at children. Comics and animations in media can easily be enjoyed
by a wide range audience, young and old. It is the bright colourful pictures
bringing stories to life which appeal to a younger audience, however with the subtle
addition of authentic content and mature wit to accompany them, comics and
animations can easily be just as enjoyable for adults as well.
References
Farr, Michael. (1991). Introduction. In Tintin: the complete
companion (pp.8-9). London: John Murray.
Farr, Michael. (1991). The Blue Lotus. In Tintin: the
complete companion (pp.50-59). London: John Murray.
Great response, thanks Dulcie. Great references to the secondary texts. Would love to have seen a specific example from the primary text.
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