How might Hergé's The Blue Lotus address or relate to what Said (1977) terms 'orientalism'?
To answer the question above somewhat thoroughly, we must first evaluate the meaning of the term ‘orientalism’. According to the dictionary, the word ‘oriental’ is an adjective that describes anything situated easterly (Oxford Dictionary, 2004). In literature context, when a story is said to have an oriental setting or theme, it can be understood that the story’s theme revolves around the Eastern part of the world. Derived from this idea, orientalism means “the study of Eastern cultures by westerners”, or “the imitation and depiction of aspects of Eastern cultures in the West by writers, designers and artists” (Orientalism, n.d.). According to Edward Said (1977/2003), by having the knowledge about the Eastern territory, the westerners came to own it. Therefore, we can say that Said’s definition of orientalism has a close relationship with imperialism.
The Blue Lotus is not the first Tintin book that incorporates oriental aspects and settings, but it is the most significant in that category. Thanks to the help of Hergé’s Chinese friend TChang Chong-chen, The Blue Lotus was the most visually rich book comparing to all other Tintin books (Weir, personal communication, 2015). It can be said that Hergé researching for the book was an act of orientalism.
Because the oriental setting in the book was still mainly set by a westerner, we can see how Hergé incorporated the theme of imperialism in it. The extract below shows Gibbons - the director of a big American company - beating a Chinese rickshaw driver; the Chinese banners behind him translate to “Abolish unequal treaties” and “Down with Imperialism”. Taking into account the heavily oriental setting of this book, these seemingly juxtaposed banners definitely adds to the satirical tone of the story while also touching on the topic of how Said defined orientalism as being based on imperialism.
Extracted from http://tintinadventures2.tripod.com/id1.html
Reference
Orientalism. [Def. 2]. (2004). In Oxford English Dictionary. Retrieved from http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/132528?redirectedFrom=oriental&
Orientalism (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.onefineart.com/en/articles_arts/orientalism-painting.shtml
Said, E. (2003). Orientalism. London: Penguin. (Original work published 1977). Retrieved from http://www.odsg.org/Said_Edward(1977)_Orientalism.pdf
Tintin And The Blue Lotus (n.d.). Retrieved from http://tintinadventures2.tripod.com/id1.html
Weir, B. (2015). Hergé, The Blue Lotus from The Adventures of Tintin: Image/ Text/ Animation. [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from https://autonline.aut.ac.nz/bbcswebdav/pid-3448984-dt-content-rid-3451450_4/xid-3451450_4
Ok Elanor, good. You make a reasonable attempt to engage with one of the more difficult discussion threads. Said did indeed link Orientalism with western imperialism. Good choice of frames to exemplify your point and I think you have understood the irony that, in attempting to represent the Orient sympathetically, Herge still inadvertently reinforced the 'otherness' of an Eastern culture.
ReplyDeletePS - take care to check your references. The Powerpoint (Lecture notes) you have cited are not my work, they are the work of Dr Paul Mountfort and Dr Darryl Hocking.
ReplyDelete