1. Do you think comics are a children’s or adult genre/media?
2. How does Farr (1991) justify Tintin’s appeal to adults?
3. According to the second Farr extract (p.50-59), how did Hergé research China for The Blue Lotus? How might Hergé’s The Blue Lotus address or relate to the issue of what Said (1977)terms ‘orientalism’?
4.Does Varnum (2001) define the difference between a cartoon, comics, and graphic novel?
5. According to Varnum, what distinguishes comics from other media?
6. How and why are comics becoming more accepted as an art form? Can/should they be regarded as a literary genre?
7. What do you think of McCarthy's(2006) ideas about Tintin?
In my opinion, comics are both belong to children and adult's world. People may say that Comics are for children only, that is because children may read comics openly with no shy but laughter. The adults may not be reading the comics as open as the children because they may feel shy about it.
Herge has written an amazing piece of work about TinTin, he included the world's events and wars into TinTin and all of the adventures that appeal to the children as well as adults. Herge has a talent in drawing and all of the pictures that we have seen in TinTin are exact. If you look in The Adventures of TinTin "The Blue Lotus" you will see how Herge has drawing the exact model of an old car, the exact chinese traditional dress, the exact style of chinese architecture. There are different levels of adventure in TinTin that has brought to the reader's attentions that TinTin was not just a reporter in the story but he also may act like a detective/investigator and a rescurer(Farr, 1991). TinTin is more than a comic but also a "Literature" to both children as well as adults
I think comics not only are a children’s genre/media but are adult’s genre/media. Taking an example of the adventures of Tintin, the king of Belgium said that “Tintin is the best ambassador of our country. When I visit a country, I found Tintin was there earlier than me.” In addition, the president of France Charles de Gaulle said “Tintin is my only adversary in the world”. So, these words proved that Tintin as a comic both belong to children and adult’s genre/media.
Hi Jan and Jie Deng ^-^: I agree with both of you. I think comics are both belong to children and adult as well. And I find something in The Adventures of TinTin "The Blue Lotus", the Chinese boy called “Chang”, he tells TinTin: “All white devils were wicked, like those who killed my grandfather and my grandmother long ago.” TinTin says: “But all white men aren’t wicked. Different people don’t know enough about each other. Lots of Europeans still believe that all Chinese are cunning and tails, are always inventing tortures, and rotten eggs and swallows’ nests. The same stupid Europeans are quite convinced that all Chinese have tiny feet. (The Blue Lotus, P43)” I think what they are talking about belongs to adult. They are talking about prejudice and awful things of the grown-up world. And there are lots of other examples though the whole story to express the importance to be a good and brave man. The comics become a soft and easy way to tell the truth and the principles. I think the comics will not make adults feel embarrass, may be it is a good way to refresh their inside world when they forget themselves in the peaceful and innocent pictures of comics.
Yes, Shirley, you are right. In today’s world, many adults like comics because it can be a good way to refresh their inside world like what you said before.
Next, I will say something about the question 7.
7. What do you think of McCarthy's(2006) ideas about Tintin?
In my opinion, about Tintin, McCarthy’s ideas was that Tchang’s impact on Hergé’s work was massive. If Hergé had not met Tchang, he did not break apart his European absolutism, as well as not to open up a more global in his comics. Tchang helped Hergé to discover a new world such as Chinese poetry, Chinese calligraphy, Chinese drawing techniques (a new degree of realism) as well as a better understanding of China. This good turning point at the beginning of Hergé’s work, which made him to produce more and more creative inspirations in the following productions of the adventure of Tintin. So McCarthy said that Tchang’s impact on Hergé’s thinking was huge.
Hello all, All the comments are very interesting for me to read. I think it is because we are from different countries so we all have different cultures. Jan says that adults read comics not as open as kids, but adults DO read comics with no hesitation in some countries, as Shirley mentioned. Japan is one of them, and I also read actually :-) I don't have any evidence or reference, but I'll find some and post them.
Hello to all, sorry about my late post. I hope we all have funs in this paper
Now Let's go back the questions which Dr paul supply us to disscuss. In question 1, I have an Agreeement with all you guys which is that the comics are not only a children's genre/media but also a adult basing on its plot and story.
Let's take me for example, I'm 22yr old already but I still enjoy reading some Japanese Comic book and my parents used to laugh at me and ask like that are you a child anymore? According to all the comments you guys posted to question 1, I got a different idea with Jan. As you highlighted that "People may say that Comics are for children only, that is because children may read comics openly with no shy but laughter." In my opinion, I think your point is not only reason to the question and also maybe not the main reason. Personally, people may say the Comics are for kids only because they may think most of comic books cotain some picture inside it and easy to read especially for the children as that some text book include the pictures and particularlly design for the primery student or younger kids because it's colourful, funny, interesting, easy to read, attracted to kids and kids can learn the kownledges in a happy and more acceptable way but not boring or hard way as the normal novel or the other text book.
According to the Wikipedia (2008), it give a brief explanation as that comic is a graphic medium in which images are utilised in order to convey a sequential narrative. It is the sequential nature of the pictures, and the predominance of pictures over words, that distinguish comics from picture books, though there is some overlap between the two media. Most comics combine words with images, often indicating speech in the form of word balloons, but wordless comics, such as The Little King, are not uncommon. Therefore,the plot of most commic books not childish but very meaning, advanture, actions, friendship and so on.
Moreover, there also something more I wanna to focus on the first question which is that when some adult read a comic, it's kind of relax when they busy with stressful working, therefore, some comics can cause the aldult's abandon childish heart and bring them to a different world.
The rest questions' answer I will post later because I got the same situation with Hisako which is that I don't have enough evidence or reference from the text book and I will try to post later
Hi everyone, I would like to answer no3. according to the second Farr extract (p.50-59), how did Hergé research China for The Blue Lotus? Herge was introduced to Chang Chong Chen(Chang) by Father Gosset in Belgium. At the time Chang was studying in Brussel, Chang was the person who helped Herge understand all about Chinese cultures, geography, langugae, literature, philosophy and traditional paintings. According to Farr(p.51)as Herge says "He made me discover and love Chinese Poetry, Chinese writing...The wind and the bone, that is to say the wind of inspiration and the bone of a film drawing ling. For me it was a revelation. I owe him too a better understanding of sense of Things: friendship, poetry and nature" "It was at the time of The Blue Lotus that I discovered a new world" Herge told Numa Sadoul.
Yes, Jan. Chang was just the significant person to Hergé, and who gave so many good suggestion to Hergé and his work of Tintin. Next, I would like to give my own opinion about the question No.5.
5. According to Varnum, what distinguishes comics from other media?
Varnum said in the Introduction: “The elements of the representational code which comics employs--including both images and texts, and also such specialized features as word balloons, zip ribbons, and even the panel frames which enclose scenes or segments of a narrative--can be manipulated with great sophistication.”
In today’s comics, it not only systematically combines words and pictures, but also represents two-dimensional and three-dimensional form to its audience. So, with the rapid development of comics, there are more and more people like to accept it and pay close attention to it.
Nice point of view, Jan. When I read The Blue Lotus for the first time, I was shocked by Hergé. Because I think it is impossible for a foreigner to tell the true story about “9•18”Incident. It is impossible for him to know China so well in 1935. Even today lots of people do not know the truth of “9•18”Incident. So, Chang helped him to discover the real China, the misfortune happened in China and the real character of Chinese. “But thanks to Chang, such popular prejudices were behind Hergé, who from now on strove to counter myths by presenting as accurate a picture of China as possible. Hergé admitted that he had discovered a civilization which he had completely ignored and, at the same time, he assumed a feeling of responsibility. It was from that time that he undertook research and really interested himself in the people and countries to which he sent TinTin, out of a sense of honesty to his readers (Farr, p51).” Because Hergé wants to show his readers the truth in his TinTin World, he researches the Chinese dress which can be find very vividly printed in The Blue Lotus. Also the portrait of the rickshaw driver was painted veritably, even the details that the rickshaw drivers do not have shoes because of the poverty. We can realize Hergé’s research and Chang’s help through these details in The Adventures of TinTin “The Blue Lotus”.
Hi Jocelyn, I think what you mean is 9-11 incident. I didn't know what you were talking about until I have read "In the shadow of no towers". This comics by Herge is another great literature that can re-telling the incident like 9-11 and also become well known because Herge's famous drawings.
Hi all, I'm answering the question of no.6, and also it may be the evedence of question 1. Osamu Tezuka is one of the famous comic creaters in Japan (though he's already passed away). What he did is that he made his comics not only for laugh, but also he made them for grief, anger, and hate even though the comics were normally for laugh at the time. He said it was because the life is not always simple, so he wanted to describe the severe part of life in his work. Therefore, his work is not always the happy ending. His work was new to people, so adults liked his comics too. Since then, the comic's themes have changed and both adults and children read comics in Japan.
I'm also a big fan of him. He graduated medical school, so he had rich knowledge of medication and surgery. One of his comics is about a doctor, and it vividly shows how operations go and what serious illnesses exist in the world. I was a high school student when I read this story. First I was shocked, but I really liked it because the theme was new to me and the development of events were interesting!
Hi Jan： What I mean is not 9-11 incident, that is 9-18 incident which you can find in The Adventures of TinTin “The Blue Lotus”, P21. The Japanese damaged the railway and framed Chinese people in order to make the excuse to invade China. It is not surprising that you do not know this incident. Through this example, we can discover Hergé’s research and Chang’s help.
hi Shirley, I understand now because I didn't know which page you were referring to so I think that it was about 9-11 incident as we were studying "In the shadow of no Towers" on that day. At least now I know about one of the incident in China.
17 comments:
Discussion threads:
1. Do you think comics are a children’s or adult genre/media?
2. How does Farr (1991) justify
Tintin’s appeal to adults?
3. According to the second Farr extract (p.50-59), how did Hergé
research China for The Blue Lotus? How might Hergé’s The Blue Lotus address or relate to the issue of what Said (1977)terms ‘orientalism’?
4.Does Varnum (2001) define the difference between a cartoon, comics, and graphic novel?
5. According to Varnum, what distinguishes
comics from other media?
6. How and why are comics becoming more accepted as an art
form? Can/should they be regarded as a literary genre?
7. What do you think of McCarthy's(2006) ideas about Tintin?
In my opinion, comics are both belong to children and adult's world. People may say that Comics are for children only, that is because children may read comics openly with no shy but laughter. The adults may not be reading the comics as open as the children because they may feel shy about it.
Herge has written an amazing piece of work about TinTin, he included the world's events and wars into TinTin and all of the adventures that appeal to the children as well as adults. Herge has a talent in drawing and all of the pictures that we have seen in TinTin are exact. If you look in The Adventures of TinTin "The Blue Lotus" you will see how Herge has drawing the exact model of an old car, the exact chinese traditional dress, the exact style of chinese architecture. There are different levels of adventure in TinTin that has brought to the reader's attentions that TinTin was not just a reporter in the story but he also may act like a detective/investigator and a rescurer(Farr, 1991). TinTin is more than a comic but also a "Literature" to both children as well as adults
Hi Jan,
I totally agree with you:)
I think comics not only are a children’s genre/media but are adult’s genre/media. Taking an example of the adventures of Tintin, the king of Belgium said that “Tintin is the best ambassador of our country. When I visit a country, I found Tintin was there earlier than me.” In addition, the president of France Charles de Gaulle said “Tintin is my only adversary in the world”. So, these words proved that Tintin as a comic both belong to children and adult’s genre/media.
Hi Jan and Jie Deng ^-^:
I agree with both of you. I think comics are both belong to children and adult as well. And I find something in The Adventures of TinTin "The Blue Lotus", the Chinese boy called “Chang”, he tells TinTin: “All white devils were wicked, like those who killed my grandfather and my grandmother long ago.” TinTin says: “But all white men aren’t wicked. Different people don’t know enough about each other. Lots of Europeans still believe that all Chinese are cunning and tails, are always inventing tortures, and rotten eggs and swallows’ nests. The same stupid Europeans are quite convinced that all Chinese have tiny feet. (The Blue Lotus, P43)” I think what they are talking about belongs to adult. They are talking about prejudice and awful things of the grown-up world. And there are lots of other examples though the whole story to express the importance to be a good and brave man. The comics become a soft and easy way to tell the truth and the principles. I think the comics will not make adults feel embarrass, may be it is a good way to refresh their inside world when they forget themselves in the peaceful and innocent pictures of comics.
Yes, Shirley, you are right. In today’s world, many adults like comics because it can be a good way to refresh their inside world like what you said before.
Next, I will say something about the question 7.
7. What do you think of McCarthy's(2006) ideas about Tintin?
In my opinion, about Tintin, McCarthy’s ideas was that Tchang’s impact on Hergé’s work was massive. If Hergé had not met Tchang, he did not break apart his European absolutism, as well as not to open up a more global in his comics. Tchang helped Hergé to discover a new world such as Chinese poetry, Chinese calligraphy, Chinese drawing techniques (a new degree of realism) as well as a better understanding of China. This good turning point at the beginning of Hergé’s work, which made him to produce more and more creative inspirations in the following productions of the adventure of Tintin. So McCarthy said that Tchang’s impact on Hergé’s thinking was huge.
Hello all,
All the comments are very interesting for me to read. I think it is because we are from different countries so we all have different cultures.
Jan says that adults read comics not as open as kids, but adults DO read comics with no hesitation in some countries, as Shirley mentioned. Japan is one of them, and I also read actually :-)
I don't have any evidence or reference, but I'll find some and post them.
Hello to all, sorry about my late post. I hope we all have funs in this paper
Now Let's go back the questions which Dr paul supply us to disscuss. In question 1, I have an Agreeement with all you guys which is that the comics are not only a children's genre/media but also a adult basing on its plot and story.
Let's take me for example, I'm 22yr old already but I still enjoy reading some Japanese Comic book and my parents used to laugh at me and ask like that are you a child anymore? According to all the comments you guys posted to question 1, I got a different idea with Jan. As you highlighted that "People may say that Comics are for children only, that is because children may read comics openly with no shy but laughter." In my opinion, I think your point is not only reason to the question and also maybe not the main reason. Personally, people may say the Comics are for kids only because they may think most of comic books cotain some picture inside it and easy to read especially for the children as that some text book include the pictures and particularlly design for the primery student or younger kids because it's colourful, funny, interesting, easy to read, attracted to kids and kids can learn the kownledges in a happy and more acceptable way but not boring or hard way as the normal novel or the other text book.
According to the Wikipedia
(2008), it give a brief explanation as that comic is a graphic medium in which images are utilised in order to convey a sequential narrative. It is the sequential nature of the pictures, and the predominance of pictures over words, that distinguish comics from picture books, though there is some overlap between the two media. Most comics combine words with images, often indicating speech in the form of word balloons, but wordless comics, such as The Little King, are not uncommon. Therefore,the plot of most commic books not childish but very meaning, advanture, actions, friendship and so on.
Moreover, there also something more I wanna to focus on the first question which is that when some adult read a comic, it's kind of relax when they busy with stressful working, therefore, some comics can cause the aldult's abandon childish heart and bring them to a different world.
The rest questions' answer I will post later because I got the same situation with Hisako which is that I don't have enough evidence or reference from the text book and I will try to post later
Hi everyone, I would like to answer no3. according to the second Farr extract (p.50-59), how did Hergé
research China for The Blue Lotus? Herge was introduced to Chang Chong Chen(Chang) by Father Gosset in Belgium. At the time Chang was studying in Brussel, Chang was the person who helped Herge understand all about Chinese cultures, geography, langugae, literature, philosophy and traditional paintings. According to Farr(p.51)as Herge says "He made me discover and love Chinese Poetry, Chinese writing...The wind and the bone, that is to say the wind of inspiration and the bone of a film drawing ling. For me it was a revelation. I owe him too a better understanding of sense of Things: friendship, poetry and nature" "It was at the time of The Blue Lotus that I discovered a new world" Herge told Numa Sadoul.
Yes, Jan. Chang was just the significant person to Hergé, and who gave so many good suggestion to Hergé and his work of Tintin. Next, I would like to give my own opinion about the question No.5.
5. According to Varnum, what distinguishes comics from other media?
Varnum said in the Introduction: “The elements of the representational code which comics employs--including both images and texts, and also such specialized features as word balloons, zip ribbons, and even the panel frames which enclose scenes or segments of a narrative--can be manipulated with great sophistication.”
In today’s comics, it not only systematically combines words and pictures, but also represents two-dimensional and three-dimensional form to its audience. So, with the rapid development of comics, there are more and more people like to accept it and pay close attention to it.
Nice point of view, Jan.
When I read The Blue Lotus for the first time, I was shocked by Hergé. Because I think it is impossible for a foreigner to tell the true story about “9•18”Incident. It is impossible for him to know China so well in 1935. Even today lots of people do not know the truth of “9•18”Incident. So, Chang helped him to discover the real China, the misfortune happened in China and the real character of Chinese. “But thanks to Chang, such popular prejudices were behind Hergé, who from now on strove to counter myths by presenting as accurate a picture of China as possible. Hergé admitted that he had discovered a civilization which he had completely ignored and, at the same time, he assumed a feeling of responsibility. It was from that time that he undertook research and really interested himself in the people and countries to which he sent TinTin, out of a sense of honesty to his readers (Farr, p51).” Because Hergé wants to show his readers the truth in his TinTin World, he researches the Chinese dress which can be find very vividly printed in The Blue Lotus. Also the portrait of the rickshaw driver was painted veritably, even the details that the rickshaw drivers do not have shoes because of the poverty. We can realize Hergé’s research and Chang’s help through these details in The Adventures of TinTin “The Blue Lotus”.
Hi Jocelyn, I think what you mean is 9-11 incident. I didn't know what you were talking about until I have read "In the shadow of no towers". This comics by Herge is another great literature that can re-telling the incident like 9-11 and also become well known because Herge's famous drawings.
Hi all,
I'm answering the question of no.6, and also it may be the evedence of question 1.
Osamu Tezuka is one of the famous comic creaters in Japan (though he's already passed away). What he did is that he made his comics not only for laugh, but also he made them for grief, anger, and hate even though the comics were normally for laugh at the time. He said it was because the life is not always simple, so he wanted to describe the severe part of life in his work. Therefore, his work is not always the happy ending. His work was new to people, so adults liked his comics too. Since then, the comic's themes have changed and both adults and children read comics in Japan.
Source: http://www.hanabatake.com/research/tezuka.htm
I'm also a big fan of him. He graduated medical school, so he had rich knowledge of medication and surgery. One of his comics is about a doctor, and it vividly shows how operations go and what serious illnesses exist in the world. I was a high school student when I read this story. First I was shocked, but I really liked it because the theme was new to me and the development of events were interesting!
Hi Jan：
What I mean is not 9-11 incident, that is 9-18 incident which you can find in The Adventures of TinTin “The Blue Lotus”, P21. The Japanese damaged the railway and framed Chinese people in order to make the excuse to invade China. It is not surprising that you do not know this incident. Through this example, we can discover Hergé’s research and Chang’s help.
hi Shirley, I understand now because I didn't know which page you were referring to so I think that it was about 9-11 incident as we were studying "In the shadow of no Towers" on that day. At least now I know about one of the incident in China.
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