Tintin au Congo fait des remous
Par Claire Lannaud (LEXPRESS.fr), publié le 01/09/2009 à 15:30, mis à
jour le 14/10/2011 à 18:10
La célèbre bande dessinée d'Hergé est qualifiée de raciste et
xénophobe par un comptable d'origine congolaise. Après une plainte
déposée en Belgique, la France pourrait être visée.
Tintin au Congo peut-il être interdit en France? C'est en tout cas ce
qu'espère un comptable d'origine congolaise. En 2007, Bienvenu Mbutu
Mondondoce (41 ans) avait déjà porté plainte en Belgique contre
l'oeuvre d'Hergé pour " racisme et xénophobie ". "La plainte n'a pas
encore été déposée en France, mais nous examinons avec Me Gilbert
Collard comment lancer une action judiciaire au plus vite " a déclaré
à LEXPRESS.FR Me
Jean-Claude Ndjakanyi
, l'avocat de Bienvenu Mbutu en Belgique. " Mon client demande le
retrait du commerce de la bande dessinée dans le meilleur des cas,
sinon l'obligation pour les éditeurs d'apposer un bandeau rouge sur la
couverture, précisant le contexte d'écriture de l'ouvrage,
explique-t-il. A l'époque le racisme était peut-être la norme, mais il
faut aujourd'hui remettre cette oeuvre dans le contexte présent".
Tintin au Congo, écrit en 1931, s'inspire de la situation de l'époque
: la conquête belge de l'actuelle République Démocratique du Congo.
Dans ce deuxième volet des aventures de Tintin, le célèbre personnage
d'Hergé revêtu d'une panoplie colonialiste, débarque au royaume des
Babaoro'm. Le reporter à la houpette, aidé de son boy Coco qui
l'appelle " missié blanc " doit se défendre de toutes sortes d'animaux
: rhinocéros, serpent, lion...et surtout des gangsters affiliés à Al
Capone.
Depuis quelques temps, Tintin au Congo est souvent pointé du doigt à
travers le monde. En Afrique du sud, aucun éditeur n'accepte de
traduire l'oeuvre en Afrikaans à cause du caractère injurieux de la BD
envers les Africains. En juillet 2009, la Commission britannique pour
l'Egalité Raciale a qualifié l'ouvrage de raciste. Toujours au
Royaume-Uni, l'éditeur
Borders a décidé de retirer
Tintin au Congo des rayons " littérature enfantine ", pour le
cantonner à la section adulte. A la bibliothèque municipale de
Brooklyn,
la BD a été bannie des rayons en libre accès et se consulte maintenant
sur demande, dans une pièce fermée à clef. Le " dangereux "
Tintin au Congo, subit ainsi le même sort que le
Mein Kampf d'Hitler ou le Tropique du Capricorne d'Henry Miller. "
C'est une collection historique de la littérature enfantine
consultable sur demande uniquement " explique-t-on à la bibliothèque
new-yorkaise. Comprendre: " cette oeuvre particulièrement raciste, ne
peut être laissée à la portée de tous. "
Qu'en pense Moulinsart SA? Dans un communiqué, la société qui gère les
droits de l'oeuvre d'Hergé a réagi à cette attaque: " Lire en plein
XXIe siècle un album de Tintin, datant de 1931 demande un minimum
d'honnêteté intellectuelle. Celle-ci nous garde de sombrer dans les
anachronismes faciles et trop couramment complaisants ".
J'espère bien que l'interdiction de vente ne sera jamais prononcée,
voire que ce genre d'opportuniste en mal de buzz sera débouté. Même si
effectivement un avertissement de l'éditeur au début du livre ne
ferait pas de mal... interdire Tintin au Congo, c'est simplement
complètement idiot. Pour une fois je suis d'accord avec l'éditeur.
http://www.google.ca/gwt/x?gl=CA&hl=en-CA&u=http://www.lexpress.fr/culture/livre/tintin-au-congo-fait-des-remous_783669.html&q=tintin+in+the+congo
'Tintin' comics to remain in Amherst library children's room despite
parents' objections
By SCOTT MERZBACH
Staff Writer
Thursday, January 2, 2014
(Published in print: Friday, January 3, 2014)
AMHERST — A graphic novel series containing racial stereotypes that
some parents argue is inappropriate for pre-teens will not be removed
from the children's area at the Jones Library as a group has
requested.
But library officials are pledging to be part of a community dialogue
focused on racial issues and to better inform the public about the
children's room policies and how books are chosen.
The Jones Board of Trustees Thursday took no action on a request from
five parents asking that "Tintin" books be moved from a shelf at the
entrance to the children's area to either the young adult or the adult
section of the library. As a result, the 1930s-era series by Belgian
cartoonist Georges Remi, will stay where it is.
Library Director Sharon Sharry argued that relocating the books would
amount to censoring them, citing the American Library Association's
definition of censorship as a "change in the access status of
material, based on the content of the work and made by a governing
authority or its representatives." This can include changing the age
or grade levels that have access to the material.
"If the Jones Library does nothing else, we protect everyone's
constitutional right to read anything he or she wants," Sharry said.
"Our mission does not include censorship."
However, Andrew Grant-Thomas, one of the parents, said he was
"astonished" that the "Tintin" material has not received more scrutiny
from library staff members. He pointed to "Tintin in the Congo," a
story in which the black people of the Congo are presented as
monkey-like imbeciles who are easily manipulated. "Our argument is
fairly straightforward: These books are profoundly racist books," he
said.
Jeannette Wicks-Lim, another of the parents who submitted a memo as a
"request for reconsideration of library materials," said she
appreciates that the trustees conducted a nearly hour-long discussion
on the matter, but she, too, is surprised that library staff members
aren't doing more to examine books for inappropriate content.
"I'm somewhat dismayed that even blatantly racist material would not
be more carefully thought about," Wicks-Lim said.
Wicks-Lim, who is Asian-American, said that as a child she experienced
embarrassment and humiliation due to stereotypes learned by other
children, and didn't know how to respond. She said that youngsters
don't have the critical thinking skills necessary to deal with
inappropriate content.
Sharry, however, said she is concerned that moving the books would
open the door to other parents or patrons demanding changes to
materials that don't jibe with their religious or political beliefs.
"It is not the job of the librarian to tell the community what it
should or shouldn't be reading," Sharry said.
William Newman, the director of the western Massachusetts office of
the American Civil Liberties Union, said he commends the library
trustees for standing firm.
"These are crucial issues, but censorship is the absolutely wrong way
to go about addressing them," Newman said.
Ali Wicks-Lim, spouse of Jeannette Wicks-Lim, said children of color
are already experiencing a separation from their white peers, due to
the appeal the "Tintin" series.
She said she wants the children's room to be a safe place for all
children in the community. "Yet these books are right as you walk in,
right at eye level."
Ali Wicks-Lim said she understands concerns about censorship, but
thinks that moving the books or adding labels about their content
would be a middle ground.
But Sharry said it is the responsibility of parents and guardians to
know what their children are reading.
"The ultimate message is all parents need to walk into this building
and assume their children can't just run free," she said.
Library trustee Chris Hoffmann said American Library Association
guidelines state that age restrictions aren't appropriate to a
well-functioning library. "It's clear the library director has made
the right decision," he said.
Both trustees Michael Wolff and Jonathan McCabe said they are
sympathetic to the concerns of the parents.
As a member of the ACLU and NAACP, Wolff said that he is conflicted,
noting the treatment of the Congo by Belgium is a dark chapter in its
history.
McCabe said that as father of 4-year-old he has been surprised at some
of the material in the "Babar" series, but uses reading these books to
his child as a teaching opportunity.
Ali Wicks-Lim said she hopes to pull people together to discuss
parenting and race and may turn to the Human Rights Commission to help
work on such programming.
Sharry said she supports that.
"Let's have some programs to talk about racism in society," she said.
"The library is the perfect place for that."
http://www.google.ca/gwt/x?gl=CA&hl=en-CA&u=http://www.gazettenet.com/home/10041349-95/tintin-comics-to-remain-in-amherst-library-childrens-room-despite-parents-objections&q=tintin+in+the+congo
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