A Tintin for our age...
Jul. 1st, 2007 02:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
khiemtranInspired by a post by ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
zornhau where he mentions that, in the modern world, "Biggles would be a "civilian contractor" in Iraq. Tintin would be still missing in the Gaza strip."
This got me thinking about the Tintin character and what a modern Tintin would really look like.
The first thing you notice about Tintin is that his job (boy reporter) is something like his superpower. It gives him a free licence to go to interesting places and tag along on adventures, with the only requirement being to write about it afterwards. He's not an investigative journalists, neither is he interested in news or current affairs. He is never seen filing a story and he never has to deal with editors or deadlines (apart from those imposed by burning fuses or oncoming trains).
Similar jobs might exist in our era (although you could argue that Tintin's job never really existed either), but they're unlikely to feature reportage.
The next thing is that Tintin as a character is remarkably blank. He's the perfect wish-fullfilment avatar because he has very little personality of his own. At best, he has characteristics rather than character. He is brave. He is resourceful. He is morally upright and will act when he sees injustice.
One interesting aspect of this is that although he is brave and resourceful, this alone is not enough to explain his survival. He is brave and resource, yes, but above all he is lucky. An important part of his makeup is that whenever he's in a scrape, there will always be an out, a coincidence, a lucky escape. This is acceptable within the story because this is what happens all along. It might not be plausible in our world, but it is in his.
And this ends up being his real superpower. He is a character allowed to be lucky enough to experience and survive situations that will kill others without becoming implausible. And because his success is due to luck as much as talent, he can be a perfect wish-fulfillment vehicle without crossing into Mary Sue territory. He is as much a Chosen One as any fantasy hero, including one notable boy hero with a prominent mark on his forehead, a boy who is also allowed to be incredibly lucky without violating the rules of the story.
So, maybe there's still room for a modern Tintin. The same ingredients that made him are still popular. And in Tintin's world, if you're held captive in Gaza, there's guaranteed to be a way out somewhere...
zornhau where he mentions that, in the modern world, "Biggles would be a "civilian contractor" in Iraq. Tintin would be still missing in the Gaza strip."This got me thinking about the Tintin character and what a modern Tintin would really look like.
The first thing you notice about Tintin is that his job (boy reporter) is something like his superpower. It gives him a free licence to go to interesting places and tag along on adventures, with the only requirement being to write about it afterwards. He's not an investigative journalists, neither is he interested in news or current affairs. He is never seen filing a story and he never has to deal with editors or deadlines (apart from those imposed by burning fuses or oncoming trains).
Similar jobs might exist in our era (although you could argue that Tintin's job never really existed either), but they're unlikely to feature reportage.
The next thing is that Tintin as a character is remarkably blank. He's the perfect wish-fullfilment avatar because he has very little personality of his own. At best, he has characteristics rather than character. He is brave. He is resourceful. He is morally upright and will act when he sees injustice.
One interesting aspect of this is that although he is brave and resourceful, this alone is not enough to explain his survival. He is brave and resource, yes, but above all he is lucky. An important part of his makeup is that whenever he's in a scrape, there will always be an out, a coincidence, a lucky escape. This is acceptable within the story because this is what happens all along. It might not be plausible in our world, but it is in his.
And this ends up being his real superpower. He is a character allowed to be lucky enough to experience and survive situations that will kill others without becoming implausible. And because his success is due to luck as much as talent, he can be a perfect wish-fulfillment vehicle without crossing into Mary Sue territory. He is as much a Chosen One as any fantasy hero, including one notable boy hero with a prominent mark on his forehead, a boy who is also allowed to be incredibly lucky without violating the rules of the story.
So, maybe there's still room for a modern Tintin. The same ingredients that made him are still popular. And in Tintin's world, if you're held captive in Gaza, there's guaranteed to be a way out somewhere...
