Stigma and prejudice in Tintin

Abstract

Juan Medrano, Pablo Malo, José J Uriarte, and Ana-Pía López look for evidence of prejudice against mental illness in the Tintin series

Tintin's travel traumas: Health issues affecting the intrepid globetrotter

“…Our analysis also suggests the Cyrs missed some LoCs, for instance 3 non-traumatic LoCs in Cigars of the Pharaoh and three of the four LoCs related to G-force events travelling to or from the moon (two take-offs and two landings). The commonest non-traumatic HIs were sleep disturbances (nightmares, insomnia), intoxication (gas, chloroform), and manifestations of anxiety or depression (tears), as highlighted in another study which focused solely on mental disorders in the characters who appear in Tintin adventures [4]. Sleep disturbances might reasonably be attributed to Tintin's highly stressful life.…”

“…3 Including 3 injuries (shoulder, skull and rib) in association with LoC in two cases. 4 Bites by dog (Snowy), human (Abdallah), lion, parrot, piranha, rat, shark (one each). 5 Including scratches (condor), bumps, ankle twisting and strangulation.…”

“…Surprisingly, HIs have only rarely been described even for popular comic book characters such as Tintin. A PubMed search found only three articles focusing on "Tintin'', including two research articles [3,4], and one editorial [5]. The Cyr family from Canada (aged five, seven, and 33) identified 50 losses of consciousness (LoC) in 16 of the 23 Tintin adventures [3].…”

“…We should note that pictures of Tintin apparently suffering LoC were identified by the two Cyr children (whose average age was six), which suggests the LoCs in Tintin should be evaluated by a physician. Medrano et al also analysed appearances of, or allusions to, mental illness in the Tintin series but only to see how psychologically impaired characters were portrayed [4]. Therefore, the entire spectrum of HIs in Tintin's adventures remained to be examined.…”

Reflexiones nerviosas: los fantasmas

“…En "La curación de los Dalton" (1975) de la serie Lucky Luke, el profesor Otto Von Himbeergeist, que 3 René Goscinny . Guionista de series tan exitosas como El pequeño Nicolás (ilustrada por Sempé), Oumpah-Pah (dibujada por Uderzo), Lucky Luke (con Morris como dibujante), Iznogud (con Jean Tabary) y, sobre todo Astérix (con Uderzo como ilustrador) busca eliminar los impulsos delictivos de los bandidos, termina descubriendo su reprimida vocación criminal.…”