4 ms·

I'm met with a racist depiction of a black man when I click on that link. Is something wrong?

foreigner 8y ago
Asterix is full of charicatures of racial and other stereotypes. It can be a little uncomfortable to read today, but in the author's defense they were fairly evenhanded. Look at the noses of the Gauls and Britons! It's interesting that only some of those charicatures are offensive to us today. (Not being critical of your comment, the portrayal of black people in Asterix makes me uncomfortable too.)
DanBC 8y ago
I don't think you deserve to be downvoted for this question. Asterix was written between 1959 and 1977 (with other people taking over after the death in 1977 of René Goscinny). Racist stereotypes were mainstream then. It's shocking today to see it. But what do we do about the racism of the past? Do we hide it? Films about the Dambusters normally change the name of the dog. It had been called Nigger by the aircrews. Or do we stay accurate and provide a lot of context before presenting the material? This happens when teaching Huckleberry Finn. I'm glad this blog post didn't try to hide the racist depiction. I like this article about how to read a racist book to your children: https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/17/magazine/how-to-read-a-racist-book-to-your-kids.html https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/17/magazine/how-to-read-a-ra...
dudul 8y ago
Sure, cause the black guy is the only one drawn as a giant stereotype.
olavk 8y ago
You will see a lot of caricatures and ethnic stereotypes in Asterix. Primarily of European and Mediterranean nationalities though. A lot of the stories are Asterix and Obelix traveling to some region and all the stereotypes of that region is played up. If you are uncomfortable with this form of comedy, Asterix is probably not for you.
zoroasterix 8y ago
> a racist depiction of a black man The blackman looks like a racist? Well, I don't see it in that picture.

Asterix is full of charicatures of racial and other stereotypes. It can be a little uncomfortable to read today, but in the author's defense they were fairly evenhanded. Look at the noses of the Gauls and Britons! It's interesting that only some of those charicatures are offensive to us today. (Not being critical of your comment, the portrayal of black people in Asterix makes me uncomfortable too.)

DanBC 8y ago

I don't think you deserve to be downvoted for this question. Asterix was written between 1959 and 1977 (with other people taking over after the death in 1977 of René Goscinny). Racist stereotypes were mainstream then. It's shocking today to see it. But what do we do about the racism of the past? Do we hide it? Films about the Dambusters normally change the name of the dog. It had been called Nigger by the aircrews. Or do we stay accurate and provide a lot of context before presenting the material? This happens when teaching Huckleberry Finn. I'm glad this blog post didn't try to hide the racist depiction. I like this article about how to read a racist book to your children: https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/17/magazine/how-to-read-a-racist-book-to-your-kids.html https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/17/magazine/how-to-read-a-ra...

dudul 8y ago

Sure, cause the black guy is the only one drawn as a giant stereotype.

olavk 8y ago

You will see a lot of caricatures and ethnic stereotypes in Asterix. Primarily of European and Mediterranean nationalities though. A lot of the stories are Asterix and Obelix traveling to some region and all the stereotypes of that region is played up. If you are uncomfortable with this form of comedy, Asterix is probably not for you.

zoroasterix 8y ago

> a racist depiction of a black man The blackman looks like a racist? Well, I don't see it in that picture.