tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5621995982503387078.post2966063123597208072..comments2024-03-25T12:06:32.583-05:00Comments on THE ARCHETYPAL ARCHIVE: INCORRECTLY CORRECTGene Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11495562795211277146noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5621995982503387078.post-28009991649543393152015-09-26T15:20:21.951-05:002015-09-26T15:20:21.951-05:00I definitely agree that Caniff wants the reader to...I definitely agree that Caniff wants the reader to like Connie's good qualities even while laughing at his silly appearance, and this would be pretty much standard with regard to most comic sidekicks. There are probably some out there who are deliberately set up to look stupid and nothing more, but I think they're the exception, not the rule.<br /><br />I appreciate your eloquent defense of Connie's character, but I'll mention another reason why his loyalty would seem inconsequential to a lot of ideologues: because the idea of a POC being in any way deferential to a white guy (or guys) would nullify his supposed good qualities.<br /><br />I can understand part of Martin's attitude. It's true that it's evident that a particular racial caricature has been repeatedly used to downgrade the race to which it's been applied, then it should be mentioned that a "problematic racial caricature" is present in an old comic, film, or whatever. But to call Connie a "racist caricature" is inappropriate, because the author is not using the caricature in a racist manner. I would agree that Connie is meant to be an admirable character despite having a silly appearance, and Caniff said the same thing. He did a one-page defense of Connie, showing him responding to his critics verbally while engaged in catching crooks or something like that. I can't remember where the one-page appeared-- it doesn't appear to be online-- but Will Eisner swiped the basic idea for a "defense of Ebony" strip he did in the 1970s or thereafter.<br /><br />I looked around on the net for explanations as to how the "Asian buckteeth" schtick came about, and found this interesting debate:<br /><br />http://ask.metafilter.com/87239/Asian-stereotype-why-the-exaggerated-front-teethGene Phillipshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11495562795211277146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5621995982503387078.post-43733103985395180322015-09-25T07:10:48.724-05:002015-09-25T07:10:48.724-05:00Well, and if it's true that one image is worth...Well, and if it's true that one image is worth a thousand words, I guess the second panel on page 15 of issue 7, by its utterly unity of feeling and identity of emotional 'crestfallenness', dispells any idea of racial caricature.<br /><br />But hey, one must never allow reality to intrude upon one's pet political bias.<br /><br />Cheers,<br /><br />ShermanA. Sherman Barroshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11993841605520936806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5621995982503387078.post-2842334416105133852015-09-24T19:32:12.990-05:002015-09-24T19:32:12.990-05:00I can't believe Martin really wrote that "...I can't believe Martin really wrote that "Those who click to read the online scan should be aware the stories feature racist caricatures."! What does that say about his readers? <br /><br />Anyhow, you made your point directly and concisely and, above all, pertinently. I must confess I was not familiar with Terry and the Pirates (I saw the serial on DVD, but hadn't read any of the comics or the strips) and so I attributed the eventual racial stereotyping to "signs of the times". But now you have shown clearly that there are no such stereotyping at all in the character of Connie.<br /><br />Curious, I went and read the issue at hand, and browsed some others from the CBPlus database, and although I entirely agree with you, I think you stopped a little short of the complete picture. <br /><br />You pointed precisely to the usual side-kick role and its characteristics, with pertinent examples, and pointed out that not all other Chinese characters in the story are drawn with the same caricatural ugliness of Connie. Indeed, that is as good a litmus test as one can devise. <br /><br />But reading the story proper, one is led to feel that Connie acts almost always with extreme loyalty and dignity; something that indeed contrasts sharply with his tremendous external ugliness. He is, in fact, so ugly as to become a caricature (as Martin posits), but such an extreme caricature that it call the reader’s attention to the fact that someone so ugly, so caricaturally ugly, is a good person and a loyal friend; and thus, instead of configuring a racial caricature, the exact opposite is true - the caricatural aspects, denoting difference (even if racial), exagerate said difference, thus stressing the innate goodness of Connie and defeating the racial stereotype Martin purports him to be.<br /><br />At least that’s the impression I got from reading a single issue and your perceptive analysis.<br /><br />Cheers,<br /><br />Sherman<br /> A. Sherman Barroshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11993841605520936806noreply@blogger.com