"A Nightmare Land, a Place of Death": An Exploration of the Moon as a Motif in Herge's "Destination Moon" (1953) and "Explorers on the Moon" (1954)

Autor/in	Beauvais, Clementine
Titel	"A Nightmare Land, a Place of Death": An Exploration of the Moon as a Motif in Herge's "Destination Moon" (1953) and "Explorers on the Moon" (1954)
Quelle	In: Children's Literature in Education, 41 (2010) 3, S.251-259 (9 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0045-6713
DOI	10.1007/s10583-010-9110-3
Schlagwörter	Astronomy; Sciences; Space Exploration; Lunar Research; Childrens Literature; Figurative Language; Philosophy; Death; Mythology; Literary Criticism; Cartoons + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Astronomie; Science; Wissenschaft; Weltraumforschung; 'Children''s literature'; Kinderliteratur; Philosophie; Sterbefall; Tod; Todesfall; Mythologie; Literaturkritik; Zeichentrickfilm
Abstract	This article analyses the symbolic meaning of the Moon in two "bande dessinee" books from the Tintin series, Herge's "Destination Moon" ("Objectif Lune," 1953) and its sequel "Explorers on the Moon" ("On a Marche sur la Lune," 1954). It argues that these two volumes stand out in the series for their graphic, narrative and philosophical emphasis on both intellectual achievement and physical death. The Moon, as a goal of modern science and a traditional artistic symbol, is made to celebrate the human mind. But Herge also makes it a dangerous no man's land, where human beings are made to understand the limitations of their physical abilities. The Moon emphasises the distortion between human dreams of grandeur and the concrete impossibility of their realisation, and the threats they pose to corporeality. As a result, the article suggests that the Moon trip can be seen as a modern re-enactment of the mythological journey to Hell, as the works of the human mind are constantly thwarted by the risk of physical death. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10