Ideology of Tintin - Big Business

Big Business

Much of Hergé's criticism was directed at big businesses and the ways they would affect the lives of ethnic minorities and the affairs of nations just for the sake of money. He also accused them of using unethical methods and being a cover for criminal activities.

These attacks started as early as Tintin in America following the discovery of oil on land occupied by Blackfoot Indian tribespeople. Tintin is then surrounded by businessmen offering him up to tens of thousands of dollars for the rights to the oil. When Tintin announcess that it belongs to the natives, the chief of the tribe is, in comparison, given a mere $25 and half-an-hour to vacate the premises. An hour later the Indians are forced away by soldiers armed with rifles and bayonets; by the next day a whole city has been built on the site. A factory that Tintin later visits produces tinned "rabbit" meat out of stray cats, dogs, and rats.

Oil also came into play in The Broken Ear. Western businesses General American Oil and British-South American Petrol get the states of San Theodoros and Nuevo Rico to go to war over territory which turns out not to have oil after all. This part of the story was inspired by the real-life Chaco War of 1932–35. One of the businessmen, Trickler, uses bribery, corruption, and fake evidence in order to get his way. Arms dealer Basil Bazarov, who sells weapons to both sides, is based on the real-life Basil Zaharoff.

A similar situation occurred in Land of Black Gold, in which two rival oil companies, Arabex and Skoil Petroleum, separately support Emir Ben Kalish Ezab and Sheikh Bab El Ehr respectively.

Big business was also shown as a cover for illegal activities: Rastapopoulos for example is a respected businessman who mixes with people in high places, but is also the leader of major smuggling operations: opium in The Blue Lotus and slaves in The Red Sea Sharks. The villain in The Blue Lotus is Mitsuhirato, a Japanese man who owns a fashion shop and an opium den (in a time and place where such dens were legal and considered legitimate), which cover his activities as a drug smuggler and secret agent of Japan, who organizes the sabotage of a Chinese railway (based on the real-life Mukden Incident). Rastapopoulos and Mitsuhirato have an Arabic counterpart in Omar Ben Salaad of The Crab with the Golden Claws.

The sponsor of the rival expedition in The Shooting Star is the head of a major banking organisation, who uses unethical methods to delay the progress of Tintin and Haddock's ship. These include sabotage with dynamite and fake distress messages. Controversially, in his original version, Hergé gave the man a Jewish-sounding name and had him based in New York. These were changed in later editions.

Following the war, Herge's attacks on big business was suspended as he focused more on espionage (the Moon adventures and The Calculus Affair); but it returned with a vengeance in The Red Sea Sharks. In this story Rastapopoulos becomes the Marquis di Gorgonzola, a media baron, airline owner, and arms dealer, who entertains influential people on board his luxury yacht. This serves as the cover of his business as a slave trader. When Emir Ben Kalish Ezab threatens to expose this for personal reasons, Rastapopoulos engineers his overthrow in favour of the Emir's enemy, Sheikh Bab El Ehr.

Tintin has a knack of meeting businessmen who appear friendly at first, but turn out to be far from ethical and can also be villains. Rastapopoulos and Mitsuhirato are two such examples; but there is also Laszlo Carreidas of Flight 714. At first shown as a friendly if eccentric person, Carreidas was revealed to be a cunning individual with a long history of unscrupulous behaviour not limited to the business world. A large part of his personal fortune was in a Swiss bank account under a false name and signature, presumably for taxation-related purposes, while he confesses under truth serum to a long history of unscrupulous activities.

Hergé's attack on big business and its interference in national politics went all the way to the final completed story, Tintin and the Picaros. In this adventure, guerrilla leader General Alcazar had the support of the International Banana Company. Hergé's notes also reveal that Alcazar's wife was on the board of a company that kept him supplied with arms; a fact that may explain his marriage. To counter the rebels, Alcazar's enemy Tapioca struck a deal with Loch Lomond whisky and parachuted large amounts of their brand into the jungle, making the rebels too drunk to stage a coup. Loch Lomond also sponsored the local carnival.