MovieChat Forums > The Adventures of Tintin (2011) Discussion > Alcoholism as humour

Alcoholism as humour

posted 13 years ago by aussiemiguel
122 replies | jump to latest

I'm not one to censor everything, trying to be politically incorrect all the time, but somehow I think it's wrong to turn a real problem like alcoholism into a running joke in a family film. Perhaps that is how the character was defined all those decades ago, but it's one of those things (like the racial elements in certain Tintin stories that have been criticised after their publication) that should have been left behind in this adaptation.
They wouldn't dare use the 'African' characters from the books in a contemporary movie, so why did they decide that alcoholism could and should be used as humour?
And no, I'm not trolling, so please respond with honest, intelligent opinions - whether you agree with me or not.

[–] Brian11 12 years ago

This is why people these days are for lack of a better word pus$ies. Get over it.

[–] 12 years ago

[deleted]

[–] liamforeman 12 years ago

I finally saw the movie this weekend. I don't find a hopeless alcoholic funny at all. Then again, I know some hopeless alcoholics and see how damaging it is to their lives.

I don't think it should be taken out of the film, but I found his alcoholic blackouts quite sad. I mean, showing someone drunk or buzzing and being silly is one thing. Someone fully engaged in alcohol addiction is another.

I liked the film, but yes, I was bothered by the alcoholism as humour content.

[–] martinegner 12 years ago

To the OP.
Ive just watched the movie and did notice that....It was actually a good change to notice something that wasnt talking down to kids in the movie...His alcoholism is portrayed as being funny and sad, which sounds about right for people who drink to excess really...i thought it actually had a bit more depth to him that doesnt happen much.
Reminded me more of the tone of 80's kids adventure movies i grew up on.

[–] Mousuke 12 years ago

Without a drinking problem it just wouldn't be Haddock... he is supposed to contrast Tintin's personality so he needs to have some very big flaws. And yes, while there is humour in some of his drinking scenes it is also pretty obvious that Tintin disapproves and Haddock is ashamed and wants to quit.

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[–] mamne776 12 years ago

I'm an alcoholic, and I took no offence. Hiding things only makes them worse, and soon we will not be allowed to poke fun at anything. I'd hate to live in a world where being PC all the time was needed, *beep* being polite, some people need to be made fun of.

[–] BethH24 12 years ago

I saw this film at the cinema with my dad and stepmum, and we thought Captain Haddock was hilarious !.

[–] jajceboy 12 years ago

Sometimes drunk people can be very funny:)

I think if it's being done properly and treated with the right amount of humour it can be funny.
I do believe that you can make fun of anything, Nothing should be taboo, as long as you don't disrespect your characters.

[–] uruseiranma 12 years ago

They had this topic on one of the 'Mystery Science theater 3000' episodes where they viewed 'The Giant Gila Monster.' Throughout the film, there was a town drunk in that film, and in a skit, they did wonder about the old-fashioned humor approach to something that these days is seen as something more serious.

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- Toy Story 3 (9/10)

[–] adamwarlock 12 years ago

It's been a part of humor going back to the dawn of time. I'm sorry but it's funny and I doubt anyone will come away thinking being an alcoholic is fun. There is smoking in this film too but I'm OK with it since it takes place in the 30s & that's what you would see then.

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[–] todmichel 11 years ago

Quote: "I don't remember the specific episode all that well, but I'm sure not all of it is controversial."

Passta, ANYTHING can be controversial for some idiots. None of the Tintin albums was "racist" - and certainly not Hergé himself. What you can discern in the original version of "Tintin au Congo" is not racism, but a kind of "paternalism" for the Africans and it was quite common in these years.
Editing out these scenes, or the drinking habits of Captain Haddock, not only would be totally stupid, but what I call revisionism.
You must also consider that Hergé wasn't Walt Disney, not only Tintin & Milou's adventures were realistic, but European kids were, and still are, much more mature than their American counterparts.
And it's still the case, look on IMDb for horror movies for instance, a film classified "above 18" (or something like it) is generally restricted to Under 12 in France for instance. And furthermore, the US version can be cut, and the French version totally uncut.
You want edit Haddock's alcoholism, you can as well erase the character.
WC Fields, to my knowledge, is an alcoholic in practically all his movie, and what do you want? Forbidding all his movies, who are masterpieces of American cinema?
In the past, American have sanitized Lucky Luke, another Belgian creation, in showing him with a flower between his lips unstead of his usual cigarette. The result? movie crap.
Nobody became alcoholic or smoker in watching a movie. I discovered Tintin when I was nine, and practically never drink any alcohol, excepted when I'm at a dinner with friends, and this happens, perhaps, no more than ten times a YEAR.
Walt Disney and his aseptized version of Nature was certainly more nocive than the Hergé world. It explains why adult Europeans are often much more mature than American adults.

[–] sirmildredpierce 11 years ago

The movie (and the original comics) do not take Haddock's alcoholism lightly. Yes, they do use it as a comedic device at times, but they also show Haddock's work towards sobriety. Tintin chides him on more than one occasion for his drinking. The one scene where where he gets a bottle of whiskey knocked over his head and Tintin mistakens him for being drunk was a way for Haddock to realise that Tintin and others see him not as *being* drunk, but as being *a* drunk.

Haddock's alcoholism and struggles with sobriety are part of his character. I can't imagine that part of his character being taken out.

I feel the sameway about Sherlock Holmes, one of my favorite characters and one of literatures greatest (and first) full blown drug addict. This often doesn't show up in many of the movies. Even the modern BBC's Sherlock doesn't address this issue. One of the reasons I have been so impressed with the new Elementry is that it confronts the issue of Sherlock's sobriety front and center. I had low hopes for the show but have been very pleasantly surprised.