"Little Nemo in Slumberland" dated August 28, 1910:
Transcript of Tweets by @LittleNemo1905 (FEBRUARY 19, 2021):
This strip is so damn uncomfortable. - 1/8
This strip features a top tier filled with wild animals stampeding and trying to attack the airship as it flies above the African savanna (presumably). - 2/8
First, we have lions… then hippos… then cheetahs and tigers teaming up… then elephants. I mean… maybe the big cats I get, but what's with the hyper-aggressive hippos and elephants? - 3/8
Either way, this is all to set up the penultimate panel of the strip. As Nemo and the airship arrive in North America, McCay depicts Native Americans in stereotypical attire attacking the ship as it tries to land. - 4/8
The intention here seems clear; by paralleling these moments, he seems to be suggesting that, like Africa, the Americas have their own "wild/savage animals". - 5/8
It's very upsetting and, as a result, I have a really hard time appreciating anything else that may or may not be interesting about this strip. - 6/8
At the very least, this strip has pedagogical value because it can demonstrate the subtle way that visual communication and their hidden insinuations can be just as harmful as outright saying it. - 7/8
This is my reading of "Little Nemo in Slumberland" #255. What’s yours? - 8/8
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