"Little Nemo in Slumberland" dated November 11, 1906:
Transcript of Tweets by @LittleNemo1905 (JULY 23, 2020):
It has finally arrived! Here we see the procession of Nations as little boys and little girls across the globe parade through Slumberland on their way to the Banquet Hall celebration! - 1/20
It is a truly fascinating concept for a strip… how do each of these representatives get to Slumberland? Presumably, they are boys and girls sleeping throughout the world visiting the dreamscape? - 2/20
Why does the Carnival of Nations celebrate the Earthly nations and not those of the larger dreamscape? Admittedly, the larger dreamscape may not actually exist, but I still wonder why the celebration is so Earth-centric… maybe for Nemo's benefit? - 3/20
Alternatively, it could be viewed by the Slumberlandians as a sideshow of sorts… As we know, McCay loved the circus, carnival and the curiosities that come with them… Would earthly customs be enough of a "curiosity" to interest the Slumberlandians in this way? - 4/20
To that point, children of many ethnic backgrounds are involved in the parade and though some are significantly more offensive than others, each representative is visually filtered through stereotypical depictions. - 5/20
The German girl wears a dirndl, the Scottish children wear the kilt, and the Japanese wear kimono and kasa… many of the children in tiers 1 and 2 are represented in traditional cultural clothing. - 6/20
By contrast, tier 3 begins to shift the representations from traditional to insensitive. Many of the depictions in the penultimate panel are racial and ethnic stereotypes, which read today, in a modern context, as largely problematic. - 7/20
Of particular interest is America's inclusion here, represented by two Native children in what's widely recognized as traditional Native clothing (though since each tribe had their own customs, it's not truly possible to nail down a "traditional" Native garb). - 8/20
I was surprised to see this type of recognition for Native peoples of America here. It certainly wouldn’t have been popular perception in early 20th Century America that the individuals who should represent the people of America in this type of setting be Native Americans. - 9/20
For this reason, It's worth noting that McCay might seemingly be resisting the urge to depict a euro-centric America here. BUT, that said, there is also another, far more uncomfortable way to read this… - 10/20
Why are these representatives not depicted in either of the top two tiers? There is a very obvious separation of ethnicity within this strip… The top two tiers are largely white, while the bottom tier represents "Other" racial identities. - 11/20
Add Flip's appearance into the mix in the penultimate panel, a character that we already know has a mighty poor reputation in Slumberland, and one might read the strip as a pronouncement of ethnic and racial hierarchy… - 12/20
This distasteful reading leads to a new question: "whose hierarchy is depicted?"… Is this a reflection of the socio-historic moment or a reflection of McCay's own axiological ideas? - 13/20
Though complicated by America's position in the penultimate panel (McCay was in love with American culture), but, if the strip is read as a way to belittle the "Other", it may contextualize McCay's choice to position Native American representatives at the Carnival… - 14/20
Personally, I find this particular reading of the moment deeply unsettling. I recognize that it is largely my modern sensibilities causing that reaction, which leads me to consider ways in which an early 20th Century reader may have interpreted this moment. - 15/20
Heck, it even makes me wonder if McCay's biases were unconsciously bleeding into his work here. - 16/20
Maybe he didn't intend to visually segregate… maybe he didn't intend to present a visual ethnic/racial hierarchy… but, regardless, I don't think intention should let the strip off the hook either way. - 17/20
I almost didn't mention this reading at all, because I felt that it's insinuation was so problematic… but, though writing the back-half of this thread was difficult, I still think that challenging it in order to create critical dialogue is also meaningful. - 18/20
I'm eager to hear how each of you engaged with this strip. Do you feel it's as problematic as I read it? Does it say something that I'm missing? Looking forward to discussing! - 19/20
This is my reading of "Little Nemo in Slumberland" #57. What's yours? - 20/20