Ceann de na scannáin is feiceálaí dár tháinig ar an scáileán ó mhonarcha na n-aislingí i gCalifornia é John Carter. Tá sé bunaithe ar shaothar Edgar Rice Burroughs, an scríbhneoir garrfhicsin arbh iad eachtraí Tarzan ba mhó a thuill a chlú dó. Níl cuntas ná comhaireamh ar na scannáin faoi Tarzan, ach cé go bhfuil ráchairt nach beag ar na húrscéalta faoi John Carter inniu féin, níl scannán na bliana seo ach ar an dara ceann, go bhfios dom, a fuair inspioráid ón gcuradh áirithe seo. One of the latest films to visit us from the dream factory of California is John Carter. It’s based on books written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the pulp writer who is best known for his adventures of Tarzan. Films about Tarzan are too many to be counted, but while the novels about John Carter are read even today, this year’s film is only the second to be inspired by this particular hero.
Is minic a chuirtear ciníochas i leith Burroughs, go háirithe le taobhshúil ar íomhá na nAfracánach sna scéalta faoi Tarzan. Is fíor go raibh Burroughs go mórmhór faoi thionchar a linne féin, agus bhí glacadh forleathan le ciníochas ag pobal geal na Stát Aontaithe nuair a bhí mo dhuine ag teacht i gcrann. Ón taobh eile, deirtear gur athraigh a dhearcadh ar na cúrsaí seo de réir mar a fuair sé aithne ar dhaoine gorma i saol Hollywood, nuair a bhí a chuid scéalta á scannánú.
De réir is mar a bhí an tsraith úrscéalta faoi Tarzan ag dul i bhfad agus i bhfadálacht, tháinig sé chun solais nach raibh an Afraic ag fabhrú d’fhantaisíocht an scríbhneora a thuilleadh. Fuair sé riachtanach iarsmaí na seansibhialtachtaí Iartharacha a shuíomh san ”Afraic” mar a samhlaíodh dó féin í: tháinig a chuid laochra trasna ar choilíníocht shean-Rómhánach agus ar chaisleán ó ré na gCrosáidí, mar shampla. Ní nach ionadh chinn mo dhuine ar dhomhan samhailteach eile dá chuid a chur ar bun – ar Mhars, pláinéad dearg an chogaidh – nó Barsoom, mar a thugadh muintir an phláinéid féin air.
An féidir ciníochas a aithint ar na scéalta faoi eachtraí John Carter? Is féidir, uaireanta. Fear rúndiamhair é John Carter nach cuimhin leis a óige agus nach dtéann i seanaois. Mar sin féin, deir Burroughs linn go bhfuil luiteamas ag an laoch le Virginia agus le muintir Virginia agus é tar éis seal a chaitheamh in arm an Deiscirt ag cur catha ar son úinéirí na sclábhaithe le linn chogadh cathartha na Stát Aontaithe. Thairis sin, tá an chorrthagairt mholtach ann don Ku Klux Klan. Nuair a bhí na leabhair seo á scríobh, bhí suim á cur ag a lán daoine i dTuaisceart na Stát Aontaithe i ‘gcúis chaillte’ an Deiscirt, agus dearcadh rómánsúil acu uirthi, agus chuaigh an faisean seo i bhfeidhm ar Burroughs.
Na ciníocha a chastar ar John Carter ar Bharsoom, áfach, is deacair iad a chomhionannú le ciníocha an Domhain s’againn. Is iad na daoine dearga an pobal is mó a bhfuil lé agus luiteamas ag John Carter leis, agus iad ag breathnú cosúil le muintir ár bpláinéid, cé go bhfuil siad i bhfad níos foirfe ó thaobh na colainne de, agus iad ag maireachtáil óg aerach go dtí go mbainfidh siad amach aois míle bliain. Ní bhfuair Carter aithne ar na daoine dearga ach de réir a chéile, sa chéad imleabhar den tsraith: chaith sé tús a sheala ar an bpláinéad i gcuideachta na Marsach uaine, cine cruálach míthrócaireach nár chuir suim ach i gcath agus i gcogaíocht – thairis sin, chéasaidís a gcuid cimí go héag agus an-sult á bhaint acu as.
Tá cine dubhchraicneach ar Bharsoom chomh maith. Naimhde do John Carter iad, ach san am chéanna, tugann sé aitheantas dá n-áilleacht chomh cumtha comair is a bhíonn siad agus dá gcuid scileanna ag láimhseáil eitleán – le firinne, is iad na dubha seo foghlaithe mara Mharsa, nó foghlaithe aeir le bheith cruinn, ó tá an chuid is mó d’fharraigí an phláinéid triomaithe cheana féin.
Cé nach bhfuil Carter cairdiúil le cine dubh Mharsa, níl sé mór le naimhde bunaidh na ndubh ach an oiread – an cine geal ar a dtugtar ‘Thern’ i dteanga Mharsa. Is iad na Therns sagairt an chreidimh Mharsaigh, agus cé gur litríocht éadrom éalúchais atá i gceist le sraith na n-úrscéalta ó Bharsoom, is aoir ghéar ghoimhiúil ar reiligiún mar rud é scéal na sagart seo: i rith an dara agus an tríú húrscéal sa tsraith, tagann sé chun solais nach bhfuil i gceist leis an gcreideamh s’acu ach camscéim mhillteanach le ciníocha eile Mharsa a mhealladh chucu agus sclábhaithe a dhéanamh díobh. Ní hé seo an t-aon ionsaí ar an reiligiún eagraithe a rinne Burroughs sa tsraith: i gceann de na húrscéalta tugtar cur síos ar an gcreideamh i gcathair Phundahl, áit a bhfuil an dia úd Tur á urramú, agus d’fhéadfá a rá gur scigaithris ar na reiligiúin go léir creideamh mhuintir Phundahl chomh haiféiseach agus atá rúndiamhra an chreidimh seo, gan trácht a dhéanamh ar na deasghnátha, agus muintir na háite á nglacadh chomh dáiríre is go maróidís aon duine a chuirfeadh amhras iontu.
Rinne Burroughs iarrachtaí áirithe le heolaíocht a chur trína chuid scéalta faoi Mhars, ach le fírinne tá a thuiscint ar an eolaíocht chomh fannlag is go n-aithníonn buachaill deich mbliana cé chomh dona is a chuaigh sé ar strae. Mar shampla, tugann sé tuairisc dúinn ar na haerchatha móra idir aerlonga millteanacha agus iad á gcoinneáil ar eitleog ag tancanna snámhachta, ach deir sé nach gás ar bith a bhí sna coimeádáin sin ach solas – solas ar dhath nach raibh ann ar dhroim an Domhain, cé go raibh súile John Carter in ann é a aithint!
I ndiaidh an iomláin, léitheoireacht éadrom réasúnta suimiúil iad úrscéalta Burroughs faoi John Carter, nó bhí féith an scéalaí i mo dhuine: ní thugann an léitheoir aird ar na gnéithe aiféiseacha díobh, an dóigh a n-iompraíonn na himeachtaí leo é. Ach is fearr gan iad a ghlacadh i ndáiríre.
Tá Panu Höglund scríbhneoir Fionlannach ar líne agus aistritheoir.
Burroughs is often accused of racism, especially regarding the image of Africans in his stories about Tarzan. True enough, Burroughs was a child of his era, and it was an era when racism was largely accepted among American whites. On the other hand, it is said that his attitude changed when he got to know black people in Hollywood, where his stories were being filmed.
With the Tarzan series progressing, it turned out that Africa wasn’t suitable for the writer’s fantasy anymore. He found it necessary to clutter his imaginary Africa with survivals of old civilizations: his heroes came across an old Roman colony and a crusader castle, for instance. No wonder the writer decided to create a new imaginary world on Mars, the red planet of war – or Barsoom, as it was called by the inhabitants of the planet themselves.
Is it possible to recognise racism in the books about John Carter? Yes, sometimes. John Carter is a mysterious man who does not age nor remember his youth. However, Burroughs tells us that the hero has a soft spot for Virginia and Virginians and that he fought in the army of the South during the American Civil War, defending the slave owners. There are also one or two positive references to the Ku Klux Klan. When the books were being written, lots of people in the Northern states were interested in the ‘lost cause’ of the South, even fancying it, and this fashion even influenced Burroughs.
The races John Carter meets on Barsoom can hardly be equated with those of our Earth. The Red Martians are the community John Carter is most sympathetic to. These people look like Earthmen, but are physically much more perfect and keep their youth and mirth for a thousand years. In the first novel of the series, Carter got to know these people only by and by; the beginning of his stint on Mars is spent with green Martians, a cruel and heartless race who never took interest in anything but war and fighting, and who are in the habit of torturing their prisoners to death for the sake of sheer fun.
There is also a black race on Barsoom. They are no friends of John Carter, but he does give them their due as a people with both bodily beauty and great skills in flying airplanes – indeed they are the pirates of Mars. They are airborne pirates, as most of the oceans on Barsoom have dried up already.
Carter is not friendly with Black Martians, but even less with their hereditary foe, the white race called ‘Therns’ in the language of Mars. Therns are the priests of Martian religion, and although the books are meant to be escapistic literature, the story of these priests is actually quite a sharp satire on organised religion; their faith is basically just a scam to entrap and enslave the other races. This is not the only attack on religion in Burrough’s series: in one of the novels we get to visit the city of Phundahl with a religion of its own, venerating the god called Tur. It is a parody of all religions with ridiculous mysteries and ceremonies you are supposed to take seriously or risk the consequences.
Burroughs made some attempts to mix science in his stories about Mars, but actually his understanding of science was so weak that a 10-year-old boy can see how badly he went wrong. For instance, he describes the great air battles between flying ships which are kept in the air by buoyancy tanks, but he says they are filled with a special kind of light, not with a gas – light of a colour not seen on Earth, but nevertheless visible to John Carter!
All said and done, Burroughs’s novels about John Carter are reasonably interesting light reading. Because the writer was an accomplished storyteller, the reader is carried away by the adventure and forgets about the nonsensical aspects. But it is better not to take them seriously.
Panu Höglund is a Finnish online writer and translator.
