Eclairage(s)

Abstract :

International audience

Developed into 26 novels from 1912 to 1950 by E.R. Burroughs, incarnated in fifty film adaptations, and continued after Burroughs's death by five other authors, the Tarzan stories have given birth to a legend and made "the Lord of the jungle" an inspirational icon in the worldwide popular culture. Aiming at merely entertaining at first sight, these pulp fictions and commercial films have however sparked controversy for their representation of sub-Saharan Africa(ns) and led many critics and a certain public to think that Burroughs was xenophobic. What message did Burroughs really want to convey? How did the Hollywood studios deal with sub-Saharan Africa(ns) and particularly with Tarzan who fascinated so many audiences? Why is the Tarzan case particularly significant in the representation of sub-Saharan Africa(ns)? Have the Hollywood studios evolved in their depiction throughout the decades? As it lays the foundations of the myth and embodies many of Burroughs's themes, this chapter focuses on the first novel of the series, Tarzan of the Apes, and its film adaptations, Greystoke, the Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984) by Hugh Hudson and The Legend of Tarzan (2016) by David Yates. Shot 34 years apart, these two versions are quite interesting as they indicate the social and societal outlooks of their own respective times but also illustrate the fact that the Tarzan myth is definitely a white elephant for white filmmakers.

Published : 2026-06