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Preachy nonsense throughout the article?

Half the article is exploring how racist and stereotypical the characters and setting is. Shouldn't the article have a brief mention of how the work is a product of a different time, and leave it at that? It reads like some bleeding-heart social justice warrior wanted to put his fingerprint on this article, and it just goes on and on and on about how cruel the books are to Swedes, blacks, Arabs, etc., specifially in the "Critical Reception" section.98.174.171.43 (talk) 09:02, 16 March 2014 (UTC)

To simply dismiss the racism of Buroughs' writings as a "produce of a different time" is nonsense. The books are stunning in their racism. Cook Addison Ely (talk) 03:54, 21 June 2019 (UTC)

No, they aren't "stunning" in their racism because their racism is 90% exaggeration and hyperbole from idiots who haven't actually read the books in their full context and have either read only snippets, or other people's dissertations on them. Tarzan also stating that he is a killer of apes and "many black men" isn't even racist, since those are the people that populate his area and has zero to do with any sort of fictitious mass killing of black people from "typical white Americans", which I would say is the real racism in the article, by Gail, who makes baseless, childish assertions without any citations or evidence to back up her claims.Crun31 (talk) 20:25, 9 September 2022 (UTC)

I am a huge fan of Voltaire.

He wrote a story called Ingenuous which is about a French boy who is found by Native Americans. He is raised "honestly" and without European civilization which is filled with lies.

He is found by Europeans and taken back to Paris and since he is "ingenuous" he doesn't lie. So, he tells all the French what he really thinks of them and their culture.

He is also super physically fit, like Tarzan. Really Tarzan has to be Ingenuous.

Burroughs also wrote the John Carter of Mars stories and that's really about the influence of judaism on international instability. That is another Voltaire topic, so I believe that Burrough was heavily inspired by Voltaire and that Tarzan is a version of Ingenuous.

The motive of Ingenuous is to show how a person raised without civilization would turn out virtuous. So, all of the stuff about white males and white supremacy comes from everyone's mind but Burroughs.

Finally, John Carter (Mars) and John Clayton both have the initials "JC" which stands for Jesus Christ. Carter is an immortal who doesn't remember being born, so is a creation of god made to liberate Mars from evil man made religion. Tarzan is on Earth to help people and animals from evil as he has a clear view of reality while "civilized" people do not.

So, if one knows Voltaire, and other French thinkers, all of these themes are clear. That would be better to put on this page than ideas about racism since no one knows what Burroughs motives were and so racism is biased and rather rotten to claim.

Meanwhile, the parallels between Voltaire's Ingenuous going to Paris and Tarzan going to New York, etc are too much to ignore. 2601:49:4300:C540:0:0:0:1D31 (talk) 07:52, 22 July 2023 (UTC)

Public domain

Shouldn't there be some information about the Tarzan character now being public domain? There is actually a note in the article stating that "the Werper novels were never authorized by ERB, Inc" - it might actually be interesting that such an authorization is not legally necessary today, and that books could be freely printed, distributed and sold, due to the current "public domain" status of the character...

see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Public_domain_characters

Dinofant 05:04, 23 October 2007 (UTC)

There is this paragraph in the lead of the article itself:

Even though the copyright on Tarzan of the Apes has expired in the United States of America, the name Tarzan is still protected as a trademark of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. Also, the work remains under copyright in some other countries where copyright terms are longer.

If correct, Tarzan is listed in that category for expiration of copyright on the original works, but not on the trademark of the character itself ... as a guess.

D. Brodale 05:10, 23 October 2007 (UTC)

For that matter, copyright has only expired on the first eight books. The remainder are still under copyright. BPK 14:16, 23 October 2007 (UTC)

The Werper novels violated trademark, not copyright, but at the time they were first printed, all of the Tarzan novels were still covered by copyright. Rick Norwood 15:26, 23 October 2007 (UTC)

Actually, they probably violated copyright too. Much of their text was reputedly plagiarized from the original Burroughs novels. BPK (talk) 14:08, 21 November 2007 (UTC)

Someone has added a "fact" flag to the assertion that Tarzan is trademarked, and then added the remark "seriously". I don't know what this person wants. Look at any professional product with the name Tarzan on it, and you will see a capital R with a circle around it, which means that the name "Tarzan" is a trademark. What more proof does he need? Rick Norwood (talk) 22:34, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Rick, I seriously think you are correct, but since the serious editor seriously asked for a serious citation, I have seriously posted a link to said serious trademark registries. Seriously yours, Serious Rhosis Sir Rhosis (talk) 22:51, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

So once again we have a high liver to thank. Rick Norwood (talk) 01:47, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Importance of Tarzan

I have not rated the article because I have worked on the article, but whoever rated Tarzan as of "low" importance clearly knows nothing of comic book history. I read articles in fanzines, and even in professional magazines, that are clearly written by a person for whom comic books = superheroes, and who consider, for example, Bouncing Boy as more important than Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, or Tarzan. We need someone who is impartial, but who has read some comic books that are not superhero comic books, to rate this article. Rick Norwood (talk) 12:26, 26 May 2008 (UTC)

The reason Tarzan is significant within comics is because of the creators, not particularly the character, and an article which discusses the character as it appears across many different media is not of the greatest interest to the comics WikiProject, where we are more interested in articles which solely focus on how topics relate to comics. The comics relevant material in this article comprises roughly 10% of the article; I therefore submit this of low importance to the comics WikiProject in terms of focussing our efforts. I welcome other opinions as a consensus view is built. Hiding T 12:45, 26 May 2008 (UTC)

Your explanation is plausable, but does not explain why Tarzan (comics) is also rated as of low importance. Rick Norwood (talk) 13:56, 26 May 2008 (UTC)

==WikiProject Comics B-Class Assesment further details please contact the Comics WikiProject

1980s video game

This was also released on the ZX Spectrum. 86.131.91.163 (talk) 22:20, 8 November 2008 (UTC)

There now reads: "A game under the title Tarzan Goes Ape, with little connection to the franchise, was released in the 1980s for the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum."

However, when searching the exact year, several sites have 1991. 46.132.75.217 (talk) 22:30, 10 April 2024 (UTC)

C-Class rated for Comics Project

As this B-Class article has yet to receive a review, it has been rated as C-Class. If you disagree and would like to request an assesment, please visit Wikipedia:WikiProject_Comics/Assessment#Requesting_an_assessment and list the article. Hiding T 14:36, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Trivia :- "Hezza"

Michael Heseltine`s nickname "Hezza" has no connection with his other nickname of "Tarzan". "Hezza" comes from the British habit of putting "zza" onto the first syllable of either a surname, as in footballer Paul Gascoine being called "Gazza", or a first name as in anyone called Barry being called "Bazza" or Terry known as "Tezza".94.197.175.82 (talk) 17:49, 21 May 2009 (UTC)

I agree. I'll change it, it's a ridiculous statement. Centrepull (talk) 16:20, 16 June 2009 (UTC)

Influence - Critical Reception section needs considerable remix

The article neglects discussion of the influence of this series of books, films etc. The strong imagery of Tarzan played a significant part in the perception of sub-Saharan Africa in the West in the twentieth century. The extensive, popular appearance of the Tarzan character across all kinds of media adds weight to this. Issues concerned include

Portrayal of sub-Saharan Africa as homogeneous
Portrayal as exclusively rural
Almost complete lack of portrayal of any civilisation
Portrayal of the local peoples as exclusively primitive and savage

There are many easily accessible academic citations to support these opinions and a relevant 'Influence' section could include mention of them.

I'm looking for authoritative citations of the statement that Edgar Rice Burroughs never visited Africa in his lifetime - I have also read that he never visited Africa until after he had written the early Tarzan books. His WKP entry claims the former. It is significant, given the equatorial African setting of the Tarzan books, and Tarzan's status as a cultural icon. It seems evident that ERB obtained his portrayal of Africa from the writings of the African explorers of the time such as J. W. Buell's Heroes of the Dark Continent H.M. Stanley's 'In Darkest Africa' Edward J. Glave's 'In Savage Africa' and Lionel Decle's 'Three Years in Savage Africa' . These volumes are all from ERB's personal library, as archived by Danton Burroughs in Tarzana, California. There's more, but the slant is evident.

The paragraph discussing racism is very poorly written, inaccurate, and not NPOV. The Tarzan books and movies were being criticised as racist before the 1970s, as early as the 1950s, and probably earlier. The example of the description of the local peoples ('blacks' in the article!), is actually positive, compared with a more representative example of an objectionable description that could have been used. Pertinent example from Chapter 9 of Tarzan of the Apes:

their great protruding lips added still further to the low and bestial brutishness of their appearance

The issue of racism in the novels has little to do with whether or not ERB portrayed the local inhabitants as 'individuals with good and bad traits' in some of the books, nor whether stereotyping was 'the custom in popular fiction of the time'. The section goes on to state that 'Burroughs opinions reflected common attitudes of the time, which in a 21st-century context would be considered racist and sexist'. These are further apologia. While true, they were good old racist and sexist attitudes in the 20th century and considered as such - even if this racism and sexism was only widely recognised in the second half of the 2oth century. The section needs sorting out. Centrepull (talk) 04:08, 17 June 2009 (UTC)

This section on critical reception seems to focus almost exclusively on racism and sexism. Surely there must be other angles that can be discussed that academics have analyzed! Besides, I find it hard to believe that a white child raised by apes and brought up outside civilization would not form opinions about other groups (who are often hostile) that differ from latter-day civilized norms. The guy probably didn't have a diversity adviser telling him not to say certain things. What is remarkable about Tarzan is just how well-adjusted he really is. But that's just my own apologia. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.28.188.108 (talk) 10:13, 3 July 2010 (UTC)

It seems this page has been a victim of the flanderization of Tarzan as a character to an embodiment of early 20th century sexism and racism by the SJW types editing/writing this page. I would recommend a re-write of the Critical Reception category to something that both highlights its impact within mainstream society and then what "new" scholars have to say on this topic, as Tarzan has inspired a great deal of film, literature, and even music. That section of the article has a strong bias with a lack of expounding upon the popularity of the character. There are 7 paragraphs dedicated to pointing out the perceived sexism and misogyny and racism of the character, most of which are generalizations and vague innuendos justified by single-word excerpts from the 20-some novels. 2601:49:1:5316:3C82:2083:9C0:30A0 (talk) 04:19, 17 July 2018 (UTC)

Tarzan's character in ERB's books and in film

Since there is a section describing the character of Tarzan in ERB's books, and it is noted that there are Tarzan films, the article should mention somewhere the fact that the character in the Tarzan films (except the film Greystoke) is utterly different from the character in the Tarzan books. Tom129.93.17.213 (talk) 22:16, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

I agree. Just remember ex. Bo Derek and "Tarzan" in Africa with an orangutan... --RicHard-59 (talk) 19:14, 2 October 2009 (UTC)

Ebooks

Is there a need to list all possible places one can download free Tarzan ebooks, when Project Gutenberg and Gutenberg Australia have all possible ERB ebooks available? HolyEbooks have three...--RicHard-59 (talk) 19:14, 2 October 2009 (UTC)

Swinging from vines?

Although it's been a while since I last read a Tarzan boon, as best I recall, in none of them did ERB describe Tarzan's mode of travel through the trees as swinging from vines, which I believe is an artifact of the movies as much as the "Me Tarzan, you Jane" mode of dialogue. ERB was somewhat vague in his description of Tarzan going through the trees, but such description as he did provide seemed to indicate the Apeman used branches and not vines. Wschart (talk) 00:38, 19 October 2009 (UTC)

In later books, Burroughs, on a couple occasions, did have Tarzan swing on vines. No cite right off, but I do recall being surprised that he did so. Sir Rhosis (talk) 12:42, 19 October 2009 (UTC)

Israeli "brochures" - or comics?

The "Unauthorised Works" section tells of the Israeli Tarzan adventures of the 1960s. It refers to these as "brochures" e.g. "a thriving industry of locally-produced Tarzan adventures published weekly in 24-page brochures."

Pretty sure that "brochures" is the wrong word here, I'm guessing a mistranslation. paxman (talk) 12:58, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

citations

"The aristocracy (except the House of Greystoke) and royalty are invariably effete.[16]" With a citation to one book? Unless that book says they are alway effete, this does not qualify as a legitimate citation for the statement. Am I wrong? 07:23, 3 December 2010 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.191.151.75 (talk)

Lex Barker

The actor Lex Barker http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lex_Barker is not listed as one of the actors who played Tarzan — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.240.201.107 (talk) 16:18, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

This page doesn't mention every actor to play the role, just a few highlihgts; see the "Tarzan in film and other non-print media" page for a full listing of Tarzan actors. Sir Rhosis (talk) 09:46, 3 July 2011 (UTC)

You forgot to mention one Tarzan TV series

Wolf Larson starred as Tarzan Lydie Denier as Jane. (1991-1992) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 115.87.189.182 (talk) 13:44, 23 September 2011 (UTC)

It is mentioned briefly in this general article and also at the "Tarzan in other media" article. Sir Rhosis (talk) 05:10, 24 September 2011 (UTC)

pace be upon you — Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.229.48.222 (talk) 05:32, 9 November 2011 (UTC)

The Graveyard Book

Barton Werper

tarzan fighting tigers

Comic STRIPS, not comic books

Crash Test Dummies

Adult life: parents not on an island

Actor Credits in Infobox

Phil Collins?

Book Gorilla Behavior

Post-ERB Books

Logo

John Clayton II

Where is it mentioned that Tarzan's father is the second John Clayton? Danishjaveed (talk) 20:24, 12 December 2017 (UTC)

As it says in the lede, Tarzan is John Clayton II.

From chapter 25 of Tarzan of the Apes, where D'Arnot is reading Clayton senior's diary to Tarzan:

"To-day our little boy is six months old. He is sitting in Alice's lap beside the table where I am writing—a happy, healthy, perfect child.

"Somehow, even against all reason, I seem to see him a grown man, taking his father's place in the world—the second John Clayton—and bringing added honors to the house of Greystoke." — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.235.184.247 (talk) 03:14, 1 February 2018 (UTC)

The way I'm reading it, the "second" John Clayton who is being referred to is Tarzan. His father is telling his wife that their son will succeed him as John Clayton II. Danishjaveed (talk) 16:23, 16 November 2018 (UTC)

That is correct. Tarzan is John Clayton II in Burroughs' books, which is why I often revert editors who change it to John Clayton III. In the recent film he was referred to as the "III" which is where a lot of editors incorrectly insert this into the novel Tarzan articles. Sir Rhosis (talk) 20:19, 16 November 2018 (UTC)

Yes. That's why I asked for the reference as I could not find anything which states otherwise. Danishjaveed (talk) 09:50, 17 November 2018 (UTC)

I don't think it is mentioned here that there was an actual Lord Greystoke (or Greystock) in English history. (See the Wiki article on Baron Greystoke). The title went out of use ('into abeyance') in the 16th century, when the male line of the family died out. There were however three female co-heiresses, meaning that in theory the title could be revived if at any time their descendants leave a single male heir, with no other possible heirs. I don't think ERB necessarily knew the Greystoke history in depth, as he could have found the name in any of the numerous peerage handbooks, or indeed he may have seen the name of the village in Cumbria from which the tile derives.2A00:23C5:6492:8D01:A47C:A3BC:7321:D92E (talk) 16:33, 5 September 2024 (UTC)

Birthplace

Racism and Sexism

The article uses the following phrasing "Burroughs' opinions, manifested through the narrative voice in the stories, reflect common attitudes in his time, which in a 21st-century context would be considered racist and sexist."

Just because the attitudes were common in his time does not mean they were not racist and sexist in his time. The fact that White supremacy was the mainstream philosophy among Whites at the time of the writing does not make his writing any less racist. Would we say that the views of Nazis were common in that time in Germany but in today's context they would be considered anti-Semitic? No. We would accurately describe Nazis' views as anti-Semitic just as we should describe Burroughs' opinions as racist and sexist. The times do not excuse the views. Cook Addison Ely (talk) 03:54, 19 March 2018 (UTC)Cook Addison Ely

I'm just going to come out and call you a complete and utter idiot for comparing Edgar Rice Burroughs to the Nazi party, who shared absolutely zero similar views with the Nazi party of Germany and did not view the world through a lens of White Supremacy, you absolute fool.2601:49:1:5316:3C82:2083:9C0:30A0 (talk) 04:03, 17 July 2018 (UTC)

There is a big difference between Burroughs racism and sexism and the Nazis. Especially after he became an established writer, ERB wrote books that could be considered feminist. Jane is by far the strongest character in Tarzan's Quest. And there was one of his later books that was a satire of racism. In the earlier books the sexism is largely confined to women screaming when attacked by a gorilla, or blacks in roles of servants instead of heroes. Rick Norwood (talk) 21:20, 19 March 2018 (UTC)

Why are these two sections even necessary? I thought that an encyclopedia was to be culture neutral without accommodation of whatever the prevailing culture is embracing or is popular. I would suspect that the angle taken here, if "absolutely necessary or we're going to die" in scope, there are many other articles that would "require" the same treatment. I don't expect current social commentary on an historic event, book, picture, film or other ephemera. I would strongly suggest both sections be removed (or modified to remove the PC BS) from the article. Since this view is not 'politically correct' I assume it will be ignored. After all, it IS just an opinion. THX1136 (talk) 21:20, 4 November 2024 (UTC)