[MUSIC PLAYING]
[GRUNTING]
[SCREECHING]
In this episode of Steven Universe
something remarkable happens, especially
for an animated children's show.
This episode, Monster Buddy, Steven and his friends
have captured a hideous monster.
But through a series of mishaps--
[SQUAWKING]
Steven, you can't just--
[YELLS]
Steven sets it free.
And this is a really gross and kind of disgusting creature.
It has this nasty little beak and it literally drools acid.
On paper there is nothing redeemable about this thing,
superficially especially.
But now where most characters in a superhero action show would
find a way to fight this thing, and win the day by punching it
into the sun, Steven doesn't.
He wants to be its friend.
He wants to know where it's coming from.
Imagine if in Alien, Ellen Ripley,
tried to get to know the xenomorph.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Which is actually the plot of Alien: Resurrection,
but you get the point.
And here it's all because Steven possesses
is a power that's unique in superheroes-- empathy.
Oh come on, Pearl.
She can help us on like missions and stuff.
Oh no, out of the question.
Sure he can generate force fuels and astrally project himself,
but his greatest power is seeing humanity in what most people
would consider monstrous.
Wait don't!
Come on, baby melon.
We have to stop this.
That's what makes Steven and the show, Steven Universe, unique.
By series end, just about every character
that's initially an enemy has become an ally.
And that's because no one is irredeemable in Steven
Universe's chronology.
Steven talks to them, he puts himself
in their shoes to understand their needs
and why they do the things they do.
Which again is unusual for a show built to appeal
to the action side of children.
Did the Powerpuff Girls ever stop
to ask Mojo Jojo where all his anger was coming from?
[EVIL LAUGHTER]
I am Mojo Jojo!
Did Optimus Prime ever sit Starscream down and say, hey,
something going on?
Best to continue our search incognito.
Steven Universe starts out as a monster of the week show,
but over five seasons, one movie, and an epilogue series,
it becomes something more unique.
Something that strikes a chord that most shows
don't even attempt to approach.
It tells an epic story with a deep mythology
that spans galaxies.
Sure, it has fun songs.
They openly defied what co executive producer, Ian
Jones-Quartey, described as the unspoken
rules of children's animation.
Saying, "we had come out of a time where there were
these stock rules: a boy character can't cry,
they can't wear pink."
But in Steven Universe our hero the aforementioned,
Steven Universe, lives in the idyllic beach
city with the crystal gems.
[SINGING] We are the crystal gems.
A trio of alien, gem based humanoids.
And yes, he wears pink.
And yes, he cries a lot.
First episode just throws you into the deep end.
We aren't sure why Steven isn't living with his lovable,
but unambitious dad, who lives in a van.
But instead is being raised by the crystal
gems Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl.
And we also don't know why everyone worships
Steven's mom, Rose Quartz.
Yes, the crystal gems are literally named after gems.
Of course, there's also peridot, lapis, bismuth,
and the diamonds pink, white, yellow, and blue.
It is by design simplistic on its surface.
But over time our heroes learn what it means to be human.
And Steven learns about his past, his powers,
and his emotions.
He learns not to judge anything at first glance.
He sees the most of his enemies don't need to be fought,
they need to be talked to.
Which is good because some pretty messed up stuff happens
to Steven and his friends during the run of the show, which
brings us to all the body horror.
Body horror is a genre that showcases grotesque violations
of well, the body.
It preys upon our own fear of sickness and death
of our bodies rebelling against well, themselves.
For example, in the episode Cat Fingers,
Steven discovers he can turn his fingers into cute little cats.
What seems like a fun goofy plotline
takes a turn when Steven can't stop changing
his body into little cats.
He eventually becomes a rolling mass of cat body parts,
and is unable to stop the change.
It's genuinely upsetting.
Later on in the series, in an episode called
Nightmare Hospital, Steven and his friend,
Connie, face gem mutants that are creatures made entirely
of random body parts.
And in Earthlings, the big bad Jasper
becomes corrupted and looks like this.
Just gross.
For the gems bodies are just shells and the show
plays with this idea of malleable bodies
and what it means to have a body.
If we, as people, are even defined by them at all.
Which is a pretty sophisticated topic
to broach when you're talking about the target audience
that the show's aimed at.
The thing about the crystal gems is
that they can fuse with other gems
and become entirely new beings.
In Steven Universe bodies are just
shells that the gems happen to currently reside in.
Eventually we discover that Garnet isn't just Garnet,
she's the result of a fusion of two different gems, Ruby
and Sapphire.
And those previously fused gems can fuse with other gems
and become kaiju-esque titans.
One of the many joys of watching Steven Universe
is seeing the different combinations
of characters fusing and becoming new beings altogether.
And Steven Universe truly explores this
as Garnet says in one episode, bodies are an illusion.
It's an embodiment of that simplistic idea
and fun finding true meaning.
Take Tiger Billionaire, Stephen discovers
that Amethyst has been posing as a wrestler, a male wrestler.
Steven doesn't stop and say, oh, but you're
a girl, like a show may traditionally do.
It's just accepted that Amethyst can reside in whatever body
she wants for whatever reason she wants.
Steven and his best friend, Connie,
merge and become the non-binary character, Stevonnie.
Does anyone ever stop and say, but look at these two people
in one body.
One's a boy and one's a girl, there are rules.
Steven Universe isn't concerned with any societal conceptions
of anything we traditionally look at or look to
for conversation.
It just kind of walks away and says who cares.
In Steven Universe these kinds of things,
whether it's non-binary characters or gender,
it's just another part of this world's tapestry.
It isn't there to call attention to itself.
Show creator, Rebecca Sugar, has said
she wanted to make a show tailored to queer youth, where
themes of sexuality and attraction and grief
could be highlighted.
As She-Ra and the Princess of Power creator,
Noelle Stevenson, told EW, "there's
been an idea of 'cartoons are for kids'
and they're either aimed at kids in this very optimistic
but simplistic way, or they're aimed
at adults who then bring in a more of this fanboy
fangirl crowd."
She explains what she loved about Stephen Universe was
that it was able to solidify both things.
It delved into complicated themes while never
losing the optimism.
This open accepting beautiful world culminates in the season
five episode, Reunited, where Garnet and Ruby get married.
Despite Cartoon Network's history of quote "not overtly
depicting these kinds of marriages,"
the episode managed to not only be
the first episode of children's television
to ever feature a gay wedding.
But they also managed to squeeze in a fight scene.
Go, Cluster, go!
In the epilogue series, Steven Universe Future,
Steven learns that he ultimately has
to use his powers on himself.
That, as creator Sugar says, you really
have to care about yourself in order
to care about the people around you.
Steven Universe is special because it's
a show that finds something special in everything
it talks about and everyone it puts within its screens.
And if you apply the same level of passion in your work,
or your writing, or whatever it is to your characters
ideally that passion jumps off of them as well.
And Steven Universe is the perfect example
of people who cared creating people who care.
I think that's a good lesson for any artist in general.
There are many reasons to fuse.
Yeah, but what's the best reason to fuse?
That's easy.
The best reason is love.
[BELL RINGING]
Well guys that's it for today's episode.
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If you look down in the description,
you can see all the credits for this video: the writer,
the editor, and of course, me, the voice.
And hopefully I will see you guys in the next video.
[MUSIC PLAYING]