I liked Steven Universe but the imperialist/fash apologia of the show threw me for a wild minute. At least the Owl House is better by portraying the witch hating puritan villain straight up evil and shitty (not needing forgiveness). I really enjoy media that admits "you know what bash the fash/imperialist it's good fuckin praxis y'all".
I've never understood that criticism. The Gems weren't really genocidal or imperialistic. Both of those terms imply the act as "targeted", at least in my mind(less so imperialism but I digress) . They're a galactic alien force bent on extracting every resource they find, and barely even acknowledge other life being so far removed. I'm vegan but even I can't prevent or spare thoughts for life I destroy just by existing and walking down the street, which is what I'd somewhat compare it to. When finally confronted by a force that could match them and share a different morality they showed a willingness to change and learn. Are we supposed to punish people for wanting to change who, I reiterate, had an alien morality? That seems like a lot more interesting topic to handle.
Also real world answer, the show was canceled way too early so who knows how they would have handled "rehabilitation" given proper time.
Yeah I avoid fandoms in a similar manner to live idol worship. I watched and talked about it with friends but that was kinda it. The show is exceedingly good at breaking down issues of emotional trauma, relationship boundaries, inter generational issues, PTSD, stress, burnout, and mental health in a way that is great for kids (prolly was part of the start of "kids shows that didnt talk down to kids about serious shit"). The overarching plot of the imperialist murder gems though could have used some rewrites in the conclusion.
When it turns out your aunts and grandma are gem Hitlers it gets kinda weird ngl comrade, again that's my negative point for the show yet also my positives points on it also stand (and I think are worthwhile in making emotionally communicative pieces of media). Also you can drop the anger posting this aint :reddit-logo: we can agree to disagree here without malding too much.
Redemption arcs aren't bad (reddit is just filled with absolutist shitheads), I just think they have to be careful in how they use them (since the audience is commonly children to these types of "redeeming the villain" arcs). For a show like SU that built up a such a huge villain like the Gem Empire it was honestly weird to see them turn it into a family drama of generational strife and misunderstanding, i.e. I feel this is a lib style of the show alongside the treatment of Bismuth as you pointed out. Then again it's weird having a show that's legit set during a lull period in which a revolutionary force got more or less killed/PTSD bombed by a nuke and the evil empire has continued to blow up and exploit planets as colonies. It could be they rushed it, or didn't know how to properly conclude it once the set up was done on Homeworld. The show may have been better off set up in a higher age bracket but then again that stuff is never greenlit by studios so what was made was already pretty amazing by the standards of children's entertainment at the time.
I liked Steven Universe but the imperialist/fash apologia of the show threw me for a wild minute. At least the Owl House is better by portraying the witch hating puritan villain straight up evil and shitty (not needing forgiveness). I really enjoy media that admits "you know what bash the fash/imperialist it's good fuckin praxis y'all".
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I've never understood that criticism. The Gems weren't really genocidal or imperialistic. Both of those terms imply the act as "targeted", at least in my mind(less so imperialism but I digress) . They're a galactic alien force bent on extracting every resource they find, and barely even acknowledge other life being so far removed. I'm vegan but even I can't prevent or spare thoughts for life I destroy just by existing and walking down the street, which is what I'd somewhat compare it to. When finally confronted by a force that could match them and share a different morality they showed a willingness to change and learn. Are we supposed to punish people for wanting to change who, I reiterate, had an alien morality? That seems like a lot more interesting topic to handle.
Also real world answer, the show was canceled way too early so who knows how they would have handled "rehabilitation" given proper time.
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Yeah I avoid fandoms in a similar manner to live idol worship. I watched and talked about it with friends but that was kinda it. The show is exceedingly good at breaking down issues of emotional trauma, relationship boundaries, inter generational issues, PTSD, stress, burnout, and mental health in a way that is great for kids (prolly was part of the start of "kids shows that didnt talk down to kids about serious shit"). The overarching plot of the imperialist murder gems though could have used some rewrites in the conclusion.
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When it turns out your aunts and grandma are gem Hitlers it gets kinda weird ngl comrade, again that's my negative point for the show yet also my positives points on it also stand (and I think are worthwhile in making emotionally communicative pieces of media). Also you can drop the anger posting this aint :reddit-logo: we can agree to disagree here without malding too much.
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Redemption arcs aren't bad (reddit is just filled with absolutist shitheads), I just think they have to be careful in how they use them (since the audience is commonly children to these types of "redeeming the villain" arcs). For a show like SU that built up a such a huge villain like the Gem Empire it was honestly weird to see them turn it into a family drama of generational strife and misunderstanding, i.e. I feel this is a lib style of the show alongside the treatment of Bismuth as you pointed out. Then again it's weird having a show that's legit set during a lull period in which a revolutionary force got more or less killed/PTSD bombed by a nuke and the evil empire has continued to blow up and exploit planets as colonies. It could be they rushed it, or didn't know how to properly conclude it once the set up was done on Homeworld. The show may have been better off set up in a higher age bracket but then again that stuff is never greenlit by studios so what was made was already pretty amazing by the standards of children's entertainment at the time.
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