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1LolaWalser
Any fans? Someone recently introduced me to this cartoon and I'm loving it. It's like nothing I've ever seen, in terms of character, relationships, "philosophy" as far as I can discern one.
I feel sorry for myself as a kid, when nothing this humane and liberating existed at all.
The future IS better.
I feel sorry for myself as a kid, when nothing this humane and liberating existed at all.
The future IS better.
2dukedom_enough
I've certainly read a lot of favorable comments, but haven't gotten it together to watch it.
3LolaWalser
Things I noticed and liked, in no particular order:
Steven is a pudgy kid but nobody chastises him when he orders fried "bits" and donuts... and he feels no guilt about how he looks or what he eats. Same goes for Amethyst (with Steven, the character most likely to eat--and it shows.)
Nobody is made fun of for how they look. Garnet is tall, strong, with wide hips and square hair. Amethyst is short and stocky. Pearl is extremely thin. Rose is big in every direction. Peridot is very short. Jasper is huge and muscular. They look the way they look and that is all.
The fusions! With dancing! The singing!
Nobody is derided because they are a girl or a boy or maybe all/none of the above.
There's an amazing absence of disciplinary/admonitory/"educational" sadism. Steven gets into trouble, he gets out of it, he learns stuff without ever being made to feel stupid, horrible, monstrous for having got into trouble in the first place.
Steven is upbeat and he makes others feel better too. Love is expressed freely all around and everyone participates in it, it's not some precious rare resource only ONE special person gets to feel or is the object of. And this is not mawkishly sentimental.
In the episode about how Steven's parents met, Marty the agent tells Steven's to-be dad, Greg, that his problem is that he wants one big woman when he could have multiple little ones. Greg remarks, "Women are people, Marty."
Steven will try anything with full zest and conviction that HE CAN. Failure readjusts his original plans sometimes, but never diminishes his zeal.
Steven doesn't suffer social anxiety. When he notices Lars dithering about approaching the "cool kids", he approaches them first, friendly and easy. They treat him friendly and easy.
Steven doesn't know it, but he's cool, because he's loving and natural.
And so on.
Steven is a pudgy kid but nobody chastises him when he orders fried "bits" and donuts... and he feels no guilt about how he looks or what he eats. Same goes for Amethyst (with Steven, the character most likely to eat--and it shows.)
Nobody is made fun of for how they look. Garnet is tall, strong, with wide hips and square hair. Amethyst is short and stocky. Pearl is extremely thin. Rose is big in every direction. Peridot is very short. Jasper is huge and muscular. They look the way they look and that is all.
The fusions! With dancing! The singing!
Nobody is derided because they are a girl or a boy or maybe all/none of the above.
There's an amazing absence of disciplinary/admonitory/"educational" sadism. Steven gets into trouble, he gets out of it, he learns stuff without ever being made to feel stupid, horrible, monstrous for having got into trouble in the first place.
Steven is upbeat and he makes others feel better too. Love is expressed freely all around and everyone participates in it, it's not some precious rare resource only ONE special person gets to feel or is the object of. And this is not mawkishly sentimental.
In the episode about how Steven's parents met, Marty the agent tells Steven's to-be dad, Greg, that his problem is that he wants one big woman when he could have multiple little ones. Greg remarks, "Women are people, Marty."
Steven will try anything with full zest and conviction that HE CAN. Failure readjusts his original plans sometimes, but never diminishes his zeal.
Steven doesn't suffer social anxiety. When he notices Lars dithering about approaching the "cool kids", he approaches them first, friendly and easy. They treat him friendly and easy.
Steven doesn't know it, but he's cool, because he's loving and natural.
And so on.
4LolaWalser
>2 dukedom_enough:
Ha, I've been hearing about it since it started, but, you know, I kept thinking good god it's a cartoon, on cartoon network, for children... :) Nevertheless. It's so kind and wise--fun too! Although, it might be less interesting in terms of plots and sci-fi elements to people who've seen more anime etc. than I did (nothing, in a word).
Ha, I've been hearing about it since it started, but, you know, I kept thinking good god it's a cartoon, on cartoon network, for children... :) Nevertheless. It's so kind and wise--fun too! Although, it might be less interesting in terms of plots and sci-fi elements to people who've seen more anime etc. than I did (nothing, in a word).
5dukedom_enough
>3 LolaWalser: Sounds subversive. Have the rightwingers noticed yet?
7Lee_Burvine
Just watched some clips on YouTube. There's an awful lot good going on here for a "kids" cartoon.
Thanks for the tip.
Thanks for the tip.
8LolaWalser
>7 Lee_Burvine:
You're welcome! You've inspired me to link to a clip--and I really hope it doesn't ruin anything for any future viewers, it was so nice when it just came on in the story--Steven singing "Giant Woman". He'd just found out that Pearl and Amethyst can fuse to form Opal, an entity combining their features and strengths, and he's trying to get them to do it so he can see this "giant woman". But there's always some friction between the very proper, orderly, slightly OCD Pearl, and the rambunctious "wild child" Amethyst, so they're not too eager to do it.
But once the danger forces them to fuse, they're great:
Pearl and Amethyst form Opal
Highlights: kids get a chance to learn the word "erratic". Steven calls a random mountain goat he has just met "Steven Junior" and "my son". :)
You're welcome! You've inspired me to link to a clip--and I really hope it doesn't ruin anything for any future viewers, it was so nice when it just came on in the story--Steven singing "Giant Woman". He'd just found out that Pearl and Amethyst can fuse to form Opal, an entity combining their features and strengths, and he's trying to get them to do it so he can see this "giant woman". But there's always some friction between the very proper, orderly, slightly OCD Pearl, and the rambunctious "wild child" Amethyst, so they're not too eager to do it.
But once the danger forces them to fuse, they're great:
Pearl and Amethyst form Opal
Highlights: kids get a chance to learn the word "erratic". Steven calls a random mountain goat he has just met "Steven Junior" and "my son". :)
9artturnerjr
Awesome. My daughter is a big fan of this. Didn't realize there was so much going on in it. Obviously she has inherited her dad's excellent taste haha. :) She is a "different" kid (high-functioning autistic), so it sounds like the perfect show for her. Thanks for sharing. :)
10LolaWalser
>9 artturnerjr:
Yay! Did you ever watch it with her? There's an arc and some eps are meatier than other, but seriously, it's quality. I love the final stretch of the second season, which sees Peridot, the enemy, crossing over to their side as she slowly understands the beauty of life on Earth.
Yay! Did you ever watch it with her? There's an arc and some eps are meatier than other, but seriously, it's quality. I love the final stretch of the second season, which sees Peridot, the enemy, crossing over to their side as she slowly understands the beauty of life on Earth.
11artturnerjr
>11 artturnerjr:
Did you ever watch it with her?
No, I have not, but will certainly make it a point to. Sounds like I will find at least as fascinating as she does, if not more so. :)
Did you ever watch it with her?
No, I have not, but will certainly make it a point to. Sounds like I will find at least as fascinating as she does, if not more so. :)
12LolaWalser
Cooool! And remember, buddy, you can always 'fess up to me if you find yourself hankering after Steven's CHEESEBURGER BACKPACK. I'll understand if no one else will. =)
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