-
Stop! Giant robots shouldn’t fight!
-
Steven Universe is an adventure show about
-
a boy with super powers derived from an
-
interstellar gemstone in his belly.
-
But in many ways it’s also a coming-of-age
-
story about a young man growing up and
-
trying to find his place in the world.
-
My gem!
-
Quick! Try and summon your weapon.
-
I don't know how.
-
Ah! It's fading! How do I make it come back?
-
Calm down, Steven. Breathe. D--
-
[Group sigh.]
-
Aww! I was really close that time.
-
Coming-of-age narratives for boys usually
-
involve an education in sex, sports,
-
hunting, or fighting.
-
Jonathan: These activities are framed as a
-
sort of rite-of-passage. In stories set in
-
sci-fi, fantasy, or superhero genres,
-
combat is almost always the mechanism
-
through which young men must prove
-
their worthiness.
-
This is usually not framed as outright
-
aggression on the hero’s part, but is
-
instead justified as the ability to “fight back.”
-
There are accompanying characteristics like
-
wit, determination, cleverness or confidence,
-
but learning how to be “tough" and proficient
-
in dealing out violence is consistently framed
-
as a necessary step for boys to complete
-
their journey into manhood.
-
As the series begins, Steven Universe appears
-
to be following in the footsteps of these
-
well-worn conventions. Steven wants his own
-
gem-powered weapon to help fight off
-
monsters like the other Crystal Gems.
-
But when he finally does conjure his weapon
-
it isn’t a weapon.
-
Steven, it’s a shield.
-
And this is where the series begins to
-
depart from classic genre expectations.
-
Rather than being disappointed at not
-
getting an offensive or aggressive skill,
-
Steven wholeheartedly embraces his
-
new defensive superpower.
-
Steven: Aw, what? I get a shield?
-
Oh, YEAH!
-
Hey guys, over here!
-
This way!
-
The show continues its subversion of
-
boy hero tropes when we find out that
-
Steven is a healer.
-
What?
-
I can see without my glasses!
-
Did I heal your eyes? But, how?
-
Jonathan: His mother had healing tears,
-
whereas Steven has...
-
Steven: The Juice box! I don't have
-
healing tears! I have healing spit!
-
Yeah, maybe a little gross. But when you
-
think about it, that essentially means that
-
Steven possesses healing kisses,
-
healing affection.
-
Yeah! Here goes something new and exciting.
-
Mmm, and GO!
-
Okay, you should be better now.
-
So, Steven’s a healer and his gem power is
-
centered around shielding others from harm
-
That’s especially interesting because in
-
many fantasy stories and video games,
-
those are both considered to be secondary
-
or support skills.
-
Medics and other protective spell casters
-
have often been gendered roles. They’re
-
roles that have been filled by women who
-
stand back and supplement the other warrior
-
classes, who have traditionally been men.
-
This convention has begun to change in
-
recent years, which is a really good sign.
-
But the gendering of these types of roles
-
still remains a pervasive pattern in media.
-
Giving these kinds of support powers to
-
the male protagonist is a fun if pretty
-
straightforward inversion. But I’d argue
-
that Steven has another superpower.
-
Something that’s even more important and
-
even more fundamental to his character and
-
to the show’s values as a whole.
-
You see, Steven is empathic.
-
You might even say he’s super-empathic.
-
Steven, your mother had healing tears that
-
flowed from her gem. She felt real love for
-
those around her. She felt real sorrow when
-
they were hurt. You have the Rose Quartz
-
gem now. I know that power is in you too.
-
Empathy is the ability to understand and
-
share the feelings or emotions of another
-
person. But empathy is not just feeling bad
-
for someone else. It’s actually feeling what
-
they feel, and that’s an important distinction.
-
It’s what separates sympathy from empathy.
-
Spirit, show yourself!
-
It’s close. I can feel it. It’s hurting
-
and obsessed.
-
Wait, how do you know?
-
I don’t, but I could just feel it. She was
-
yelling, and she was really freaked out.
-
As season one begins the show’s structure
-
seems to be following a fairly standard
-
“monster of the week” adventure show formula.
-
But then in episode 23, which is appropriately
-
titled "Monster Buddies," we start to get
-
the sense that this is not just a show about
-
going on fun adventures and fighting baddies,
-
like a lot of other shows in the same genre
-
tend to be. At the beginning of that episode
-
we see the Gems fighting a monster just
-
like they have many times before...
-
Pearl: One more attack should do it.
-
Jonathan: -- but this time Steven reacts
-
a little differently.
-
Steven: Yikes! Your arm.
-
Did you see it? No? Okay. Let’s rewind it
-
and watch it again. Ok. So, notice that
-
the creature's arm is damaged during this
-
encounter.
-
Steven: Yikes! Your arm--
-
Jonathan: And seeing this, Steven expresses
-
concern for her well-being, while grabbing
-
at his own arm. Essentially, Steven is
-
super sensitive to others. He possesses the
-
capacity to vicariously experience other
-
people's feelings. When someone else is
-
hurting, Steven hurts. He feels their pain
-
as if it were his own.
-
This kind of super-sensitivity is especially
-
rare for boy heroes because in our culture
-
emotional intuition is still stereotypically
-
associated with women. And as such, media
-
often frames it as overly sensitive
-
"girl stuff." But on this show,
-
things work very differently.
-
Steven: Well, I think you're pretty great.
-
Jonathan: In this universe, it’s common
-
for male characters to act in caring and
-
emotionally sensitive ways.
-
You can watch my full episode about that
-
right here.
-
Later, Steven makes friends with another
-
monster and names her Centipeetle.
-
At first, they're both afraid of each other.
-
But remember from my last video that being
-
afraid is not a negative trait on this show.
-
And Steven's fear is reasonable; the monster
-
is indeed dangerous. But Steven is resolute
-
in his conviction that monsters are not
-
all bad, that there is still good in them.
-
Steven: It looks so scared. Uh, hi.
-
Aw, it's okay.
-
Look. Please don't be scared of me.
-
See, I'm not going to hurt you.
-
Jonathan: Now critically, Steven's belief
-
that his new monster buddy can be redeemed
-
is not framed by the show as childish
-
idealism. Instead it's looked upon as
-
honorable and commendable.
-
Stop! You don't need to fight!
-
This isn't you! You're not a monster anymore.
-
You're more than that.
-
The larger lore of this universe also works
-
to validate Steven's empathetic convictions.
-
Recall that the Crystal Gems all have
-
extraterrestrial superpowers because of
-
their gemstones. In the episode "Ocean Gem,"
-
we learn that all the monsters our heroes
-
have been fighting each week are actually
-
gems themselves, or more accurately they
-
once were gems but they've been corrupted.
-
I can't believe Lapis would do this.
-
Gems shouldn't fight each other.
-
We're always fighting gems, actually.
-
What?!
-
Oh, how do I put this?
-
All gems aren't necessarily good.
-
All those monsters we fight used to be
-
just like us! Right, Pearl?
-
Yes, but they've become corrupted and
-
broken. We have to take care of them,
-
subdue them, contain them. It's the best
-
we can do for them for now.
-
This also illustrates one of the core values
-
of the show, which is the belief in the
-
possibility of transformative redeption.
-
The truth is Rose Quartz had tried to use
-
her powers to save these monsters too.
-
But she was never able to heal them.
-
Never? But if she couldn't do it.
-
Who knows. Maybe when you have better
-
control of your powers, you might help
-
them in ways even your mother couldn't.
-
Even this one.
-
Steven: I'll keep it safe.
-
Jonathan: And Steven, along with his
-
supercharged empathy, are often the voice
-
of that message.
-
Steven: Wow...wait for me Centipeetle.
-
I promise I'll heal you up someday.
-
He sees the redemptive possibility in
-
everyone and everything, even when the much
-
more experienced gems may be a little
-
skeptical. For Steven, no one is unworthy
-
of compassion or empathy, even monsters.
-
Steven, be careful.
-
But this just happened. Maybe I can do
-
something. Jasper, it's okay. I'm here.
-
I just wanna try and heal you.
-
It's uncommon to see this kind of empathy
-
on television, especially when expressed
-
for the "bad guys." While it is true that
-
most "good guys" in media do demonstrate
-
some empathy for their friends, their
-
family, and their allies, those feelings
-
are very rarely extended to their enemies.
-
And it's almost unheard of in programming
-
aimed at children, which tends, more than
-
most, to break narratives down into simplistic
-
good versus evil, easy to digest lessons.
-
[Duck Tales theme song plays]
-
Jonathan: In most animated shows, the "bad
-
guys" simply can't be reformed. If you look
-
at everything from, say, Duck Tales to the
-
Batman universe, you'll notice that the
-
villains are by and large framed as evil
-
by nature. Villainy is not just something
-
they do. Villainy is what they are.
-
The prisoner will stand.
-
Jonathan: So any attempt at rehabilitation
-
is ultimately doomed to fail.
-
And the belief in the possibility of
-
redemption is therefore often framed as
-
foolish or naive or worse—something
-
that can actually endanger society itself.
-
But on Steven Universe things are more
-
nuanced. Here, the "bad guys" don't just
-
do bad things because they're intrinsically
-
or inherently evil. They do bad things
-
because of their history and their
-
circumstances. Now the bad guys are no less
-
dangerous, but it does mean there always
-
exists at least the possibility for
-
redemption. And that possibility is what
-
guides and shapes Steven's actions.
-
Wait. Let me try talking to it.
-
Hey. How's it going? Can you hear me?
-
Are you in there somewhere?
-
And this brings us to the final point
-
I want to make in this video. A critical
-
part of Steven's super-empathy is that
-
it's always actionable. The actionable part
-
is key. Not only does he feel for others...
-
Steven: Oh, oh! She's coming back!
-
Jonathan: ...he also does something about it.
-
Steven: Alright, everyone be supportive.
-
Jonathan: Steven consistently intervenes to
-
de-escalate and resolve conflicts.
-
Lapis! I don't want to fight anymore.
-
I said I don't wanna fight!
-
Jonathan: In the episode "Ocean Gem," we
-
get to see Steven using all of his
-
superpowers to de-escalate a potentially
-
cataclysmic situation. He ends the fight
-
and ultimately resolves the conflict by
-
talking it out with the antagonist.
-
Lapis, I'm coming up to see you.
-
Steven: Lapis.
-
What are you doing here, Steven?
-
What? I... No. What are you doing here?
-
This thing, the ocean, this is crazy!
-
Can't we work this out? We gems should
-
be friends.
-
Jonathan: Steven talks with her, he listens
-
to her, and he treats her with empathy
-
and kindness.
-
I just want to go home.
-
Jonathan: In the end, he even uses his
-
healing powers to mend her broken gem, even
-
after she's tried to hurt him,
-
his friends, and his family.
-
Thank you, Steven.
-
Now it's not all kumbaya in Beach City.
-
The Crystal Gems are not pacifists. Our
-
heroes are often forced into battle, but
-
when that happens Steven still expresses
-
his discomfort, even when
-
he's under attack by mutants.
-
Steven: They're all over us. They're
-
attacking the drill. What do we do?
-
Jonathan: So win or lose, the specter of
-
violence and confrontation weighs heavy
-
on his heart.
-
Something doesn't feel right about this.
-
Then use the D-pad.
-
No. It's just, these things. We can't just
-
leave their gems out there. They're going
-
to form again later. If I could just bubble
-
them, then they'd be safe. Come on.
-
We've got to help them.
-
And of course there's tension and discord
-
among friends from time to time, sometimes
-
even leading to physical fights, but on
-
this show those issues are ultimately
-
resolved through means other than violence
-
and domination, often at the insistence
-
of Steven himself.
-
So it was all my fault? Hoho, you totally
-
weren't even trying to sync with my dancing.
-
You should know how I dance by now.
-
Steven: Stop!
-
Come on, guys. Please stop fighting.
-
Why don't you just leave!
-
Admit it. I'm just an embarrassment to you.
-
Amethyst, please, no more! I know you're
-
upset, but I can't bear to watch you two
-
hurt each other.
-
It's Steven's undying faith in the
-
possibility of redemptive transformation
-
that drives his efforts to prevent fights.
-
You, listen to me now. You are talking
-
about things that you do not understand.
-
Garnet, stop, please! It's not worth it.
-
We're done here. Let's just go home.
-
Wait, don't! Come on, baby melon.
-
We have to stop this.
-
If that thing hurt you, so help me, I'll...
-
No! It didn't do anything. Garnet, don't
-
hurt it! I accidentally let it out of its
-
bubble, but it didn't even try to hurt me.
-
It's not like the other monsters.
-
It's just scared and confused.
-
Everything that we've talked about in this
-
episode is extremely rare for boy heroes
-
on TV. But it really shouldn't be.
-
The world could use a whole lot more of
-
Steven's superpowers. We need more role
-
models for boys where empathy and
-
de-escalation and diplomacy are framed as
-
brave and heroic behaviors.
-
Haha, yeah. That's what I'm talking about.
-
You got that much needed counterpoint to
-
our cynical worldview.
-
The good news is that unlike a magical
-
shield or healing saliva, you don't need
-
an interstellar gemstone to practice
-
empathic behaviors. Now it may take us
-
some time to learn how to wield them
-
effectively, but we all have access to
-
those very human superpowers.
-
I hope you enjoyed this in depth exporation
-
of themes and messages on Steven Universe.
-
If you'd like to see more videos related
-
to media and manhood, you can help fund
-
the Pop Culture Detective Agency
-
over on our Patreon page.