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I took a little time off from writing here in an attempt to get some other projects done. This initiative was only partially successful - I got one project done (the VHM doujin series synopsis) and am a couple days away from finishing up the second, but the third (an Angelique thing), while almost done, isn't as far along as I'd like. The finish line was indeed in sight for all three projects when the month began, but those last few feet took a heck of a long time to traverse. It's the old law of increasing opportunity costs: 95% of the work takes 50% of the time, and that problem 5% takes up the other 50%. I should know by now, though, that I'm most productive when I have several irons in the fire and am energized by panic. If I free up time by suspending projects, I end up not using it effectively.
In the meantime: I've been watching internet darling Steven Universe. It features a really nice art style of cotton-candy geometrics that's thoughtfully executed yet feels carefree. There's some really good visual comedy in the series (like Steven spelunking to the back of a storage unit to retrieve an item and being pulled out by rope, resulting in the entirety of the unit's crammed-in contents being yanked out in one big rectangular mass). As has been noted on the net, the show's done a great job of celebrating the beauty of a wide variety of body types. Plus, even though episodes run less than 12 minutes, they don't feel like incomplete experiences. It really is a show designed for internet attention spans, and I mean that in a completely positive sense: the writers make the most of their brief ep length and don't waste time, and as a result, you feel more or less fully satisfied at the end of each story.
That said: I don't know if I like it. There are things about it that I know I don't like. One of the big problems stems from how the show is really written for an audience of teens & adults who like cartoons yet is trying to pass itself off, at least nominally, as for kids. The show writes its characters darker and with more adult problems to play to the former audience, but it can't really examine those issues properly, lest it lose its kiddie veneer.
As a result, it tries to pass off as funny little quirks behavior that is genuinely disturbing. One of Steven's friends has a mother who is overtly controlling. Steven's dad is manipulative, lying to his own son and preying on his emotions to take advantage of him. One of the supporting characters, a clerk at the donut shop Steven frequents, lies to his co-worker friend (who has a crush on him), shoves his own work off on her, and treats her like garbage. She, in turn, manufactures a situation where they are stranded in a desolate location together for an extended period and his life is endangered so that he'll fall in love with her. The abusive behavior and its emotional consequences are portrayed realistically and hit hard, yet it's either handwaved at the end of the episode or not addressed at all. The CW among fans seems to be that bringing up this material in itself is a brave act, yet stuff for kids needs a bit more of a guiding hand when it comes to navigating complicated moral and relationship-related waters (particularly when dealing with thorny, upsetting stuff like abuse from parental figures), and the writers here just don't follow through, on either a kid-show or adult-show level. I don't think they know the full ramifications of what they're doing; as it stands, it comes off like they're condoning, or at least trivializing, very damaging actions.
The second issue deals with the custody & caretaking of Steven, who seems to be about ten years old and whose mother, for all intents and purposes, died when he was born. His dad is this childish layabout who's more of a pal than a parent and doesn't have much involvement in his son's life; Steven has about the same relationship with him that he does with the clerks at the donut shop he likes. Steven instead lives with the Crystal Gems, immortal magical girl-type humanoid aliens who fight Monsters of the Week. (Steven's mother was once a Crystal Gem, and he has inherited both her gemstone and her powers.) The Gems, though, aren't suitable parental figures, either: one's just a big kid herself, one is indifferent to Steven on an everyday basis, and one is actively attempting to undermine Steven's relationship with his father and play Steven against him for selfish reasons. There are other, collective issues with the Gems as parents: they're not exactly fond of humanity (to an almost alarming degree for the heroes of a cartoon, to be honest); they usually treat Steven as an annoyance; they're constantly taking him with them on death-defying missions and urging him to do dangerous things (a staple of kids' shows with kid heroes, but Steven gets into truly dire straits with alarming frequency); and they really have no idea of how to raise a human child. (Steven doesn't go to school and, being unfamiliar with the very concept of the place, apparently never has; he's not receiving any tutoring, either.)
My complaints seem to be verging on MST3K "you should really just relax" territory, but Steven's desire for parental love and guidance as he grows up is a huge part of the show, to the point where the glaring deficiencies in his parental situation just can't be overlooked. The show, though, never really questions the Gems' suitability as parents for Steven (the whole schooling situation is played as a joke), and his expressions of need for love and attention are treated as the wacky, annoying whims of a crazy character instead of being recognized as the normal needs of a child that maybe aren't being properly fulfilled. The show is so enamored with its magical-girl star attractions that it can't see them clearly; to be honest, between the portrayal of Steven's dad and its condescending attitude toward Steven's normal kiddishness, the idea that the show was infantilizing its male characters came to mind.
I've seen the show compared to Utena because it's female-positive and one character espouses a pink rose motif, but Utena knew it was for teens & up, and it had a much better grasp of its characters' flaws & peccadilloes and didn't flinch from examining them in depth. I'll probably stumble to the end of the available episodes eventually, and the program has its strengths to be sure, but from what I've watched (half of Season 1), it's not in the big leagues yet.
.
In the meantime: I've been watching internet darling Steven Universe. It features a really nice art style of cotton-candy geometrics that's thoughtfully executed yet feels carefree. There's some really good visual comedy in the series (like Steven spelunking to the back of a storage unit to retrieve an item and being pulled out by rope, resulting in the entirety of the unit's crammed-in contents being yanked out in one big rectangular mass). As has been noted on the net, the show's done a great job of celebrating the beauty of a wide variety of body types. Plus, even though episodes run less than 12 minutes, they don't feel like incomplete experiences. It really is a show designed for internet attention spans, and I mean that in a completely positive sense: the writers make the most of their brief ep length and don't waste time, and as a result, you feel more or less fully satisfied at the end of each story.
That said: I don't know if I like it. There are things about it that I know I don't like. One of the big problems stems from how the show is really written for an audience of teens & adults who like cartoons yet is trying to pass itself off, at least nominally, as for kids. The show writes its characters darker and with more adult problems to play to the former audience, but it can't really examine those issues properly, lest it lose its kiddie veneer.
As a result, it tries to pass off as funny little quirks behavior that is genuinely disturbing. One of Steven's friends has a mother who is overtly controlling. Steven's dad is manipulative, lying to his own son and preying on his emotions to take advantage of him. One of the supporting characters, a clerk at the donut shop Steven frequents, lies to his co-worker friend (who has a crush on him), shoves his own work off on her, and treats her like garbage. She, in turn, manufactures a situation where they are stranded in a desolate location together for an extended period and his life is endangered so that he'll fall in love with her. The abusive behavior and its emotional consequences are portrayed realistically and hit hard, yet it's either handwaved at the end of the episode or not addressed at all. The CW among fans seems to be that bringing up this material in itself is a brave act, yet stuff for kids needs a bit more of a guiding hand when it comes to navigating complicated moral and relationship-related waters (particularly when dealing with thorny, upsetting stuff like abuse from parental figures), and the writers here just don't follow through, on either a kid-show or adult-show level. I don't think they know the full ramifications of what they're doing; as it stands, it comes off like they're condoning, or at least trivializing, very damaging actions.
The second issue deals with the custody & caretaking of Steven, who seems to be about ten years old and whose mother, for all intents and purposes, died when he was born. His dad is this childish layabout who's more of a pal than a parent and doesn't have much involvement in his son's life; Steven has about the same relationship with him that he does with the clerks at the donut shop he likes. Steven instead lives with the Crystal Gems, immortal magical girl-type humanoid aliens who fight Monsters of the Week. (Steven's mother was once a Crystal Gem, and he has inherited both her gemstone and her powers.) The Gems, though, aren't suitable parental figures, either: one's just a big kid herself, one is indifferent to Steven on an everyday basis, and one is actively attempting to undermine Steven's relationship with his father and play Steven against him for selfish reasons. There are other, collective issues with the Gems as parents: they're not exactly fond of humanity (to an almost alarming degree for the heroes of a cartoon, to be honest); they usually treat Steven as an annoyance; they're constantly taking him with them on death-defying missions and urging him to do dangerous things (a staple of kids' shows with kid heroes, but Steven gets into truly dire straits with alarming frequency); and they really have no idea of how to raise a human child. (Steven doesn't go to school and, being unfamiliar with the very concept of the place, apparently never has; he's not receiving any tutoring, either.)
My complaints seem to be verging on MST3K "you should really just relax" territory, but Steven's desire for parental love and guidance as he grows up is a huge part of the show, to the point where the glaring deficiencies in his parental situation just can't be overlooked. The show, though, never really questions the Gems' suitability as parents for Steven (the whole schooling situation is played as a joke), and his expressions of need for love and attention are treated as the wacky, annoying whims of a crazy character instead of being recognized as the normal needs of a child that maybe aren't being properly fulfilled. The show is so enamored with its magical-girl star attractions that it can't see them clearly; to be honest, between the portrayal of Steven's dad and its condescending attitude toward Steven's normal kiddishness, the idea that the show was infantilizing its male characters came to mind.
I've seen the show compared to Utena because it's female-positive and one character espouses a pink rose motif, but Utena knew it was for teens & up, and it had a much better grasp of its characters' flaws & peccadilloes and didn't flinch from examining them in depth. I'll probably stumble to the end of the available episodes eventually, and the program has its strengths to be sure, but from what I've watched (half of Season 1), it's not in the big leagues yet.
.
