The True Kinda Love
Celebrating what Rebecca Sugar has done to promote mental health, love, and LGBTQ representation.
Cartoon shows have dominated the animation scene on television for the past decade, some of these shows being Gravity Falls, Over the Garden Wall, Adventure Time, and Rebecca Sugar’s 2013 hit, Steven Universe. Sugar had just finished working on Adventure Time when given the opportunity to jumpstart her own show.
Steven Universe, in the simplest explanation possible, stars an exuberant young boy named Steven who grows and learns about love, change, and acceptance (amongst several other themes) with his human father, Greg Universe, and three space mothers/caretakers, Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl. His real mother, Rose Quartz, was once in a group called the Crystal Gems, in which she used her gemstone powers alongside the three space guardians to protect all life on Earth. She gave up her life to give birth to Steven who now has her gem, and must learn how to use it in order to save the universe.
Something Entirely New
Sugar had never been the head of a show before Steven. Before working on anything for TV, she had been the author and illustrator of her webcomic, Pug Davis.
She created this while living back home in Maryland with her brother, Steven, who was the inspiration for the title character of her hit series. Attending and eventually showcasing her artwork at the North Bethesda’s Small Press Expo led her to being brought on as a storyboard artist on Pendleton Ward’s Adventure Time, in which she began writing songs such as “Everything Stays” and even performing as the voice of Marceline’s mother in that same episode the song appears, “Time Adventure” (Mashable, 2018). When interviewed by The Washington Post the weekend prior to Steven Universe’s premiere, Sugar stated,
“It’s definitely a whirlwind…But I feel more ready than if I hadn’t made so many independent comics and done so many films.” -Rebecca Sugar, 2013
On November 4th, 2013, Rebecca Sugar became the first woman to ever produce an animated show on Cartoon Network. The show has not only proven to be a historic landmark, but has become a massive advocate for mental health issues, the power to change, and has paved the path for positive and supportive LGBTQ representation in animation and real life.
Here Comes a Thought
Through both singing and character interactions, Steven Universe has managed to ingrain fans with a staple phrase that has struck a chord with myself as well; It’s ok to not be ok. This means that it is normal to struggle with depression, anxiety, fear, doubt, worry, exclusion, and a plethora of others, and that it is also good to talk about it. In the episode “Mindful Education”, Sugar and the famous R&B musician Estelle (who is also the voice of Garnet) collaborated together with AJ Michalka to create a song that emphasizes that message with “Here Comes a Thought”.
Butterflies are used to represent the everyday thoughts that can cloud our judgement, causing us to become overwhelmed and blind to the people who can help us through. In context of the episode, Connie, one of Steven’s human friends, has become distracted during her and Steven’s fusion* sword training with Pearl. Fighting instincts kicked in at an innocent bystander, and her regrets are unintentionally affecting her and Steven’s fusion, named Stevonnie. Through meditation (a vastly scarce topic in animation since Avatar: The Last Airbender), Garnet teaches Stevonnie the importance of not getting trapped in reflection of past actions. The repetition in the lyrics, “It was just a thought” and “It’s okay” bring to fruition that yes, things will get better and instill a comforting message to those caught up in their trials and tribulations.
Now more than ever, with all of the insanity the world has to offer, a message to children and adults that a past mistake is not the end of the world, but just thoughts you are weighing yourself down with, is life changing.
“It’s ok to not be ok.” -Connie
I’d Love to See Your Colors Shining Through
A non-binary woman herself, Rebecca Sugar’s gem characters are also non-binary. One of the biggest themes of Steven Universe is the acceptance for those of anyone in the LGBTQ community, and its executed beautifully.
From the love Pearl had for Rose, to Fluorite representing polyamorus relationships as a fusion of 6 gems, then Ruby and Sapphire’s wedding in “Reunited”, the rainbow shines brighter than people ever expected from this children’s show. Sugar fought harder than anyone had before to get standards and practices to allow her and the Crewniverse (those working alongside Rebecca Sugar) to put this episode on public television. She tells Nick Romano with Entertainment Weekly of her struggles:
“We started talking about the wedding episode, I think, in early 2016 and it didn’t surprise me that there were roadblocks. I mean, when we were working on “Jail Break,” gay marriage was not yet legal in the US. Basically, what was interesting to me about the arc of this whole experience was that I ended up in many conversations where it was made clear to me that this was not something that should be in G-rated content and that there was a limit on how much we could show these characters, how close these characters could be with each other. And it was a little bit like staring into the sun because I felt the toll it was taking on my personal mental health and I realized that that is what is happening to millions of children because when this is not in this content, that is what is being said to them.” -Sugar, 2018
“Reunited” was eventually approved to run on US television, but many countries, as a result, refused to air the episode. The Crewniverse was unfortunately not new to censorship, however. Episodes such as “We Need to Talk”, in which Pearl aimed a spiteful smile directly at Greg just before fusing with Rose and then danced as Rainbow Quartz afterwards, sparked massive controversy amongst international broadcast companies. It was so unexceptable by some companies’ standards that it caused this portion to be cut or edited to not show anything explicitly deemed as “too sexual” for airings in many different countries (a comparison of the scenes is in the video below). This also happened with some scenes for Ruby and Sapphire when they were unfused from Garnet, because they did nothing but spout love towards each other. If there is one upside to these past experiences, it made things easier for Rebecca Sugar to pitch the wedding episode, as boundaries had already been expanded and accepted.
Stronger Than You
Despite the hardships Rebecca Sugar has faced, she continues to be a powerful force to be reckoned with. All of the dedication she has to this project and others proves her strength and courage to illustrate things hardly addressed in animation. It has inspired millions of people across the globe to embrace who they want to be and teaches lessons of consent, respect, acceptance, and that even one person on their own can make a difference. Viewership for episodes of Steven Universe has hardly ever been short of 1 million on a first airing, as can be seen in the graph below.
Above, I have created a graph of some the most popular episodes of the show, including the ratings for “Steven Universe: The Movie” and episodes from “Steven Universe Future”, the final 20 episodes of the official run of the franchise that ended almost two months ago on March 28th. On the top half are more episodes that fans continuously praised after airings more than during. The decline in viewers watching is most likely due to the fan separation of what the “best” ending to the series is. Change Your Mind, the movie, and the final episode “The Future” are all considered endings in their own way.
Happily Ever After
Rebecca Sugar, creator of Steven Universe, has been an incredibly humble and kind person in all her work and towards those on her team. She continues to be an inspiration for aspiring animators and anyone with dreams of a better tomorrow. She has broken barriers, portrayed little disccused mental health and ways to get help, and shown the world that love is one of the most powerful forces in the world.
If you’ve never watched Steven Universe and enjoy deep plotlines and emotional characters, I highly recommend giving it a chance. If nothing else, I hope that more people can see what Rebecca Sugar has done to attempt to make certain themes and topics less hidden and more open to society.
Terms
*Fusion: When two gems become one cohesive being, formed by a bond of friendship or love, and ultimately more powerful than a singular gem. Steven is half-human, half-gem, so he is a rare exception and can fuse with other humans.*
Sources
