It's rare we see such well-written, realistic development of a kid hero's story. And that's exactly what Rebecca Sugar's Cartoon Network show #StevenUniverseFuture gave us.
Image: Cartoon Network
WARNING: This post contains spoilers for Steven Universe and Steven Universe Future.
Cartoons have come far since the good ol’ days of Disney princesses and mickey mouse. With the changes in social values over the years, you could say we’ve become more “woke” in our perspectives. We know the lives of real people are not rose-tinted, so watching the content Disney or Dreamworks puts out today, while it has made some progress in representing reality, leaves something to be desired.
But have no fear! There are many cartoons from all over the world making strides in the right direction––the one we want to see stories we watch head in.
One of the most powerful and hopeful cartoons to date that showcase real problems that real people experience is that of Steven Universe Future, the descendant show of Steven Universe, both written and directed by Rebecca Sugar at Cartoon Network.
Sugar knows all too well the limiting tradition of kids shows: their tendency to dismiss the aftermath of whatever tragedy or trauma the child protagonist goes through in order to save the world. “If you win a fight, it’s as if that’s not a problem that you were in a fight,” Sugar explains while discussing her show with LA Times.
That particular quote exemplifies the point she was making at large with Steven Universe Future: she wants to unpack what happens to these child protagonists after they save everyone from impending doom.
And that’s the first issue Steven comes across: there is no more impending doom.
Image: Google Images
For those unfamiliar with the franchize, Steven is a half-human half-gem hybrid. For the entirety of Sugar’s first show, Steven Universe, Steven must master his gem abilities in order to stand a chance against defeating the looming threat of the Great Diamond Authority––all at the fragile age of thirteen.
No easy feat to say the least.
He spends so much of his childhood defending the earth, his friends and family, and helping those in need. All that time he was needed because the impending doom depended on him. He was the one who had to fight to save it all.
And then suddenly, it’s over, and he’s not needed anymore after being needed for a long, long time.
I'll restate Sugar's previous quote again.
“If you win a fight, it’s as if that’s not a problem that you were in a fight.”
In Steven Universe Future, that problem of being in a fight to begin with gets unpacked. The child protagonist who is the “chosen one” to save the world from impending doom is seen when their previous life purpose no longer exists anymore.
Fear takes root within Steven. More specifically? Fear of change.
Steven’s identity up until Steven Universe Future consisted of preparing to take on the Great Diamond Authority. His goals, ideals––his whole life revolved around being that vibrant chosen one. And now? He desperately attempts to make things go back to the way they were when he and his friends and family were preparing to fight.
He gets so afraid that life will change to the point where he––now at fifteen years of age––proposes to his love interest in the show, Connie.
Image: Cartoon Network
Connie has always been by his side. She helped Steven train, she was there to support him, and always had calming words of advice for him when he needed it most. They were two peas in a pod, as the saying goes.
The only difference between them is that Connie is fully human and Steven is not. Connie had a life and identity separate from Steven before she met him, and now that the Diamond Authority is no more, she peacefully resumed her normal, human life. And that terrified Steven.
He did the only thing he could think of to keep her at his side like they were before: propose.
When real human children grow up, some find it hard to leave behind the identity and things involved with their identity of the past. Some even go to the lengths of keeping people around who were once their friends but have now become twisted narcissists or pessimists. They may even realize the person their friend has become isn’t good for them, but hold on anyways because of that fear of change.
Steven’s action of proposing to Connie wasn’t born out of the love he has for her so much as the fear he has of her moving on and them growing apart with changing times.
Lack of impending doom sparked another all-too-relatable issue for Steven that is rarely unpacked for the child protagonists in kids shows.
What else besides fear of change happens to a hero when there is no need for a hero anymore? Steven becomes lost, purposeless, and hopeless. His role––his identity––of the hero was built around helping others, much like those we see in other cartoons such as Ash from Pokemon or Aang from Avatar the Last Airbender.
He is not needed as the hero, so he doesn’t feel needed at all.
Steven begins a downward spiral of trying to weed out places where he feels like he could help others, but this time around, he only ends up making things worse. When he finally realises there’s nothing for him to fix––nowhere for him to be a hero anymore––he breaks:
“You think I’m so great and so mature and that I always know what to do, but that’s not true! I haven’t learned a thing from my problems! They’ve all just made me worse! You think of me as some angel, but I’m not that kid anymore! I’m a fraud. I’m a fraud! I’m a monster!”
And then, because he’s half-gem, he literally turns into a pink, godzilla-esque monster: the very thing he spent his hero’s journey preparing to defeat.
Image: Cartoon Network Wiki
Rebecca Sugar shines a light on a very important topic for children in general. Other than a fear of change from how things were growing up, Sugar has taken the identity crisis all kids and teens feel and blew it up to an extreme.
Steven is fearful that everyone is moving on except for himself because he no longer knows who he is supposed to be.
I can personally attest to how Steven was feeling as a recent college graduate. Higher education is a time for many students where they may have been so sure that the goal they’ve been shooting at for a long time is what they wanted to do with their lives, but then, they have an ah-ha moment and are suddenly not so sure for the first time.
They become afraid. For so long, they had the clearest idea of what they thought they needed to do or what they thought they wanted. Suddenly, that all goes away.
Luckily for Steven, and what I hope is the case for most college students like myself, we have a safety net.
Sugar takes Steven––the hero of the story––and ruthlessly breaks him down to what he is without his identity.
And then, Sugar reminds the audience, who are mostly made up of kids just as the protagonist is, that your loved ones will be there for in your time of need:
A quote from Garnet, one of the motherly figures to Steven: “Steven. When I fell apart, you were there for me. I want to be there for you. Steven. I’m here.”
A quote from Peridot, an antagonist turned protagonist through Steven’s help: “Steven! You never gave up on me for some reason I don’t understand! I’ll do the same for you!”
And finally, a quote from Connie after seeing Steven turn into a monster: “Steven. You must have been so afraid to show us this side of yourself. But we’re not going anywhere. We’re all gonna take care of you the same way you took care of us.”
Images: Cartoon Network
While a hero protagonist’s friends fight alongside them, rarely do we see tough, meaningful moments that exemplify and firmly instate the loving bond the hero has with those they love, care for, and help.
Steven is not a hero anymore, and he’s terrified of that. But just as a real human child's friends and family would do, Steven’s are there to tell him that he doesn't need to be.
What he needs is to “exist as an individual,” Sugar says.
All of Steven Universe consisted of Steven existing as the hero for other’s needs, and now, he needs to discover how he wants life to serve him.
Sugar, in the sixteen episodes of Steven Universe Future, wrote the story that franchises like Disney and Dreamworks sometimes fail to show: the real, difficult, and frustrating process of the protagonist’s life without an impending doom to save people from.
It is my hope that more mainstream cartoon franchises will join Cartoon Network and Rebecca Sugar in showcasing what’s real. Because change and identity are issues all kids and teens will eventually come to face, and it’s important for them to know they don’t have to do it alone.
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