Steven Universe fandom (Gemtlemen)

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Doctor Krieger said:
Yeah, deep-ender fans of any series are gonna look like aspires when they get on Tumblr and talk about "muh oppression," but parents might want to think about what their kids are watching and how it might be more than a bunch of funny moving pictures that make little Jimmy shut up for a half an hour.
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Most cartoons are just that. Some are funny moving pictures that make big Jimmy shut up for half an hour.

Le Bateleur said:
Cartoons are for children. Citing a few isolated counterexamples is like urinating in the ocean.

There's some interesting research about why autistic kids like Thomas the Tank Engine. Some of the findings are specific to Thomas, but others seem to have a broader applicability across cartoons as a medium. In particular, I'd suggest that some of the Thomas research findings highlights particular differences between cartoons and live action shows which mean that the former will often be more appealing to children on the autistic spectrum:
  • The calm and clear narration which exaggerates and 'signposts' changes clearly.
  • The easy to follow storylines, where something usually goes wrong but it is resolved by the end of the episode.
  • The still background and scenery. (Children with autism can be easily distracted by detail and small changes either in sound or movement.)
  • The easily recognisable and bold colours.
  • The 'friendly' faces whose expressions are exaggerated and are set for some time and so can be understood.
  • The accuracy of the models.
  • The predictability of the roles played by different characters.
Now, I'm not suggesting that:
  • If you enjoy cartoons, you have autism
  • Every cartoon will fit every bullet point above
  • You, in particular, dear reader, are childish or autistic
I'm just observing that a lot of cartoons tend to attract a pretty autistic-seeming fanbase, and that the above research might offer an insight into this phenomenon.
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Well, there's a lot of cartoons that are nominally for adults, that air in primetime or Adult Swim, but then again, they're not doing a very good job at convincing people cartoons aren't just for kids, are they?

One thing I find interesting is what cartoons have incredibly spergy fanbases - most successful action cartoons made after 1999, for example, or all these shows with progressive or "deep" themes we have today. Is there something to explain why, for example, Avatar or Teen Titans is known for its spergy fanbase, but Rocko's Modern Life or Space Ghost Coast to Coast is not (as I asked in another thread)?
 
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Steamboat_Bill said:
Well, there's a lot of cartoons that are nominally for adults, that air in primetime or Adult Swim, but then again, they're not doing a very good job at convincing people cartoons aren't just for kids, are they?

One thing I find interesting is what cartoons have incredibly spergy fanbases - most successful action cartoons made after 1999, for example, or all these shows with progressive or "deep" themes we have today. Is there something to explain why, for example, Avatar or Teen Titans is known for its spergy fanbase, but Rocko's Modern Life or Space Ghost Coast to Coast is not (as I asked in another thread)?
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I think that it's because those shows are a product of their time and demographic. Space Ghost Coast to Coast aimed for the "fuck political correctness" demographic, and Rocko's Modern Life was a product of the 90's where you could call someone a retard and not offend 5 civil rights groups and half of Tumblr that didn't exist. Teen Titans and Avatar are products of the 2010 era where things need to be non-offensive and represented for all.

It's one of those things we tend to forget, how art is meant to express a certain viewpoint while being a reflection of the era it was released in. Maybe with these newer shows like Steven Universe and Gravity Falls we're starting to see a change in how people view animation?
 
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Doctor Krieger said:
I think that it's because those shows are a product of their time and demographic. Space Ghost Coast to Coast aimed for the "fuck political correctness" demographic, and Rocko's Modern Life was a product of the 90's where you could call someone a exceptional individual and not offend 5 civil rights groups and half of Tumblr that didn't exist. Teen Titans and Avatar are products of the 2010 era where things need to be non-offensive and represented for all.

It's one of those things we tend to forget, how art is meant to express a certain viewpoint while being a reflection of the era it was released in. Maybe with these newer shows like Steven Universe and Gravity Falls we're starting to see a change in how people view animation?
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A change for the worst, more like...

There are shows from the 90s that have pretty spergy fanbases, there are children's shows from the 2000s that could indulge in humor that Tumblr would be whining about endlessly today. It's not as clear cut and dry. But enough about that...
 
Steamboat_Bill said:
A change for the worst, more like...

There are shows from the 90s that have pretty spergy fanbases, there are children's shows from the 2000s that could indulge in humor that Tumblr would be whining about endlessly today. It's not as clear cut and dry. But enough about that...
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I think it's more of a change in a direction guided by public opinion. Yeah, it's pandering to the "all-inclusive let's not offended anyone" audiences, and it's working, but maybe this is a first step before other changes could be made. Yes, it's pandering, but at the same time the shows ask their audience to think and feel more than previous shows that just asked for a quick laugh before moving on to the next sketch. I'm not saying no animated shows for kids have done this kind of thing before, but to make their audience think about continuity and feel for their characters to such of a degree is refreshing.
 
I typed "Steven Universe Social Justice" into Google and got this:

‘Steven Universe’: Many Dimensions of Fat Positivity

Steven Universe is a kids’ cartoon show that’s made a lot of noise lately, especially in circles having to do with feminism or social justice, and looking at even the most basic summary of the premise, it’s not hard to see why. For one thing, the show stars a radically non-nuclear family. For another, it’s a family made up partly of a son who totally disregards the conventional standards of modern American masculinity and three adoptive moms, all of whom are non-binary people who choose to use feminine pronouns, two of whom are strongly coded as People of Color, and one of whom is literally the physical manifestation of the unconditional love between two same-sex lovers who actually share a kiss on-screen.

More...
 
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Found another.

All of this is going to seem pretty silly when they don't even remember the show existed two years from now/try to erase any evidence that they ever liked it. People have done it before and will do it again...
 
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DykesDykesChina said:
I typed "Steven Universe Social Justice" into Google and got this:

‘Steven Universe’: Many Dimensions of Fat Positivity

Steven Universe is a kids’ cartoon show that’s made a lot of noise lately, especially in circles having to do with feminism or social justice, and looking at even the most basic summary of the premise, it’s not hard to see why. For one thing, the show stars a radically non-nuclear family. For another, it’s a family made up partly of a son who totally disregards the conventional standards of modern American masculinity and three adoptive moms, all of whom are non-binary people who choose to use feminine pronouns, two of whom are strongly coded as People of Color, and one of whom is literally the physical manifestation of the unconditional love between two same-sex lovers who actually share a kiss on-screen.

More...
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Gensdupays said:
Found another.

All of this is going to seem pretty silly when they don't even remember the show existed two years from now/try to erase any evidence that they ever liked it. People have done it before and will do it again...
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So, Steven Universe is a world-changing masterwork on the level of The Feminine Mystique? Is that what they're trying to say?
 
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Charles Whitman reference:

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This show really shouldn't be shown to kids or SJWs!
 
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SkiddiePorn said:
Chill out retart it was mentioned two pages ago if you can read.
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"Retart"... Are you Peter Guerin?

Dingfield said:
I don't think kids would actually give a shit about diversity or feminism. They just watch it for the characters and jokes. But I guess there's no other way for these people to feel good about themselves than to circlejerk about some cartoon.
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Kids generally don't care about that shit because, well, they're kids. What the hell do they know about gender beyond "the opposite sex is icky"?
 
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Doctor Krieger said:
Yes, it's pandering, but at the same time the shows ask their audience to think and feel more than previous shows that just asked for a quick laugh before moving on to the next sketch.
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It'd be helpful if you could give some examples that illustrate your point here.
 
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