🐱 Cartoon Network Tried to Downplay The Queerness of Steven Universe

Cartoon Network Tried to Downplay The Queerness of Steven Universe

Rebecca Sugar says that Cartoon network encouraged her not to talk about the queerness of her series Steven Universe.

www.themarysue.com

Few shows have changed the landscape of animation like Steven Universe has. The series, which premiered on Cartoon Network in 2013, followed the adventures of young boy Steven Universe, who lives with Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl, magical aliens known as the Crystal Gems. Created by Adventure Time alum Rebecca Sugar, the series quickly drew raves for its expansive and compassionate portrayal of LGBTQ+ characters and gender fluidity. Steven Universe was the first animated series to win the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Kids & Family Program in 2019, and took home a Peabody Award the same year.

But while the series reaped critical acclaim and a devoted queer fanbase, Sugar describes a very different attitude from Cartoon Network behind the scenes. In a joint interview with She-Ra and the Princesses of Powershowrunner Noelle Stevenson for Paper Magazine, Sugar described the pushback she received from the network.

Sugar said, “We strategized the concept of fusion to be able to explore relationships and include queer relationships. Central to that, one of the things we were excited about was to have the character of Garnet have a ton of screen time and be a main character.” In season 2 episode “The Answer”, the series revealed that Garnet was a fusion of two queer gems, Ruby and Sapphire. According to Sugar, the network was less than supportive.

“They told us point-blank, ‘you can’t have these characters be in a romantic relationship,’ but at that point Garnet was so established that audiences could instantly understand what the relationship was, the song had already been written, the episode had already been boarded so we were already in full production. I’m really proud of the patience we had and the time that we took to fully explore these characters at a time when that was not necessarily possible.
Back in 2014, 2015, 2016 I was told that I couldn’t discuss it publicly. They basically brought me in and said ‘we want to support that you’re doing this but you have to understand that internationally if you speak about this publicly, the show will be pulled from a lot of countries and that may mean the end of the show.’ They actually gave me the choice to speak about it or not, to tell the truth about it or not, around 2015/ 2016, by then I was honestly really mentally ill and I dissociated at Comic Con.
I would privately do drawings of these characters kissing and hugging that I was not allowed to share. I couldn’t reconcile how simple this felt to me and how impossible it was to do, so I talked about it. The show survived in a large part because of the support from fans. I’m really proud of the choice we made and what we were able to accomplish together. I’m so proud of my team who supported me through all of this, crafted the show and navigated this with me.
The way they put their mental health on the line to tell stories that were personal to them. It seems absurd to think that only a few years ago and really now, that a person’s job, their ability to make cartoons, could hinge on their sexual orientation, it’s profoundly unfair and ridiculous but true. That really needs to shift and is still in the process of shifting. I only understand what I saw from inside the framework of Cartoon Network and Turner, so Noelle, if you’d like to speak about this I completely respect and understand the difficulty of talking about going through something like this so definitely only share what makes you comfortable.”
Stevenson said she faced similar pushback from Netflix, even after She-Rapremiered in a post-Steven Universe world. She described support waning after the 2016 election saying, “At first it seemed like we were going to get this from the company, we were really excited about that and so we were setting things up in season one, we had the “Princess Prom” episode, then the election in 2016 happened and everybody got really scared. It was immediately, like Rebecca said, the same kind of pushback where we were told point-blank we would not be able to do this. Across the board, no romance. That was how broad it got! Let’s just be extra-safe, no romance whatsoever.”
Both series, which still boast a massive fan base, are proof that queer stories have a massive fan base, not just in animation, but across pop culture. The interview is a fascinating look at the creative process for both shows, and the determination of queer creators to make sure they get to tell their own stories.
(via Paper Magazine, image: Cartoon Network)

 

[Your_Fairy_Wish_Prince]

I remember going to a masters level anthropology course at a fairly esteemed established college and we were talking about the role of media in anthropological issues and I remember the entire fucking class basically jizzing their pants at how good Steven Universe was and that was the day that I walked out of that class and dropped it from my schedule and realize just exactly how fucked we are as a nation.

edit:grammar

 

[Atatata]

Spoiler: Meet Concrete.

Can't read

 

[Snekposter]

We'll never get more Korgoth. There's two theories why.

Theory 1, and most likely correct: It was too expensive to produce and [as] at the time hated spending money. One episode of Korgoth covered Saul of the Molemen, Fatguy Stuck in the Internet, and whatever other awful live action skits they were doing.

Theory 2, of which there is no evidence save rumor on /co/: The creator of Korgoth became a born again Christian and denounced their own show.

Between the lack of Korgoth and what they did to Metalocalypse, [as] deserves to be shown pain they never knew existed. They need to see a whole new spectrum of pain, like a rainbow!

 

[Donovan the Man]

Remember when the fat retard and the pajeet did a fusion dance and turned into a hot tranny. The tranny was so hot that it got college age dude horny, so the two kids revealed that he’s a pedo. Despite knowing the tranny was two kids in a trench coat, he still flirts with when they are tranny.

Wholesome show for the whole family.

 

[Tasty Tatty]

I disagree. Relationships are perfectly appropriate to depict in children’s entertainment, but moderation is the key. The problem with Steven is that they take it way too far. Now we have writers trying to depict fusion as some form of sex and there is just an overuse of weird sexual undertones. Adventure Time also got into weird territory at one point, key example being the episode where Finn goes chad mode and sleeps with numerous women to end his depression.

Anybody remembers Jem?



That was targeted to young girls and it depicted not only this very scandalous kiss (it was the 80s!) but cheating, to the point it was part of many main plots: for those who don't know the show, the main character, Jerrica, becomes Jem, a very popular pop star who has to keep her identity in secret. Jerrica has a boyfriend who loves her but has a thing for Jem without knowing they're the same person and there is a lot of flirting and drama around it. When I was a kid and I watched it, for me it was only "oh, they're lying to each other, that's wrong!", I didn't really understand the concept of "cheat" in the context of a relationship. There are a lot of episodes I watched later being older and yep, many details flew over my head because they were too mature for me. But when I was a kid, I only had the very basic morality of them.

Anime became popular in the 2000s thanks to Toonami, Naruto, DBZ, and Hot Topic. While it died out in the 2010s, the fact is, anime became mainstream enough for at-least Millennials and Gen Z to not look down on it. Not to mention the impact of Teen Titans and Avatar as they took the style.

I wonder if this is a bit part of the problem. Anime's been popular in LatAm and Europe since the 70s, so we've grown with a more diverse type of stories and those stories had a different type of morality. Sex wasn't something they were shy about and I remember one I watched that had a rape scene, a suicide, and prostitution. But these were just details and parts of a bigger plot that had a story on its own. The rape and prostitution were NOT the plot.

 

[Fluoxetine Man]

Remember when the fat retard and the pajeet did a fusion dance and turned into a hot tranny. The tranny was so hot that it got college age dude horny, so the two kids revealed that he’s a pedo. Despite knowing the tranny was two kids in a trench coat, he still flirts with when they are tranny.

Wholesome show for the whole family.

Don't forget, that guy is also the most evil protagonist on the show, because of his toxic cis-het male tendencies! He probably voted for Blonald Drumph too!

Huh, what about the genocidal Gem dictators that have kill counts that would make Megatron, Skelletor and Palpatine blush? Don't be so hard on them, they were sad cause they lost their sister!

 

[Alexander Thaut]

the problems with the show can be summed up as

1. Pushed the relationships and character dynamic in a show that was made for kids.
2. Took it weird and kinda pussied out by trying to redeem everyone, yet didn't try to redeem Kevin for some reason.
3. Fusion was a fun idea made sexual.
4. Should have focused on the space opera element more, since the creators aren't good at the other parts of the show.
5. The fanbase is horrible.
6. Steven himself having trauma was a good twist, but they should have just let him go into a full ass villain.
7. The show rewards a ton of bad behaviors.
8. It's a pretty show, but they really should have kept it as a kiddie show and not put in complex shit that kids aren't going to fully comprehend.

On paper, a lot of the elements are fine. Aliens, space opera, colorful animation, ok music, etc. The problem is that they got sidetracked with pushing the relationships angle in a children's cartoon and didn't do it too well. Additionally, no villain deals with consequences. They all get huggies and get better, despite doing horrible shit.

 

[Yamma Damma]

You know how this is bullshit right off the bat? The movie felt like the end because it was supposed to be the end. Cartoon Network is the one who wanted one more season more than Becky Sugar. That doesn't sound like a network actively trying to sabotage some gay hippy dramedy with mostly terrible songs. That sounds like a network wanting to squeeze every last drop of relevance out of this investment. Nobody's oppressing the gays anymore, find a new horse to club.

the problems with the show can be summed up as

1. Pushed the relationships and character dynamic in a show that was made for kids.
2. Took it weird and kinda pussied out by trying to redeem everyone, yet didn't try to redeem Kevin for some reason.
3. Fusion was a fun idea made sexual.
4. Should have focused on the space opera element more, since the creators aren't good at the other parts of the show.
5. The fanbase is horrible.
6. Steven himself having trauma was a good twist, but they should have just let him go into a full ass villain.
7. The show rewards a ton of bad behaviors.
8. It's a pretty show, but they really should have kept it as a kiddie show and not put in complex shit that kids aren't going to fully comprehend.

On paper, a lot of the elements are fine. Aliens, space opera, colorful animation, ok music, etc. The problem is that they got sidetracked with pushing the relationships angle in a children's cartoon and didn't do it too well. Additionally, no villain deals with consequences. They all get huggies and get better, despite doing horrible shit.

I agreed with everything but 6.
Steven having trauma made sense but he's had trauma before. and he talked or sang (if you call that singing) about it to his friends and Dad. Steven's support network was too strong and wide to begat someone who hides his issues and acts villainous. Now if they all left him and stayed gone for a long period of time we could have had something... believable.

 

[Alexander Thaut]

You know how this is bullshit right off the bat? The movie felt like the end because it was supposed to be the end. Cartoon Network is the one who wanted one more season more than Becky Sugar. That doesn't sound like a network actively trying to sabotage some gay hippy dramedy with mostly terrible songs. That sounds like a network wanting to squeeze every last drop of relevance out of this investment. Nobody's oppressing the gays anymore, find a new horse to club.



I agreed with everything but 6.
Steven having trauma made sense but he's had trauma before. and he talked or sang (if you call that singing) about it to his friends and Dad. Steven's support network was too strong and wide to begat someone who hides his issues and acts villainous. Now if they all left him and stayed gone for a long period of time we could have had something... believable.

I just think that they could have gone a little further with making him into a monster.

 

[A Grey Cat]

Gumball may have been the first example of the calarts style and how it would later infect cartoon network and western animation in general but the fan base Steven universe got cemented it. That and the fact that it started making cartoons gayer and gayer sealed my eternal hate for SU. Rest in piss Fatboy

 

[Tasty Tatty]

the problems with the show can be summed up as

1. Pushed the relationships and character dynamic in a show that was made for kids.

(snip)

On paper, a lot of the elements are fine. Aliens, space opera, colorful animation, ok music, etc. The problem is that they got sidetracked with pushing the relationships angle in a children's cartoon and didn't do it too well.

This is not just SU. Notice how most of current media pushes for gay relationships, but if we weren't living in such woke times, they'd be pushing for other kind of relationships. Why? Because most fanfic writers can only do that and these people are just glorified fanfickers.

 

[Alexander Thaut]

This is not just SU. Notice how most of current media pushes for gay relationships, but if we weren't living in such woke times, they'd be pushing for other kind of relationships. Why? Because most fanfic writers can only do that and these people are just glorified fanfickers.

don't get me started on this. They ruined Mr. Terrific in the Arrowverse and turned him into a walking stereotype of a gay black geek.

 

[Disgruntled Pupper]

This is not just SU. Notice how most of current media pushes for gay relationships, but if we weren't living in such woke times, they'd be pushing for other kind of relationships. Why? Because most fanfic writers can only do that and these people are just glorified fanfickers.

I personally know of 5 or 6 people who I used to run around the same fandom circles with (mostly Hetalia lol) who are now in the industry, including one who was on SU. The fanartists of a decade ago all went to CalArts, graduated, got jobs, and are now rising up in the ranks. They're all super woke sjw who are going to make sure every show they work on has their gay otp front and center. Media is going to be shit for a very long time.

 

[Atatata]

I personally know of 5 or 6 people who I used to run around the same fandom circles with (mostly Hetalia lol) who are now in the industry, including one who was on SU. The fanartists of a decade ago all went to CalArts, graduated, got jobs, and are now rising up in the ranks. They're all super woke sjw who are going to make sure every show they work on has their gay otp front and center. Media is going to be shit for a very long time.

Are they still Hetalia fans? Iirc people have been trying to "cancel" Hetalia for years now even though its been dead because its "racist", makes a couple jew jokes, and South Korea hates it.

 

[Disgruntled Pupper]

Are they still Hetalia fans? Iirc people have been trying to "cancel" Hetalia for years now even though its been dead because its "racist", makes a couple jew jokes, and South Korea hates it.

Oh no, most fell out of it naturally as other things came along and a few even outright denounced it. Some are still "in" fandom and will sometimes post fanart, but most have either sterilized their social media or dropped it all together.

 

[TaimuRadiu]

how the hell was it downplayed

edit: also I didn't "get" hetalia

 

[Mariposa Electrique]

For me it was Chowder. Chowder himself is fucking retarded but all the other characters make up for it. I also like the art style and the facial expressions some of the characters make.

It's a kid's show. Wanna do a dissertation?

 

[Long Tongue Silver]

Cartoons were better when they had tie-ins with cigarettes.