Right now, some of the issues that are being addressed through the media are message acceptance to others. Cartoons are making bold statements on what it means to love someone whether they are of the same gender, or not. We see these cartoons making references to social issues, like living with same gender parents and single parents.
A prime example is the popular Cartoon Network show titled, “Steven Universe.” This show tells the story of Steven Universe, a boy who is half human and half sentient alien crystal, and is raised by his mother’s rag-tag team of rebels who protect Earth from the now corrupted gems of their home world. While sounding like a science fiction thrill ride, Steven on his own has not quite yet mastered his inherited powers but works hard every day to try and help out, but he usually makes things a little more difficult for his adoptive guardians. These guardians are how we see these aspects I mentioned earlier.
Garnet, the leader of the group, is what is known as a fusion. A fusion is a gem that is made up of two or more gems that fuse together to make a more powerful being. The two gems that make up Garnet are Ruby and Sapphire whose love for each other is so strong that they stay fused almost indefinitely. In an interesting way the shows creators decided that all the gems even though not actually having genders but still identifying themselves as female is where the show takes an interesting turn.
Then we have Amethyst, the youngest of the crystal gems by a few thousand years. She was made on Earth during a time that we only know as the “Gem Civil War;” this has not yet been noted in the show but can be anticipated that the show's creators will address it soon. Now, back to Amethyst. She is actually a deformed Quartz gem, she is identified to this because she is much shorter than other quartz type gems that have seen or mentioned in the show. Even though she is fully aware of this deformation, she does not act any differently because of this. Neither do any of the other Crystal Gems treat her any differently because of it. She is just as strong, if not stronger, than any of the gems despite her defect.
Now, on to the last character, Pearl, who admired and worked with Steven’s mother Rose Quartz the longest. Her devotion to the memory of Rose seems to be what drives her to take care of Steven and at the same time tries to carry on Rose’s dream of protecting Earth and its inhabitants.
Then we have Steven’s human father, Greg Universe. Greg raised Steven for the first part of his life so Greg was definitely a major part of his son's life. Greg is also responsible for Steven’s love of music, shown through his talent with the ukulele. But during this time being raised, it was just Steven and Greg with little interaction with the crystal gems. Greg raised Steven by himself knowing that he wouldn’t have Rose to help him whenever he would need it, and neither would the crystal gems.
This, of course, is one of many shows that are tackling issues like these that a lot of parents don’t really know how to explain to their children. But that is why I think these cartoons are so unique. They are able to give kids a small little window into these unknown aspects of life, and thus help them understand the diversity of the world we live in today. So, next time you are watching a new cartoon and think it is a little odd, sit down and watch it. Who knows? It may just surprise you.
