STEVEN UNIVERSE

By Christine Kim
Staff Writer
Cartoon Network's newest show produced by Rebecca Sugar, Steven Universe, made its debut early in
November. But what is it? The animated show features "the Crystal Gems", magical superheroines who
use the power from their "gems" to save the world, and Steven, a young boy who has his own, albeit
useless, gem. Notable for being the first Cartoon Network show led by a woman, the show features fun
and distinct characters, beautiful backgrounds, and an unorthodox appeal to both genders.
Rebecca Sugar, before Steven Universe, worked on Adventure Time as both a storyboard artist and a
composer. Most of the show's both catchier and melancholic songs, including the introduction theme,
were written by her, as well as many of Adventure Time's heavier and more poignant episodes. She was
nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Short-format Animation for "It Came from
the Nightosphere" and "Simon & Marcy" and an Annie Award for Best Storyboarding in a Television
Production. Forbes lists her as one of the most influential "30 Under 30" in their annual list of "young
disruptors, innovators, and entrepreneurs... impatient to change the world."
Steven Universe is a blend of the fun and simplicity of childhood mixed with the more mature overtones
of responsibility that comes with being a superhero that the other three Crystal Gems bring to the show's
overall tone. The art itself is light, expressive, but also much less "noodley" than Adventure Time. Each
Crystal Gem is more unique than the last in body shape and skin color. While Pearl the slim and graceful
ballerina femme, Amethyst, the shortest of the three, is unashamedly fat and has no problem with her
appearance, while Garnet towers over everyone with both her height and cube afro.
Neither Amethyst nor Garnet are white. Instead, Garnet is black and Amethyst is an ambiguously dark
shade of purple. These two provide a unique sense of representation for girls not necessarily "Pearl-
esque" that goes beyond the "token minority character", as both dominate the show as front-and-center
main characters whose personalities go beyond their skin color or their weight. Steven, who is himself
chubby, looks up to these three with awe and envy, much like a very young sibling looks up to their older
and supposedly more mature siblings. This theme of a young boy adopting women as his role models
deviates from a male-dominated animation industry infamous for its ineptitude when dealing with female
role models that both boys and girls can look up to.
This show is more than just another product of Cartoon Network's millennial hipster army. It features
both real artistic vision both visually and musically from one of today's most promising talent in
animation, as well as a sound comprehension and execution of the responsibility it has as a show watched
by children all across the country, no matter what gender, skin color, or body type.