This Is Beautiful: Steven Universe

This is the next installment in the This is Beautiful series. This is where I talk about something that I think is beautiful and is helping to bring meaning into the world. And this week goes to the children's tv show from Cartoon Network, Steven Universe.

What I love the most about this show is how sincere it is. Steven knows next to nothing about his mom and the show chronicles what he's learning about her as he grows. Which involves discovering that she wasn't perfect and made some critical mistakes. But Steven never descends into despair or gives up on himself and his friends. Each time he comes up against a challenge he comes at it with friendship and love on his side. It also never goes so far as to become hokey, somehow it hits the sweet spot where it still deals with the loss of meaning in the world and affirms the aspects of it that can give meaning.

If I can be a bit of an annoying philosophy wank for a moment, I have a whole analysis of the show. It's a bit of a crack theory. But it's part of why I love the show. I think through a certain reading you could see Steven's mom as essentially his source of meaning, or his god. He sees his purpose in the Crystal Gems determined by his mother's previous role in the group. He also literally has a piece of her inside him. She created him and then left. Somehow sounds a lot like a god to me. And so the series is about Steven dealing with the death of his god. (Which makes it a pretty postmodern work really.)

And time and time again Steven confirms that even after the death of meaning we need to rely on the force of love and friendship. Another aspect of the show that I love is how many different kinds of love there are represented. There are passionate, realistic romantic relationships (see the wedding episode) but there is also Steven's relationship with Connie, an equally passionate friendship. And of course there's all of the maternal love that the Gems feel for Steven.

Honestly I can't think of a better show for anyone (kids or adults) to be watching. It affirms and describes realistic, loving relationships, all while dealing with the death of meaning. I get a kick out of it, and so should you.