My Guilty Pleasure

Ever since I was a child I have been a huge fan of cartoons, starting with shows like teen titans and avatar the last air-bender. Even in high school, I continued my love of avatar the last air-bender by becoming a loyal fan of the sequel, Legend of Korra. My love of cartoons followed me into adulthood and here I sit, 23 years old and obsessed with the series posted above, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.

I don't particularly remember the day that I began watching She-Ra, but I believe I had begun watching it as background noise to fall asleep to or to complete some other task. However, I found myself getting attached to the characters over time. I loved how each character embodied a positive mindset and didn't shy away from vulnerability, which inspired their strength to overcome. I believe that each character was extremely complex; from Catra to Mermista, every character clearly had a rich and colorful world behind their personalities. Each plotline did an amazing job of dissecting the characters personal lives while also holding true to the overarching plotline. I believe that in today's society, we shy away from vulnerability and anything that reeks of femininity so I love that She-Ra presents power in a way that challenges these concepts. As a queer poc (person of color), I loved the representation I saw within the characters. There were many different body shapes, none were commented upon in any way that illustrated an unconscious bias. Bow; the groups archer, wore clothing that exposed his mid-drift and had two loving fathers that were the patriarchs of a large and loving family. The fathers had recurring roles in the show and not a single character ever stepped into the way of commenting on how unconventional the pairing was. The show touched on anxiety, death, depression, guilt, and love, all very complex emotions that affected each character across the entire series. Issues that were brought up in season 1 were revisited and resolved in season 5, illustrating a clear goal set by writers in the conception of the show. My favorite character in the entire series is Catra, the show's primary antagonist for the first four seasons. I loved the complexity of Catra’s character. From the first scene she is in, you can clearly see the complex relationship that she shares with Adora. Even though Catra isn’t an actual person, her face is extremely expressive and you can see the motivation behind all of her actions in addition to the thoughts she has right before making a decision. Catra is obsessed with Adora, and for five seasons attempts to prove herself to Adora and to her superiors, in spite of Adora. Adora is the motivation to every move Catra makes for 52 episodes, that is a lot of time spent thinking of someone else. This energy is acclimated to the finale where; in the spirit of queer inclusion, Catra admits her romantic love to Adora, who reciprocates the affection. I loved this turn of events. It was so clear that Catra’s emotions for Adora were far more intense than a friendship and I loved that the writers were not afraid of venturing past the token queer couple that were Bow’s parents, and brought us a queer main character.

The reason I would describe this show as my guilty pleasure is because I am a 23 year old male and the show’s target audience seems to be young girls. I specifically remember when I began serving at Olive Garden in Goldsboro, North Carolina and I was assigned a table that sat a family of three. At the table was a mother, father, and a little girl who seemed no older than 10. As I was taking their orders, I noticed that the little girl was watching a show on her tablet, and with further inspection, I realized she was watching She-Ra. I commented on the show and her parents told me that she was absolutely obsessed with the show and it was currently her favorite thing to watch. I tried to respond with optimism about the different plotlines and express how much I loved the show, but was only met with awkward smiles as they informed me that she was the only fan in the family. I tried to laugh off the awkwardness and proceeded to take their order. Ever since that moment I've tried to find fellow fans amongst my peers but to no avail. I have even tried to relate to kids by asking my nieces and cousins if they were fans but even they haven’t seen the show. The show has so many bright colors, feminine qualities, vulnerable plotlines, and ridiculous character names that it seems like nothing but a child's cartoon. However, the themes of the show are so mature and can be consumed by children and adults alike. I have found myself crying to the plotline of She-Ra many times and I believe the show deserves so much more recognition that it has received.