Featured Graphic by Destiny Mizell
Story by Larry Rincon
Due to the very recent release of the animated film “Nimona,” I wanted to give credit to ND Stevenson and his contributions to television.
Stevenson, for those not familiar, is a transgender cartoonist and animation producer that gained a lot of recognition after he created an animated series with Netflix that focuses on the widely popular character, She-Ra.
She-Ra is a character most people are familiar with being associated as He-Man’s cousin. However, Dreamworks Animation rebooted the 1995 series “She-Ra: Princess of Power” in past years with Stevenson as the creator for a new series called “She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.”
It ran from 2018 to 2020 with a total of five seasons. The show follows the main character, Adora — also known as She-Ra — and her journey of self-discovery while fighting against the evil Horde.
Throughout the seasons her main enemy is her best-friend turned rival, Catra. Catra despises Adora for leaving the Horde and instead joining the Princesses; The two were taught from a young age that the Princesses were their enemies.
The show started off as being geared towards young kids. The focus on the different princesses and their power appeals to the nature of young children. Originally, there wasn’t much of a story to look into.
However, as the later seasons came out, the show became similar to other cartoons such as Steven Universe,””Adventure Time,” “Avatar: The Last Airbender” and “The Legend of Korra.” The story became a lot deeper than what a child is usually familiar with in kids television. War, genocide, manipulation and other themes became essential elements of the story. While the ending of the series returns to the power of friendship and love, the show is far more than just a kids show.
On top of that, a major part of the series lies in its representation. Dreamworks Animation has come a long way in terms of character diversity and representation since their series “Voltron: Legendary Defender.” With everything that failed to properly execute in that show, “She-Ra and the Princesses of Power” goes above and beyond.
Queer baiting is a concept certain productions use in order to gain attraction from the LGBTQIA+ community, but thankfully “She-Ra and the Princesses of Power” didn’t do that. From the first season, certain characters’ sexualities were already confirmed. As the show continued to develop and progress, more character sexualities and gender identities were revealed.
“She-Ra and the Princesses of Power” is one of the few shows where the representation of queer identities is just a part of the story that can’t be denied or erased because it was always there. Eventually, they become essential to a major plot point.
Characters Spinderella and Netossa have been married since season one. Adora and Catra’s romantic tension was hinted at all the way in season one. Double Trouble’s pronouns and gender are explicit in the series. These are all examples of the type of queer representation that the show holds. Some are important to the story while others are just important to the cast and crew.
“She-Ra and the Princesses of Power” is one of the best shows to have been released in the past decade. It is important for kids to see television where these kinds of characters are normal and can be heroes. Some kids television has been gradually getting worse, focusing on crude immature humor or overly dramatized nonsense. Shows like “She-Ra and the Princesses of Power” teach children about topics they should be exposed to and learn about in order to gain empathy for anyone they meet who is like the characters on screen. At the end of the day, shows like these are meant for entertainment. Kids likely won’t read much into the shows like older individuals do.
Regardless, it’s important to give credit where credit is due. Stevenson does a lot for the LGBTQIA+ community in the entertainment field. Many of his efforts are to get accurate representation out there even in kids television. “She-Ra and the Princesses of Power” is a great show for kids and family. Now that Pride Month is over, there is no better way to continue to support the LGBTQIA+ community than by continuing to watch films and shows that mean a lot to members of the community.
To contact Lifestyles Editor Destiny Mizell, email lifestyles@mtsusidelines.com. For more news, visit www.mtsusidelines.com, or follow us on Facebook at MTSU Sidelines or on Twitter at @MTSUSidelines.
