White Diamond's Cognitive Journey (Video Essay)
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- čas přidán 26. 08. 2024
- Losing your identity has never been more freeing.
TW: Television static, somewhat creepy imagery.
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I'm not good at CZcams, so I've elected to post a transcript instead of attempting to subtitle this thing: faelapis.tumbl...
18:32 I like how Lapis looks angry, Peridot and Connie are listening intensely (not sympathetically), but Bismuth looks *sad,* listening to Blue. Like, genuinely mournful. Considering how so much of Bismuth’s story is centered around her hatred of the Diamonds, this is an interesting choice. It’s almost like she assumed the Diamonds were happily goofing off in their land of luxury, and realized really don’t.
It's really no wonder White allowed Steven to decide the direction of the colony right after what happened. The moment she realized she wasn't perfect, she also realized that the society she created wasn't either, everything was in shambles! White was extremely vulnerable and willing to accept any and all advice, because her old way of doing things was all she knew by that point.
Also, have you ever thought about how pointless the Gem empire is? They're not living organisms, they don't need food, water, or to increase their numbers to survive. However, they spend all their time conquering planets for their resources, which they use to create more gems, which they use to conquer more planets and so on....There's no real reason for it, it's a pointless ideology of expansion over everything else.
Since she has no self-indentfication, she therefore has no purpose in the universe, and thus, no reason to live.
Iirc, they are based on viruses, essentially. Even the gem injectors resemble bacteriophages. They check all the boxes:
Needs resources only for reproduction
Doesn't consume outside reproduction
Needs host to reproduce
Injects "genetic" (gemetic?) material into host
Only exists to attack hosts and spread
Yep, unless there’s some hidden info we don’t know about
kinda how sociey wll be in super late stage capitalism!!
Maybe advance of technology?
God it's so REFRESHING to see an analysis that isn't "dictators bad, the show is ruined"
Jerry Peet is screaming because of this post.
The fact they dared to put dictators as villians is good.
What's bad and ruined the very end of SU, is Rebecca's absurd overpacifism or "I won't kill pure evil, even if the inner logic requires it".
She said to be a Disney fan (classic Disney inspired Homeworld) but she never truly show it.
I guess she didn't watch The Lion King or The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Ayo what's going on lol
@@Terron-de-pimientaLMAO
@@Terron-de-pimientaIf Steven did shatter the Diamonds, it would be completely unbelievable if most of the Homeworld gems didn't hate him for that and see him as a villain. Remember how every Homeworld gem we see on screen is brainwashed with fanatical devotion to their Diamonds?
23:50 Interesting. White always knew Pink was alive. However, she didn’t think it was possible for Pink to “grow up”, “stop acting like a child”, and truly change. Pink as Rose laments to Greg and baby Sourcream that gems are born as they will always be, and do not “grow up”.
However, Pink did grow up. She went from being some hyperactive kid who had tantrums to someone who fought for Earth, gemkind, and life as a whole. Pink as Rose did grow and change. She realigned her own gem and thus changed her purpose. Pink (and all the gems who have what Peridot refers to as “character development”) can and do change, but even as Rose she has this fundamental contempt for gems. She sees humans as having a power they don’t have, when they do and always have. MegaPearl fusion says as much.
For White, to acknowledge that Pink *chose to die* meant that she had to have a massive *shift in her personality.* She would have to have grown into another sort of person and done something genuinely *out of character* (in terms of gem factory settings).
I think Pink learned this self-hatred from White. White also believed she was born fully formed and so were all other gems. Growth is impossible, and if Pink was created to be the ID / child, then she would always be that. Pink would always be the baby of the family over whom White would protect and rule. If Pink changes, *she changes.*
This is the core of White’s identity issues, to use the language of this video. Her identity consists of the various dynamics between herself and others. Pink is the kid and she is the matriarch. Blue and Yellow are respectable adults forever and through whom White channels her will. For Pink to *truly* make an adult decision, or for Yellow and Blue to act like babies… this changes the nature of the dynamic. They have to stay the same because that means the dyad stays the same, and so White stays the same.
At it’s core, Steven Universe is about adjusting to change. Which makes sense, given how much Sugar was inspired by *Revolutionary* (as in, revolving) Girl Utena. That show deals with the question of something “eternal”, and I think a true identity or character eases that impulse. Who is White when she is alone? We know that Blue likes swimming and combing her hair, and that Yellow is a workaholic who will do any task assigned to her with admirable work ethic and efficiency. But White? Her domain is barren, devoid of cosmetics or saunas or toys. She literally stands around staring at other gems to make sure they don’t evolve or change. Gem society is a weird house made of Jenga blocks. For a single Ruby or Mica to shift in place is to destabilize the network of interpersonal relationships that characterize White and society at large. It tumbles easy because she tumbles easy.
I adore this analysis! It’s a really very profound way of putting it!
Pink didn't have temper tantrums because she was a spoiled brat, when she couldn't keep her feelings bottled up anymore she would lash out at her abusers for the way they treat her.
This show is such a gem
Did not mean to make a pun I am a but tipsy
You say that Greg "was the first being or person to challenge Rose and make her rethink things" when really I'd put it that he was just the first HUMAN to do so. Garnet made Rose rethink everything she believed about the rebellion and what it should accomplish, and even more simmilar to Greg is Pearl affecting Rose's beliefs by displaying herself as a complex individual with thoughts and wishes of her own and is precisely how she swept Rose off her feet - sure it may have been a lot less direct/intentional and taken a good while for Pearl herself to realize it, but both she and Greg shook up Rose's idea of who they were in simmilar ways and it helps explain why she liked them so much. Not really a criticism, just something I thought about :)
thank you - to clarify, i meant challenge in the more confrontational sense! i feel like garnet didn't really "set out" to challenge rose the way greg did. to me, the contrast between them becomes the contrast between loyal followers and someone who genuinely saw rose as an equal + felt comfortable telling her she was wrong.
@@faefelix3743 I understand what you are saying I do think Greg struggled somewhat less with treating Rose as an equal than Pearl did - although to be fair Now We're Only Falling Appart showed Pearl being a lot less passive and submissive than I would've maybe expected and overal, they both seem to agree Rose usually "did what she wanted' hehe
White light visually is actually a combination of all the colors on the spectrum, like a reverse prism. I think that’s a really cool thing to consider when discussing White’s characterization and her idea of collectivity versus individuality.
She even says “ after all I’m every color of the light “
32:11 Diamonds and quartzes are both high on the Moh’s hardness scale. They are some of the hardest naturally forming substances in the world. The Diamonds are (literally and figuratively) *hardheaded.*
It’s also interesting because it makes sense why quartzes would be soldiers - they’re harder than the vast majority of gems. It also makes sense that this is the class of gems that Pink would emulate. Her natural hardness was probably comparable to the strongest quartz soldiers. She couldn’t LARP as a sapphire because she had no future vision. She could play pretend as Rose Quartz by being tough and strong… which she was. “She had a scream that could crack the walls”, anyone?
White says that Pink as Rose was “dulling [her] powers”, and when she becomes Rose permanently the gem’s orientation in her body flips. She probably did limit herself in some way. Fittingly, by becoming rebel outlaw heroine Rose Quartz, Rose had to *lower the hardness of her gem.* Physically restructure herself at an atomic level. She *chose to become more vulnerable.* We know that whatever Rose did to her gem was so profound that when White attempts to reboot Steven *the silhouette of Rose appears.* It’s fitting, and one of the few examples of real gemmology in the show.
For reference, here are some other minerals (you know, gems?) from hardest to least: Diamond (10), corundum (9; rubies, sapphires), topaz (8), quartz (7), garnet (7), peridots (6.5), lapis lazuli (5.5), fluorite (4), bismuth (2.5), and pearl (2.5).
Finally, note that Pink’s becoming vulnerable / Rose forever is correlated with a change in gem orientation. Pink’s gem faces up, toward the heart and head. Rose’s gem is not inverted, it is flipped so that the point faces inward, rather than up. Not sure what that means.
'You can only see yourself as perfectly objective through the denial of your own emotions, desires, and biases, denying the importance of listening to other people's perspectives.' This is life lessons right here
Think about how tall the Diamonds are in comparison to every single one of their creations and the fact that they are apparently so powerful that they can create life or reverse death with their sweat or tears. It makes perfect sense that they wouldn't be able to understand that their creations are equals and just as sapient as they are at first.
That really made me understand White Diamond's character a lot better. I always liked the finale, but I've seen White Diamond changing her mind so quickly as its flaw. But now I understand. It was actually much greater than I thought. Now I like finale and White Diamond's character even more. Thank you.
I'm kinda interested in her character arc
I think nanefua would be a good "greg" for white since she's such a clear foil and Sugar loves opposites attracte
Both the oldest members of their species and leaders, both grandmothers, one is an ancient ruler the other is newly elected, the tallest character and the shortest (adult human)
That’s… genius? Not sure how they would meet. Maybe there could be a joke about White wanting to meet “Earth’s leaders”, and ends up talking to some random municipal mayor.
Maybe this is why her new power is projecting others into herself. Not only because it is the exact opposite of what she used to do, but because it's a way to explore other's identities and find her own through them and she finds enjoyment in the process
What i just noticed about Pink's drawing in here room is that - White's protrait overflow on yellow's and blue, but not on Pink's, showing how she was able to be a part of both yellow and blue, but she could never control Pink
This really helped put things in perspective. If we compare Steven Universe to Star Wats, White and the other Diamonds aren’t like the Sith. They are more similar to the Jedi, in the sense they emphasize the “greater good” at the expense of their feelings, or the feelings of others. Rebecca Sugar is pointing out that that’s also evil, and I’m all for it.
I love this. White diamond is the perfect explanation for why jedi ideology is toxic. Just imagine what would happen if someone somehow got a hold of Steven universe and everybody just... started watching. It'd be great.
28:50 White Diamond DESTROYS weaker gems with FACTS and LOGIC
Jokes aside, fantastic video. I'll admit I was in the camp of "her viewpoint changed too quickly" but this has actually made me change my mind [haha]. The fandom's insistence on pegging her solely as the 'abusive mother' type tends to stifle a lot of discussion about her, so I'm very glad you mention that.
The Diamonds are a very obvious and on the nose allegory to someone's out of touch, conservative parents so this comparison is very fitting
It's interesting how so many people ignore this facet of the story to yell about how the "diamonds are fascists." It's even doubly interesting when, all I'm hearing from a sociopolitical perspective is a description of communism.
something else interesting about white is how she describes pink as the "part of herself she always needs to repress", which is exactly what Freud thought the superego did to the id. the superego's role is to suppress and control the urges of the id, moderated by the ego. this is essentially the diamond's relationship dynamic.
obligatory "it's not y, it's x" comment: it's not communism, it's technocratic totalitarianism, where every individual is strictly defined by their role within a society. totalitarian communism doesn't exactly define societal roles as strictly, a baker's children aren't tied to low-skill jobs, or any jobs, they still have autonomy with regards to their work choices. Calling the Diamond Authority fascist I find to be fair, but inaccurate, fair because of, among other things, how they deal with beings outside of their defined society, inaccurate because fascism does, in theory at least, allow upward social mobility. The most accurate description of the Diamond Authority might be technocratic absolutist feudal monarchy.
@@696190 Agreed but swap feudal for mercantile or colonial.
@@jbark678 ok, colonial
Redeeming a bunch of extraterrestrial dictators probably wasn't the wisest move, but this was the only way to get him to heal the corrupted gems. It's a terrible influence on impressionable kids who probably shouldn't be watching this at a preschool age considering all the political allegory vibes the show sends off, but there was no other option. Steven knew that the only way to heal the corrupted gems was for the Diamonds (all four of them) to reverse the effects permanently.
why did this make me think of yellow and blue as discord mods ToT
I always thought of Yellow and blue as "mind" and "body" duality, since their powers seem to be related to physical self and emotional self and such
This was a really insightful analysis! I died at White's rantsona
This is an awesome analysis! People tend to just completely ignore the symbolism of the ending.
I finally got the White diamond analysis I wanted, thanks a lot.
In addition, 1 in 15 of the viewers liked it, which is a nice rate.
I wish we got more screen time with their history and on White
Love listening to this and hearing about more of these interesting theories! This is great writing and a great explanation!
I know this was posted 4 years ago and I havent seen any recent videos, but a thing that made this a bit hard to watch/listen was cause it's a bit too loud & lots of unnecessary glitchy edits, but other than those all the other editing is great!
Steven Universe really is one of the most complex and symbolic kids' cartoons I've ever watched. Every character seems to represent a part of one's self, and the show greatly expresses the conflicts and growth that we, as people, go through in life. This show has a lot of deep topics that I can't fully comprehend, but still, I'm glad I got to grow up with it. 💕
I feel rejuvenation after a long and painful breakdown.
Thank you for your existence.
The Diamonds are clearly written as the gems wrathful Gods, it's very weird that people see this show and interpret them as parallels to human dictators.
31:48 that was poetic
I've been really looking forward to this and it was worth the wait! It was insightful and brought up things about White Diamond's thought process that I hadn't considered. Thanks man for taking the time to make this!
I love your style of analysis, I am so happy I got recommended this, and I really do wish there were more sensible perspectives on Steven as a show on this level of detail, it’s wonderful.
such a great video because like, youre right, but also just you being sane about this is so refreshing
Deserves a crap-ton more views!
17,993 views as of now.
16:19 so lower gems being shattered is akin to skin cells shedding
What's interesting is that Steven is not White's creation. She had no input on his existence as she did with Gems. Steven is like a rip in the fabric of White's universe, a paradox that is so unabashedly opposed to everything and everyone White believed in, that his mere existence causes her to break.
Plus, with the added context of the artbooks and Future, this video is still as great as ever.
THANK YOU!!!!!! this analysis is gold. Finally someone who understands the point. If only white noise sounds wasnt so loud and there wasnt flickering in editing
This is a great video, I'm so glad I watched this, white diamond is so interesting to analyze.
I get a deeper understanding of White this way. Thanks a bunch!👍
Such a great essay! You really deserve more views
awesome vid. this totally recontextualizes the fast-paced ending, for me at least
Man, White's whole thing would be pretty good if Cartoon Network had let them have Season 6.
Y chromosome detected
that's why we need all 3 parts
I like your voice, it's hard to describe why but it just kind of sounds calming
So, I see the following constantly: "SU and SUF is bad because it redeemed people who are iredeemable!"
I disagree for a few reasons. Namely the following:
1. Personal Philosophy: I believe that anyone can be redeemed IF they TRUELY wish to be redeemed. Even is the path they choose to take is slightly misguided, as long as they are willing to change, let them. The Diamonds are clearly shown to want to try to change, even if the path they choose is a little misguided.
2. Logic: So this one is a two parts: the corrupted gems and the backlash. Without the other diamonds, the corrupted gems stay corrupted. Also the backlash resulting from the shattering of the diamonds would be horrible, the gems for and against homeworld will launch into another war, leading the the death, shattering, etc. of Gems and Organisms alike.
3. Steven and Co. Ideals: To them, shattering is an absolute attrocity, to do so would go against everything.
this is a really good video! thought a few criticisms I have would be the music and voice balance. The music was a bit too loud compared to the voice audio. and it made it hard to hear you. The into was very well done, but keep in mind that some viewers might find it very disorienting. Maybe add warning right at the beginning if you do something like this next time. Very well done video!
Great to see this finally come to light (pun unintended)! You definitely outlined everything you needed to, and I'm also pretty impressed with how quickly you seem to have gotten the hang of editing. Was gonna mention you should put a seizure warning or something of the like, but then I read the description lol
But yeah, hope to see more videos :)
Hello everyone, this is YOUR daily dose of Steven Universe.
Excellent analysis!
wow a love to see a truly inteligent person and their way they see things
Do more of these essays 10/10 excellent
I never looked at it this way this is a very well done essay very well put
Excellent. Lots of food for thought here!
AMAZING VIDEOOO
GOD THIS WAS SUCH A GOOD VIDEO OMG
Interesting essay. I enjoyed it.
she just like me fr
Beautiful
Why dont they just make another hourglass of time?
well writen vid. just god awful volume on the damn static sfx
Your voice sounds like Spongebob lol
WoW
So she thought she was a good god?
Pretty much, yeah 😂. Despite thinking that she knows what's best for her creations, White Diamond is incredibly blind and deluded. Like what Blue Diamond inferred from "Legs From Here To Homeworld" and what Steven said to WD in "Change Your Mind", she's been stuck in her own head (Both metaphorically and physically in terms of her ship) for eons. She quite literally believes that everything she says is true and that everything she does is benevolent, which we the audience and the characters themselves know for a fact is not the case. WD was unable to fathom the nuances and complexities of things from a different perspective beforehand until Steven broke, I mean, changed her mind about it all 😉, lol.
if gems society is led by resource logic why do they despise garnet fusion
Because it falls outside Whites perfect ideal society
Just because something runs on a brand of logic doesn't mean it's flawless
@@the_last_ballad again, if they love resource so much, why do they hate the idea of future seeing high rank soldiers for exchange of one lowest rank soldier and one informant who doesnt take part in colonizing. theres clearly a contradiction then cause they follow their logic but then they dont; the claim that they are resource oriented contradicts with what we see. i guess i misunderstood you idk what did you mean pls clarify
@@the_last_balladand the video claims that whites perfect ideal society is built on resource logic. so then it contradicts itself by design. its not a resource logic then but plain traditionalism
@@the_last_ballad and the comment about "brand of logic" thing yeah sure it isnt possible to have anything flawless but if you build your ideology (which must follow logic laws) on some conclusions and it turns out that the conclusions are faulty then all the building blocks just crumble. and we again come full circle as to why its just traditionalism there maybe based on some idea of gems hierarchy but not much else
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14:25 timestamp 4 me
Can you open subtitles?
14:23
white diamond is so they/them pronouns coded.
How? She literally stylized herself like a Greek goddess... there is no hint of masculinity or adrogeny in her appearance.
So, fuck headphone users, huh?
Wym
Theyre freshly lobotonozied ignore them dw@@Inactivechannel-r6
WHITE DIAMOND U ARE NOT GOOD CUZ YOU PICK STVENS DIAMOND
i still find the blushing idea stupid no offense
Would be great to watch this video without loud ass music overwhelming the commentary. Boo.