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Analysis Of ' The Crystal Gems ' Essay

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Steven Universe is a TV show on Cartoon Network that centers around a fourteen-year old human-gem alien hybrid named Steven and his three gem alien guardians who seek to protect the earth from their home planet. His mother, Rose Quartz, led a rebellion group called “The Crystal Gems” against her home planet to thwart their plans to colonize the Earth. Years later, she died giving birth to Steven. For a children’s show, it has covered many topics, including defying the gender norm, mental illness, and abusive relationships. The relationship of two characters, Jasper and Lapis Lazuli, is a sensitive topic of discussion among fans and critics alike. There are three points of view on the subject. They include that Jasper is the abuser, Lapis is the abuser, and the relationship was “mutually abusive.” When considering the characteristics that make a relationship abusive, and how the relationship is being portrayed in the show, all the evidence points to Lapis Lazuli as the abuser. On the show, the alien gems practice “fusion,” which is a process of combining the forms of two (or more) gems to form a single entity. Fusions are usually used for combative purposes, but can symbolize many types of relationships ranging to healthy and unhealthy. While Jasper and Lapis Lazuli’s relationship was neither romantic or platonic, their fusion is heavily implied to represent an abusive relationship. Jasper is a muscular gem soldier who was born on Earth but fought on her home world’s side of

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