Spinel & Her Symbolism EXPLAINED! (Steven Universe the Movie)

the Steven universe movie is out and ever since that first trailer dropped we've been waiting with bated breath to know exactly what was going on who was involved and just how many absolutely adorable songs were going to make us cry now finally we know who that mysterious pigtailed baddie is and we've definitely added the soundtrack to our Spotify playlists and I am NOT crying you're crying I'm Chris Carr and today I'm talking to you about spinel from Steven universe the movie before we get to spinel I want to thank all of our patrons on patreon if you want to help head on over to our patreon page and see if a tear works for you will reward you handsomely remember liking sharing and subscribing our awesome ways to show your support obviously all here there be spoilers doing the character breakdown on the big bat of Steven universe the movie means we'll be discussing key plot points and revelations from the film you've been warned after returning from space and dismantling the diamond Empire Steven universe expects to slide into a carefree life having finally earned a well-deserved happily ever after this bliss is interrupted when a new gem threat comes to earth wrecking havoc this mysterious new villain who he knew little to nothing about prior to the film's release is spinel a gem rockin mr. fantastic elasticity powers and designed in that Disney 1930s animation even going so far as to delivering a ragtime style number to Steven about his other friends using her rejuvenator a sort of lightsaber scythe and I definitely mean lightsaber you guys look at peridot looking down the barrel like she's Luke Skywalker and careful with that it's a rejuvenator using that rejuvenator spinel is able to restore the factory settings so to speak of a gem this causes garnet to diffuse pearl to go back to servitude and amethyst to completely forget who she is other than a mimic it also causes Steven to lose his gem abilities I can't store things in lion's mane now even spinel is puffed and reset shifting her into the even more Mickey Mouse s character even her eerste hearts no matter how they move that's a Mickey thing fun fact his ears are always circles I'm bringing up the animation because this design is so drastically different from other gems we've seen in Steven universe before everyone is CalArts she's Max Fleischer this is a gem whose sole purpose is to entertain others furthermore this style is one that animators have shifted away from furthering the notion that spinel is something obsolete that the world has moved on from its childish this style and attitude change immediately placate Steven and the viewer she's sweet she's silly we can't stay mad at spinel she can't even remember what she's done I said one map in an effort to return his friends back to normal Steven must work to piece everyone including himself back together by revisiting the experiences that made them who they are spinel is by Stephens side for all of this in her default mode she believes she's meant to be Stephens best friend she's goofy carefree seeming single-mindedly focused on fun and delivering a good time Steven tries to cast spinel to the sidelines while he focuses on saving his friends but spinel insists on staying even going full bilbo baggins at one point when Steven suggests she'd not stay by his side this continued treatment and distancing ends up jogging spinels memory though we learned that in yet another total piece of crap move pink diamond abandoned spinel instructing her to play a game a freeze essentially that's Pannell played for 6,000 years side quest pink diamond is just just the worst even steven is like classic mom I can't believe mom did that to you actually I can totally believe it I love that this show has always taken the dead mom trope and turned it on its head Rose wasn't a saint Rose was often awful and selfish and in this case cruel spinel was the manifestation of pinks in her child while pink was getting a colony and needed to be a big girl and put away your toys figuratively she literally left the thing created to entertain her in complete isolation with no second thought spinel was thrown away this is a harrowing origin story and her lashing out at Stephen what remains a pink becomes much more understandable her character designed the stripes on her face that turn out to be tear stains become heartbreaking you feel a complete shift in how you sympathize and empathize for this gem her physically remaining stagnant for years also reminds us of Steven universe's biggest theme changing she literally stood still for thousands of years and her first action was to hurt the person who did that to her who trapped her and abandoned her spinel is eventually coaxed into returning to Earth with Steven to stop the drill but miss reads the situation I think Steven has just used her and that he plans to reset her during this knock-down drag-out fight spinel and Steven have this exchange she says you can't change the way I feel and he responds that's right only you can this is a huge hurdle for victims of trauma and mental illness things I think spinel serves as a poster child for in the Steven universe the movie reaction thread on reddit many redditors have found a correlation between spinels actions and various mental conditions the one that seemed to come up consistently throughout the thread was borderline personality disorder or BPD this condition is characterized by difficulties in regulating emotions basically leading those with BPD to feel their feelings more intensely acting impulsively struggling with self image and self regulation those with BPD tend to engage in frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment by loved ones and can experience inappropriate intense and uncontrollable anger often followed by shame or guilt we see spinel react in such a way to her circumstances I will say again this planetary isolation does seem like the sort of thing she has the right to be upset about however her immediately wanting to harm Steven the extent to which she wants to hurt him and her consequential breakdown wondering why she's feeling that way is what's led many to make this BPD connection what am i doing I'm gonna hurt you so bad I'm supposed to be a friend I just wanna be your friend not to mention that environmental factors like experiencing traumatic life events such as neglect and separation can lead to developing this disorder it's but how fully believes that she can't change or improve that should only get worse if she was capable of being better wouldn't she have been loved and taken along in the first place spinel feels unworthy after her abandonment she feels less than even her name and gem affiliation spinel refers to a lesser gem what did we talk about equal life-forms for centuries the spinel was known as the great impostor masquerading as rubies in the royal crowns of European monarchs Steven universe has always been a series that takes on trauma head-on and spinel seems to be another exploration in healing mental pain in an interview with TV Line Rebecca sugar said of spinel quote I really want people to take away the idea that it's okay to be a work-in-progress you really need to want to feel better that's really difficult to do no matter how much you want to help somebody you can't make them want that no matter how far along you are on your journey you're still going to be on it it's not going to be over so the sooner you can enjoy that you're always growing the better it will feel to be traveling through life we see this beautifully illustrated through spinel and Stevens interactions Steven is happy to accept and forgive spinel but spinel needs a fresh start she needs the room to grow without people around her who know her past actions that being said I do wonder if living with the Diamonds is the right move for spinel she's relegated back to being an entertainer perhaps even a court jester it was only six thousand years I could do that standing on my head [Laughter] and that goofy headstand I like this Jim and well all parties agreed that she isn't pink but was important to pink this feels like yet another codependent relationship that spinel is engaging in you let me know if going with them was the right move for all parties involved while these themes of change in self-care and self-improvement are nothing new to Steven universe it hits home here the show is known for de stigmatizing mental health and trauma in an accessible medium with spinel though it felt fresh her Redemption was well-earned and she personified Rebecca sugars philosophies beautifully that we are all capable of being the sort of person who deserves love no matter what has happened to us or what we've done we're capable of still being that lovable being despite our flaws as a wise man once said if every pork chop were perfect we wouldn't have hot dogs what else should be said when it comes to spinel does anyone else confused how she got all that poisons and she apparently was stuck on one planet the whole time anything important we left out or something you want to discuss hit us up in the comment section for more videos click to the left or join us on roku or plex thanks again to all of our patrons on patreon and thank you for watching I'll see you space cowboy okay but seriously how did she get all that poison in that drill what the hell what the hell Rebecca sugar

Channel: NerdWire

Views: 2,089,882

Keywords: steven universe the movie, steven universe, spinel, spinel steven universe, spinel backstory, spinel mental illness, spinel bpd, spindel borderline personality disorder, spinel symbolism, steven universe movie review, steven universe the movie villain, spinel pink diamond, spinel explained, steven universe explained, steven universe mental health, pink diamond, spinel tragedy, best cartoon villain

Id: PdJBjupAIp8

Length: 10min 13sec (613 seconds)

Published: Tue Sep 03 2019