When Stories Get Real: A Look at the Portrayal of Toxicity & Trauma in ‘Steven Universe: The Movie’

Written by Shae Rufe

Still from ‘Steven Universe: The Movie’ Courtesy of Cartoon Network.

​Trauma is something that fascinates me and I feel the need to write about it as of late. You can blame a rewatch of Steven Universe: The Movie for this! So, snuggle in, grab some chocolate covered blueberries (they’re the literal best thing on the planet!), and take my hand as we go down this rabbit hole. Also, a standard warning as some of these topics can be triggering for anyone who’s been through trauma. If you’re also like me and kind of sensitive for certain topics, please give a look at DoesTheDogDie.com where you can search all media types for certain triggers. This site is amazing and helpful, and I highly recommend it as I use it quite often.

So for those of you who don’t know about Steven Universe, you should definitely look it up and give it a watch. The movie has so many in-depth looks into abuse and abandonment and so much more. In that I wanted to focus on two key things today: Pink Diamond and the continuation of the abusive cycle, and Spinel’s toxicity. In the series we finally get to learn a lot about Pink Diamond and what she experienced from the other Diamonds. Pink was seen and treated as a child and even given a playmate to keep her out of Blue, Yellow, and White’s business. Pink is often left locked in a room after misbehaving, seen throwing tantrums, and even punches a mirror and cracks it. Pink is treated like an annoyance and an outcast by her fellow Diamonds just by being herself. Because of this blatant mistreatment, Pink is hyper aware of their disappointment to a detrimental level. Eventually White Diamond even takes away Pink’s Pearl and gives her own in return as well as a new friend, Spinel. Here’s where things get messed up. Yes, Pink is essentially abused by her family, and instead of breaking the cycle of abuse, she instead perpetuates it. Pink straight up abandons Spinel, goes to Earth, starts a rebellion and fakes her own death to start a full out war with her own family. In the meantime, she lies to those closest to her, leads Pearl on, and continuously hurts her. She allows Pearl the illusion of them being equals and yet continues to undermine that at every turn. And then, when it suits her, she leaves them all, leaving her son to pick up the pieces of all her unresolved issues. Pink manipulates and abuses those closest to her, much like the other Diamonds did to her.

This cycle of abuse is only broken by Steven when he does the literal opposite of his mother. Steven is kind and empathetic instead of apathetic and cold. He genuinely cares for those around him and tries to make friends with everyone he comes across, even swaying enemies. And then you have Pink who quite literally threw her best friend away the second Spinel was inconvenient for her. Pink also did this to Bismuth as well. Only she went as far as to tell their mutual friends that Bismuth died in the war. Pink was just as selfish and cruel as the other Diamonds, and in some ways, she was a lot worse.

In the flip side, you have Spinel. A character who is broken when we first meet her. A character who literally couldn’t cope with what happened and instead became just as toxic as the person who broke her. Spinel is quite toxic in many parts of the film. She even admits to wanting to kill Steven because she came to know him more. Her volatile attitude and actions are the product of the abuse and abandonment she endured. While many don’t see abandonment as a form of abuse, it absolutely is. Long lasting effects of abandonment bleed into the everyday lives of those who experience it. Sometimes it’s so detrimental it causes extreme mood swings, violent outbursts, and verbal abuse. All of which Spinel exhibits in the movie. She’s easily reverted back into that negative headspace and so anxious about being abandoned that she violently attacks Steven. The thought of being left again is so terrifying that she’d rather hurt him before he can hurt her. As far-fetched as this all is, these are things that happen in real life and to many people. Spinel not only reminded me a lot of myself, but she reminded me of one friend I had in particular. This friend was so damaged by her upbringing that she’d often project her own issues out onto me, and similar to Spinel, was quick to assume I was going to stop being her friend the second I’d ever stand up for myself. These are incredibly toxic behaviors, even if the person isn’t aware of that. I think at one point we’ve all been that toxic person in someone’s life and it’s okay to admit that. Nobody is perfect and a lot of times we often view toxic behaviors as normal when they’re not. It’s one thing if a toxic person realizes their unhealthy behavior and works to change it. It’s another entirely if they know they’re being toxic and they continue to do so.

Similarly, I think Pink is extremely relatable to many as we’ve all had a person like her in our lives. Pink is a horrible person for a number of reasons, but she’s the worst because she never changes her behavior or sees that there is even anything wrong with it. Pink is the epitome of a toxic person and one who thinks their behavior is completely acceptable.

The duality of these two within the show speaks to how complex issues create even more complex issues. Pink perpetuated her family’s behavior into others, never once changing it. While in the end Spinel breaks the cycle and moves to get better instead of worse. Spinel could have easily lived in what Pink left her in. She could have easily chosen to live in the toxic dysfunction. But she chose to move on and get better. Because while it never feels like it at the time, there is an out. It does get better. Spinel makes the choice to get better. While Pink made the choice to run and stay as she was. Growing and changing are a part of everyone’s lives. While we may never undo the traumas that have been done to us, we can move past them. They will always be a part of who we are, but they do not have to define us. I have had my own version of Pink Diamond in my life, and I have been all parts of Spinel. Having something in media that can connect with someone the way that I have connected to this show is really powerful. It’s nice to see this on the screen, speaking to people on a personal level.

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