Star vs. The Forces of Racism
In honor of Black History Month, I wanted to write this blog essay on what I have been learning from "Star vs. The Forces of Evil and its theme about racism and bringing change.
Since watching the show, I thought it would be a typical teen girl against evil series like Sailor Moon and the other magic girl anime it is based on. However, I learn there is more to people than just typical good vs. evil. It showed the monsters are actually victims of bigotry and racism by those within power. In fact, there are moments in this show that are very similar to our own unpleasant history.
For example, when the Mewmans arrived and settled on land that already belonged to the monsters, they eradicated a few and frightened the rest of them off the land. That is similar to how America was found. Early settlers and explorers settled in North America and South America even though they were already inhabited. However, what happened to the monsters is similar to the conquest of one notorious explorer, Hernan Cortes. According to history, when he and his men explored Central America, he conquered the Aztecs to the point of their destruction. ([1]) Solaria is no different from him. She wants to eradicate monsters for the sake of power and riches. Cortes did what he did for riches and his sense of adventure. Both could have benefited from alliances, but they chose to obtain their needs at any cost.
As for the case of Eclipsa and Globgor, their relationship is no different from Richard and Mildred Loving's relationship. They are the interracial couple who made a change of their own during the 1960s. Before their marriage, interracial marriage was considered unlawful and taboo. When their marriage was caught by the law, they were arrested for being in love. This sounds like what happened when Globgor and Eclipsa were caught. Their arrest caused Mildred and Richard to make their own change and fight the courts for their right to wed. Their change made Loving vs. Virginia, a law that legalized interracial marriage.([2]) Eclipsa and Globgor believed their relationship could bring change just like the Lovings did.
Buff Frog is considered a great leader for the monsters. He is speaking out for peace through his friendship with Star. Rather than fight against the Mewmans for their discrimination, he used non-violent means. He is like Ghandi and Martin Luther King. Both leaders spoke out for peace and believed that there are better ways to obtain equality than through force. Ghandi developed non-violent protest, seeing that nothing is ever gained through violence except destruction. Martin Luther King was a great leader who spoke out about blacks and whites coming together as equals in his famous "I Have a Dream" Speech. Buff Frog is a great leader for the monsters because he believes in a better life for them rather than the eradication of the Mewmans. He chose to change his ways for the sake of his family and friends and lead them to a life where they don't have to worry about how they look. His exodus and his friendship with Star proves it.
I don't know whether or not season 4 will be the last season, but I know that by the time the show is over, Mewni will push aside all hatred and bigotry. Star and her friends are willing to make a change to make Mewni better than it was. They are willing to let go of the past and pave a golden road toward the future through their friendship with different creatures and learning to look beneath the skin just like me. Over the years, I have learned to look beneath how someone looks and look at the heart of that person. I don't care if he is black, Jew, Arab, gay or another other part that makes him different than everyone else. From my view, we are all a lot like crayons: different colors of the same thing, making a picture out of this world. I know that Star changing her views will bring greater change to Mewni. It is like what Judy Hopps said at the end of Zootopia: Change starts with you.