Pearl (character)

Pearl
Steven Universe character
First appearance "Gem Glow" (2013)
Created by Rebecca Sugar
Voiced by Deedee Magno
Information
Species Gem
Gender N/A[1][2]

Pearl is a fictional character from the 2013 animated series Steven Universe, created by Rebecca Sugar. She is a "Gem", a fictional alien being that exists as a magical gemstone projecting a holographic body. Pearl is a character with a low self-esteem due to the way she is treated in Gem society. She is frequently praised for being a positive depiction of a queer character, though her strong obsession has been described as "unhealthy."

Development

Pearl is voiced by Deedee Magno.

Pearl's voice actress, Deedee Magno, started voice acting at a young age for The All-New Mickey Mouse Club. She moved on to do broadway performances in the 1990s and 2000s, such as Miss Saigon and Wicked, but was contacted by Rebecca Sugar to portray a role in Steven Universe in 2013.[3] However, Pearl was her first major role in an animated series.[4]

Character

Together with Garnet, Amethyst, and protagonist Steven, Pearl is one of the Crystal Gems, a group of Gems that protect humanity and the Earth from danger. Pearl has been described as "overcautious".[5]

In the fictional Gem culture, "Pearls" are considered inferior and are purely meant to serve more important types of Gems. The character of Pearl shows a strong inferiority complex, as she isn't meant for fighting or creating strategies like more powerful gem-types are. Despite her struggles, Pearl has learned to defend herself by swordfighting.[6][7]

Pearl shows to be strongly devoted to Rose Quartz, the mother of Steven and former leader of the Crystal Gems, who gave up her projected body so her son could be born. According to Vrai Kaiser of The Mary Sue, Pearl deals with severe unresolved grief, coupled with deep-seated issues with self-worth, resulting in her falling prey to "powerful, impulsive emotions" whenever Rose is mentioned. Naith Payton of Pink News described Pearl's devotion to Rose as "unhealthy and obsessive." Pearl works to correct these issues, and the show is written in a way that allows watchers to sympathize with her.[8][9]

Reception

Ben Bertoli of Kotaku stated that Pearl is a character that a viewer may dislike at the start of the series, but that she becomes more relatable as the story continues and the viewer learns more about her.[10] Sara Goodwin of The Mary Sue even described her as "the most human" of the Gems because of how she struggles with "bitterness, thoughts of inadequacy, and jealousy". Though she stated that Pearl can often be "insufferable", Goodwin likes the character for her humanity and hard work.[7]

In 2014, Deedee Magno won a Behind the Voice Actor Award, in the category "Best Female Lead Vocal Performance in a Television Series - Comedy/Musical", for her portrayal of Pearl.[11]

Pearl was very positively received for being a queer character in children's animation, following a pattern of LGBT themes in animated series such as Adventure Time and The Legend of Korra.[9][12] However, this aspect of her character has also received some criticism: Pearl's jealousy when Rose Quartz shows interest in a male character in flashbacks has been described as operating under a "psycho lesbian" trope, which assumes queer women are "predators of would-be heterosexuals".[8] A short flashback scene in which Pearl intimately dances with Rose Quartz in the episode "We Need to Talk" was controversially censored by Cartoon Network UK for British audiences, as they felt that "the slightly edited version is more comfortable for local kids and their parents".[13][14]

References

  1. ↑ Sugar, Rebecca (2015). "I am Rebecca Sugar, creator of Steven Universe, and former Adventure Time storyboarder, AMA!". Reddit.com.
  2. ↑ Jones-Quartey, Ian (2015-03-16). "IAN JQ dot com". Tumblr.com.
  3. ↑ Smith, Candance (2015-12-21). "Where are they now? Past stars of "The All New Mickey Mouse Club"". New York Daily News.
  4. ↑ Sims, Chris (2014-07-30). "No, You’re The Joke: The Cast Of 'Steven Universe' At Comic-Con 2014". Comics Alliance.
  5. ↑ Adejare, AJ (2015-03-26). "Steven Universe Season One Review". The Fandom Post.
  6. ↑ Medina, ND (2015-07-17). "Steven Universe Episode Recap 'Friend Ship': We Are The Lumpy Clods". iDigitalTimes.
  7. 1 2 Goodwin, Sara (2015-11-25). "The Importance of Music in Steven Universe and Its Best Musical Moments". The Mary Sue.
  8. 1 2 Kaiser, Vrai (2015-06-11). "It’s OK to Have Flaws (Except for You): Steven Universe and Fandom". The Mary Sue.
  9. 1 2 Payton, Naith (2015-07-17). "Comment: Lots of children’s programmes already have LGBT characters". Pink News.
  10. ↑ Bertoli, Ben (2015-09-07). "Steven Universe, Explained". Kotaku.
  11. ↑ "4th Annual BTVA Awards". Behindthevoiceactors.com. 2014.
  12. ↑ Ewart, Asia (2015-06-10). "Four cartoons that are leading the way in LGBT visibility". Metro New York.
  13. ↑ Johnson, Kevin (2016-01-12). "A controversial Steven Universe edit omits more than a same-sex romance". The A.V. Club.
  14. ↑ Collins, Elle (2016-01-05). "Upsetting the Balance: Queerness, Censorship, and 'Steven Universe'". Comics Alliance.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, April 21, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.