In Brightest Day: Big Hero 6 and Grief

Ah, Big Hero 6. We wrote about the trailer a while ago, but never came back to review the movie. But, as I’m sure you already know, there’s no need: this movie’s awesomeness is clear to anyone who’s seen it. Big Hero 6 is about a young robotics prodigy, Hiro Hamada, who only wants to use his smarts to design robots for illegal robot fights. His older brother Tadashi, however, manages to steer Hiro toward using his talents for good by introducing him to his university, the San Fransokyo Institue of Technology (SFIT). Hiro meets all Tadashi’s friends and Tadashi’s robot creation, Baymax, a robot that’s designed to diagnose and cure the sick, and after seeing everything, he’s inspired to apply to SFIT himself.

As a protagonist, Hiro’s young enough that the audience can quickly tell Big Hero 6 will be a bildungsroman of some sort—how will Hiro grow up and come into his own? But in telling Hiro’s story, Big Hero 6 also managed to send a compelling message about grief and mourning. Spoilers for the whole movie after the jump.

Steven Universe and Grief

I’m not necessarily the best at taking my own advice. So when I said more than a year ago that everyone should be watching Steven Universe, I had intended to follow suit. With the exception of an episode here and there, I unfortunately didn’t get around to watching. In a way, I’m glad for it—I’d much rather marathon a show than wait for weekly updates. With the announcement of Cartoon Network renewing the show for another two seasons, though, dreams of watching it all at once (in the near future) were all but dashed, and I finally sat down to watch the entire series alongside my brother.

Me after catching up.

We’ve discussed a couple of Steven Universe‘s elements before, all in glowing terms. Today will be no different. As much as I want to gush over Pearl’s unmistakable queerness when it comes to her relationship with Rose Quartz, another underlying theme has caught me off guard with the subtlety and the delicacy with which it was written. Steven Universe is, of course, not the first show to tackle the subject of grief. Yet the way it’s approached in this show is so nuanced that I’m left feeling it in the pit of my stomach long after the episodes have ended.

Spoilers for “Rose’s Scabbard” under the cut.

An Open Letter to Game Developers

Trigger Warning: strong, derogatory language. All language consists of quotes from another gamer. Please proceed with caution.

Dear Game Developers,

I am coming to you guys as a owner of many games across many mediums. I have been a PC, console and handheld gamer since my parents got me a Nintendo 64 and Game Boy for Christmas. So I’m coming to you as a fan, not an unknowable advocate.

And I’m begging you all to figure out a way to stop bullying in online video games.