#(This one is a lil' more somber than bittersweet compared to the other one)

[borkthemork]

Image Juxtaposition: SUF’s Old and the New in “Little Graduation”

Now, I have covered this previously in a post before about image/object symbolism regarding the cassette tape, but I don’t think I gave it much justice in giving reason to it; I didn’t give a strong reason to why this image seemed consistent with the concept of symbolism, and ever since rewatching it I’m more confident in deep-diving into this episode overall regarding discussing it.

So in this post, we will bring our focus to the dichotomy between the old and new imagery found in this episode, and how it plays a massive part in creating a wistful atmosphere for our main protagonist.

My sources on certain stuff will be reblogged for the sake of avoiding Tumblr sniping me off the tags, and let’s begin.

However, before we diverge into this whole post, we’re going to need a reference point on symbolism and its probability of existence. When it comes to analyzing pieces of media, I want to make sure that there’s a solid platform for my discussions relating to the possibility of certain themes, subjects, or other forms of a literary figure. 

For “Little Graduation” I want to make sure that these pieces of analysis have some grounding, so I decided to pull out a ‘Symbolism Consistency’ reference from a website we could use as we talk more about this episode (I’m just paraphrasing it).

1. Look at Descriptions

We have to look at the way they implement these images into the world. Sure, it could be seen as fewer than two times, but creators know that each scene has to be important in some way or another (and we know Crewniverse loves to give us small-scale and large-scale symbolism throughout the Steven Universe series). So if the symbol is given a moment of consideration or has been lost, then there’s something being said.

2. Look for Repetition

If the imagery goes along with a similar theme it is correlated to, there’s usually some form of consistency or emphasis in the use of its implementation.

3. Look at the Turning Points

If it happens at certain points or at high/low moments of the story, there’s definitely some form of focus onto what it means. The creators want the audience to hone in on it, and that’s where they particularly give that attention.

Now that we’ve gotten this stuff out of the way, let’s talk about “Little Graduation”!

The first thing we see with this episode is the use of the cassette tape.

The cassette tape is a piece of technology that has grown obsolete over time but is still one of the most prevalent connections to Steven’s childhood that we have: his dondai has a cassette tape player, he had Rose’s tape, he watched old shows like Lil’ Butler on a tape, there’s also the blast to the past with Mr. Smiley’s Big Donut tape. They bring him a lot of memories regarding his childhood and there’s a sense of nostalgia to them as well towards the audience since it connects us to the main show when Steven enjoyed them whole-heartedly as an adolescent.

However, we can note that in Steven’s universe, the cassette tape is growing a bit obsolete and it’s not just an occurrence in our own world. In the original series, we already know that laptops, phones, and other pieces of human tech are the norm, but in SUF and SU the Movie we can see that technology growing and improving.

The world is going faster with improvement. Older technology is truly getting pushed off as something deemed old.

It fits well with the theme of the episode when we implement it; the ability to move forward into the future, to allow people to choose their own paths now that new opportunities are being found and embraced. This is Steven Universe: Future, the theme of plans and change were bound to happen. 

Newer technology could be representative of Steven’s friends and colleagues pushing on to better things, to better objectives.

And Steven, in the role he had placed himself in, feels like he’s becoming obsolete, unneeded, just like a cassette tape. In episodes such as “Guidance,” he attempted to find another reason to help out, to assist in the best way he could because he wanted to be needed — that’s the role he mentally implanted into himself ever since he was a kid. The healer. The diplomat. The therapist. The helper.

What else could he find in himself now that the future is being rammed into him, especially with his current mental state?

So when the emphasis is placed on Steven deciding over whether to get the disc or the cassette tape, we have to analyze the abstract concept being portrayed rather than the literal. Yes, this boy has a cassette tape player — he had an easy choice to make with that context, but this scene gave him a choice.

Do you take the disc, the newer technology? Or do you take the cassette tape, the older technology?

Do you want the past or the future?

And he took the past.

However, what I find interesting is the way the cassette tapes are used with music.

Steven, at the beginning, is listening to Sadie Killer and the Suspects in jovial nature, before the big reveal of them departing was ever brought forth to him. Even if he didn’t get the notion that the band broke up, there’s still a connection to the past with the music, especially when it’s implied that Steven is listening to Sadie’s and Shep’s new music at the end of the episode.

Beats his fingers to the rhythm of the song too, so it’s a good chance that the positioning of these scenes parallel each other, especially Steven’s mindset from the beginning compared to the end of the episode.

Steven, while listening to the first song, was in a phase of comfort. He’s not thinking or contemplating much on a somber level but more so excited overseeing parts of his life still intact, such as the Spacetries business and seeing the band come back to Beach City.

It doesn’t help that the lyrics he’s listening to brings up terms such as teenagers — a term in the eyes of Sadie Killer and the Suspects as a past phase of their life now that they’re young adults.

But in the second scene, it’s more bittersweet.

The song “Looking Forward” — a song of going into the future and releasing the burdens of one’s baggage — is being played on a cassette, a piece from the past, a piece connected to a supposedly simpler time. There’s a contrast, a split amid these two concepts: what we’re witnessing is the moment Steven felt the cognitive dissonance between moving forward and his insistence on settling into the past.

It reminds him that people are moving on, and we already know that his mental paradigm is still stuck into the prior times, in the status quo, because in “Prickly Pair”, he’s still not over it. 

There are so many issues lying under the surface relating to it, but this boy created an identity over helping others, and now that people are walking forward because of his help, he has no one left to help push forward but himself, and that terrifies him. 

He has no idea how to start and he doesn’t even want to.