Monster High Dolls and Cartoons

When I started collecting dolls, I felt hesitant about the Monster High line. I don't love inhuman skin tones or oversized heads, and short skirts aren't my thing (although I firmly believe people should wear what they want without being slut-shamed.) Also, they are super fancy and wear lots of make-up, and I'm kind of a plain girl.

But, they are well articulated, and some looked interesting.

But I could buy just one... right?

My Monster High gang

Cleo deNile was my first Monster High doll. I was drawn to her because she doesn't look like a monster. She's the "daughter of the mummy" but looks like an Egyptian girl who is still alive. She's gorgeous. I couldn't stop looking at her and photographing her.

Next, I was a bit more daring- Robecca is a robot with adorable steam-punk fashion sense. But honestly, when I got her in the mail, I was disappointed. Her face is a little too much like Cleo's to be unique, and her unique aspects seemed over-rated. I may modify her someday to capture my steam-punk dreams better, but for now, she has languished, and I doubted I would buy more. 

Still, I had been trying to find a Clawdeen I liked, but didn't care for her color scheme. Her sister, Clawdia, stole my heart with her wonderful smile. Then I found a Skelita, who rivals my first love for Cleo. She is beautiful and anatomically clever!

I'm so happy!

So, basically, I love Monster High. The line's creativity and cleverness can't be beat. 

I love children's literature (and occasionally movies), so I gave the cartoon a try too.

[Content note: long blog post, social justice, references to rape metaphors and racism.]

In the movies, Monster High School is almost the perfect place to attend when you're struggling through hormones, homework, and break-ups. The brand says- "Be yourself. Be unique. Be a monster." 

However, the characters of the school and playline only exemplify certain kinds of diversity. It's great to be a minotaur or a zombie. As long as you are traditionally attractive, thin, straight, and able-bodied*, Monster High is a wonderful school. Yet, doesn't that leave out a ton of marginalized people?

This scene was played for a laugh.

*Monster High now has a student in a wheelchair. Yay!

What does it mean to be unique?

I wish the characters could be more unique in other ways than simply being monsters. The female characters all love fashion, shopping, cheerleading...  all stereotypically "girl" stuff. (None of that is wrong or bad, but it is boring and pro-status quo when they are all the same.)

I need every pair of shoes I own for a week in Paris!

And they don't seem to value their classroom time much.

Ghoulia is the notable exception. She's the smartest ghoul in school, and her problem solving abilities help in many of the movies. However... it's super disappointing that the one smart female character literally doesn't have her own voice. (Zombies communicate in moans.)

science people think in formulas.

Operetta is quite funny too, and her teenage non-conformist rebellion rings true to the high school experience of many.

Operetta is not a team player.

But I think the writers could take it much farther. What really makes these teens unique?

An obvious void is a movie about body image. The subject is lightly covered in "Escape From Skull Shores" with a male character. However, he isn't actually unattractive, he's merely a monster living with humans. 

He is a fat character, so hooray for that, but we never see him again and he doesn't get a lot of lines other than making this one point. I'd give them high points if they made him the romantic interest instead of the purple muscled guy with the anger problem.

For me, the most unique part of the series is the puns and the jokes. I can put up with lame accents if the words are gold.

Monster High and Sexism

"Friday Night Frights" takes on old-school sexism.  The beginning is a bit tedious, with everyone telling the girls over and over how girls can't play a rollar-skating obstacle course sport called "Scream."

(To be fair, it is a ridiculously dangerous sport that no school should allow.)

The plot line is predictably predictable... the girls learn how to play, win the championship, and save the school. How they do it is a little weird.

This is where the "like a girl" campaign came from?

Playing like a girl turns out to mean dressing up and wearing makeup to give yourself more confidence. I guess that helps. It doesn't do much to overcome real gender stereotypes though. 

Best moment in the movie.

 Again, it's a kid's cartoon, and they tried. But I expect more.

Lagoona calls out fragile masculinity and toxic masculinity... but doesn't do anything about it.

With both racism and sexism, I feel like the characters are dealing with old stereotypical problems, and not addressing the contemporary issues.

Best moral of the movie.

Other movies have some good moments about sexism. You can count on Abbey for blunt and basic advice.

Abbey crashed Cupid's radio show

Honest love advice

In another episode, Abbey is annoyed when her friend starts changing her hair and make-up for student elections. "I'm running for president, not prom queen!" she says.  Abbey also subverts gender roles by frequently saving her clumsy and flammable boyfriend, Heath.

I also thought there was a good lesson in a sad break-up scene between Cleo and Deuce.  (Cleo's family are always trying to end her relationship.) Deuce asks clarifying questions. Are you breaking up with me? Is this really what you want?

It's nice to ask, even if you know the answer.

Deuce lets her end the relationship, rather than forcing her, or telling her what she really wants. When is the last time you saw that in a romantic movie? His feelings are hurt, but she has to make her own decisions.

Romantic and sexual consent is handled in a fascinating way in the movie, "Why do Ghouls Fall in Love?" Maybe I'm reading too much into this... but I'm not. Valentine, the vampire ex-boyfriend of Draculaura, comes to Monster High to finish what he started long ago, taking Draculaura's virginity heart.

I can't be the only one who finds this extremely creepy.

Draculaura is initially charmed by the deceptive Valentine, but ultimately is loyal to her boyfriend Clawd.  Valentine is furious and pouty to be denied something he wants. He decides to date-rape magically enchant her.

Because having sex with a girl means you own her.

Fortunately, Draculaura's friends realize she is acting strange, save the day, and Valentine is cursed with eternal stink.  (I would have recommended prison, but stink is something.) 

Clawd and Draculaura resume their relationship happily. I appreciate how Clawd doesn't blame Draculaura for Valentine's actions.

She wasn't asking for it. 

Draculaura still needs to learn about consent herself. In "Ghouls Rule," she spends the whole movie annoyingly pressuring her best friend, Clawdeen, to date boys. She won't take no for an answer. She apologizes in the final scene, but the message is undercut by Clawdeen deciding to finally go on a date after all. I wish that story had ended with Clawdeen saying she still isn't ready, or may never be interested, and that's okay. Be yourself.

Pushing less hard would have been okay?

Monster High and Racism

I love the diverse skin-tones and ethnicities of the various Monster High characters. They've made some mistakes (see, Isi Dawndancer) but have overall made a good effort. I especially like the Wolf family. Except for their entire storyline in the "Fright On" movie. 

Did I mention how much better the original animation is compared to the computer animation?

In this story, Monster High incorporates two other high schools, one that was exclusively for werewolves, and one that was for vampires. Although there is some tension in the beginning, the MH students are kind and welcoming, and everyone begins to develop friendships. Then, the adults begin to meddle.

Howleen Wolf had such amazing hair in the beginning. Miss it.

Certain school administrators and advisors don't like monster unity, and encourage the students to be divisive. This mimics a few Civil Rights era prejudices, like segregation, and claims that werewolves and dirty and diseased. (The obvious code for this story is vampire = white, werewolf = black.)

However, the villains also use two strategies which are good for teens. It feels like this episode is trying to promote colorblindness, which is one of the worst strategies for compassionate understanding. It certainly doesn't seem to fit with MH's motto of appreciating everyone's uniqueness.

First, their history class teaches about the years of oppression that vampires inflicted on werewolves. Certainly this shouldn't be the only thing taught in history class... but, um, are you saying it's better to leave it out entirely? Pretend like it didn't happen? Pretend like it's over?

Just liked how forgetting about Emmett Till was so helpful for Tamir Rice.

The administrator also encouraged the students to form "cultural clubs." This can be done well, or it can be done poorly.  Now I have to explain why a white power club isn't the same as a black pride club.

When I was a kid, I was taught that the solution to racism was to be "colorblind." Pretend that everyone is the same and not notice differences. That sounded good at the time, but it's actually counterproductive. It's better to be aware of differences, learn about them respectfully, celebrate the good stuff and mourn together about the bad stuff.

Let's imagine a couple different student cultural clubs. 

A white girl who has Polish ancestry starts a Polish Heritage Club. Her family chose to give up most of their traditions, language, food, etc., a few generations ago. She has the privilege to have fun researching family history, trying new foods, learning some new words. Maybe her family has kept some traditions, and she can find other students who have too.

A black student starts a Black Student Union. She probably doesn't have access to her family history in Africa. Their history was stolen from them. Their families were split up, their traditions were forbidden, and what was lost can not be recovered. Standing up to be proud in her identity is a subversive act, telling oppressors, "You can't take my pride from me."

A Latino student spends his time with other Latinos. He is actively being told, right now in history, that he needs to move on from his language and culture and assimilate.  His club is an act of defiance, and an attempt to save his culture. (similar story with American Indians)

obvious Star Trek Reference

A white student starts a White Student Union. ... I literally can't imagine what this club would do, since they are probably already hanging out with white people all day long.  A white club is pointless. As a white person, I can assure you that our heritage and history is already celebrated all day every day just by being the dominant group in the US. A white club could only exist to spread fear about loosing this privileged position. 

When a minority group forms a club, it isn't about saying how they are the best and everyone else is bad. The mere fact of being a minority creates a desire to bond together and not let your culture be lost. Whereas white pride wants everyone to assimilate into the majority. I realize some of these ideas are complex for a kid's cartoon to deal with, but it troubles me that the writers chose two things that could be used for good and taught us they were wrong. 

Do you?

Other Monster Issues

"Ghouls Rule" was a favorite episode for me. It seemed like a slightly better version of "Fright On."  This time, the prejudice was between monsters and humans, and it included prejudice in the justice system.

Many movies and stories make fun of cops, portraying them as buffoonish and ignorant. (And in the grand tradition of children's movies, almost all adults are portrayed that way.)  But this one went the distance making the connection between power and injustice.

Facts don't matter, assigning blame matters.

Redefining justice only as punishment.

This movie felt real, and brave. Sure, a sappy happy ending wrapped everything up too easily, but it's good to point out that people in power are generally not held accountable for their actions.  That's a kind of "being yourself" that's unacceptable. Good job to the writers for calling it out.

Small Complaints

There's two things about the cartoon I find very distracting. First, the animation can be unpleasant. I dislike the way the girls walk, and occasionally the way their mouths move. It feels unreal, part uncanny valley and part laziness.

Almost every episode has a scene with the ghouls strutting their stuff

immediately followed by breaking the forth wall over their shoulders. 

The other thing I dislike is the character's voices. Kid's cartoons have always done this, using over the top silly voices with mangled foreign accents.  This could be used for good- showing that an immigrant character is still intelligent even if they speak broken English- but generally it's either played for laughs or is merely a shortcut to differentiate characters. 

How do you like the Monster High movies and values?