Reformation in Fiction
One thing I've loved about the Monster High (at least the previous iteration, haven't seen the reboot) and the Ever After High series is that they delve into something that I almost never see in just about in any form of media: The recovery and reformation of people with NPD and/or narcissistic fleas, as well as the children that cope with parents that have these traits.
It's upset me for a long time that NPD has recently been branded as the inherent 'evil'. I mean yes, you still see that with sociopathy, at least in the average common produced media, but when it comes to the common vernacular I see thrown around by the average person, using the term Narcissistic to refer to a person they see as evil and irredeemable is far more common in the circles I've been around. In some ways I guess I understand it, a lot of that dialog comes from people whom they themselves had long term abuse from narcissistic parents, but that doesn't exactly a good judge of who actually has NPD and who doesn't that and it's just another form of black/white thinking which while a comping mechanism, should never be taken as the norm. But aside all that the thing that bugs me the most of all is the implication that NPD is impossible to recover from. And the truth of the matter is, while it's exceedingly difficult, it's not impossible. So with that preface out of the way, onto the cartoons.
For the unaware, Monster High is both a combination of webtoon shorts and a whole slew of movies that both loosely and tie directly with one another. Ever After High is similar with a combination of webtoon shorts, with a few movies. Ever After High is much more linear and has a progressive story and plot that follows the whole setting, where as Monster High is more pockets of stories and plots that don't have much of a linear path, only vaguely. Some of their fomula have overlap, but they're not exactly the same in any way, and they tell very different stories with very different characters. For this I'll start with Monster High, it was the first series of the two I watched and was what drew me in, in the first place.
The Monster High (original) primary cast consists of Frankie, Clawdeen, Draculaura, Ghoulia and Cleo. Cleo, is introduced as cheer-leading captain, is completely superficial, and treats Ghoulia like a personal assistant, sometimes not even like a person. The first wave of shorts don't show a lot of progression of the character of Cleo, and there's sort of feigned 'haha she sure thinks about herself more than other people' and it's all pretty uninteresting at first. But as the series goes on there are shorts and movies that make a point to really drive at how Cleo is treating other people and you make a genuine attempt to learn and develop empathy for others, starting with how she treats Ghoulia, at this same time we see Ghoulia get to develop as an individual, no longer expected to be defined by Cleo alone. Cleo is held accountable for her actions without being completely alienated as she stumbles through learning empathy. The scenes with her boyfriend, Deuce are also especially important, he's not a pushover character, and plays part in guiding Cleo to empathetic choices and doesn't put up with being mistreated. But I think where it really crystallizes is when you finally meet the rest of Cleo's family.
Watching Cleo interact with her father and sister it drives home just where her habits and traits came from, drives home exactly why she is the way she is. Her sister and father are deep into NPD or related traits, and have been forcing these ideals on Cleo all her life and you see exactly where her way of thinking came from and why it's still a struggle for her to learn. I think it really comes to a head in "Monster High: Boo York, Boo York" one of the main plot points the whole focus is Cleo struggling to assert herself and also the temptation of pleasing others that has been ground into her all her life. It may seem very silly or an easy choice to those without personal experience with those kind of power dynamics, but for the kids with similar experiences, these are powerful messages. Telling stories like this in silly or simplistic ways is important. And watching a person struggle with those influences and not be labeled as the bad guy and being rewarded for putting in an honest effort, is important for kids to see.
As for Ever After High, the character in question here, has a different type of formation of Narcissistic traits that may not be as apparent. Apple White and Raven Queen are the two focus characters for most of the start of the shorts, while other characters share some importance I only really need to mention these two. Apple is introduced as popular and well loved, nice and kind and a model example of a princess. But as the story goes on it's clear that she doesn't really understand what being genuinely nice is. She understands the motions and trappings of being nice but it's clear she's never sat down and thought about it. It really starts to look ugly when she can't even see the problem with asking for happiness (perceived happiness) at the expense of another. She exhibits the behaviors of narcissistic fleas in a way that Cleo, and it shows that it is not inherently mean behaviors and traits.
Like with Cleo, we really get an idea of why Apple is the way she is when we finally see her mother for the first time. It's easy to tell right away just how Apple's mom had made her this way, feeding her high expectations, monitoring her performance and activities, but unlike Cleo, Apple seems to be almost completely unaware of just how bad things are. The facade of nice-ness, the heaps of worship piled on by everyone Apple knows and how no one ever sees it as a problem, hides the damage done, to herself, to others. And most importantly, the series itself doesn't frame Snow White, as 'nice'. Even if everyone seems to praise her name with talk about what a good queen she is, her introduction in contrast to the tone and setting she's placed in, it's made clear we're not supposed to be siding with Apple's mother. It's something that Apple has to slowly contend with, and it's particularly difficult for her to do.
Having these types of dynamics, showing characters with these traits, watching them struggle, watching them learn empathy and receive support along the way, is so very important. It's both pointing these behaviors as manipulative but also not casting these people as completely irredeemable. Even more important, they're main characters, not villains that are recovering. In these settings it's always the bully you see have to address their flaws and recover, almost never is it the main cast. 'Good' people can be flawed and have to seek change in themselves too and that has to be seen by kids. Struggling with empathy, dealing with narcissistic behaviors, that's not something that should make someone a villain right out the gate, it's possible to be better. And that's a framing we need to see more of.
It's upset me for a long time that NPD has recently been branded as the inherent 'evil'. I mean yes, you still see that with sociopathy, at least in the average common produced media, but when it comes to the common vernacular I see thrown around by the average person, using the term Narcissistic to refer to a person they see as evil and irredeemable is far more common in the circles I've been around. In some ways I guess I understand it, a lot of that dialog comes from people whom they themselves had long term abuse from narcissistic parents, but that doesn't exactly a good judge of who actually has NPD and who doesn't that and it's just another form of black/white thinking which while a comping mechanism, should never be taken as the norm. But aside all that the thing that bugs me the most of all is the implication that NPD is impossible to recover from. And the truth of the matter is, while it's exceedingly difficult, it's not impossible. So with that preface out of the way, onto the cartoons.
For the unaware, Monster High is both a combination of webtoon shorts and a whole slew of movies that both loosely and tie directly with one another. Ever After High is similar with a combination of webtoon shorts, with a few movies. Ever After High is much more linear and has a progressive story and plot that follows the whole setting, where as Monster High is more pockets of stories and plots that don't have much of a linear path, only vaguely. Some of their fomula have overlap, but they're not exactly the same in any way, and they tell very different stories with very different characters. For this I'll start with Monster High, it was the first series of the two I watched and was what drew me in, in the first place.
The Monster High (original) primary cast consists of Frankie, Clawdeen, Draculaura, Ghoulia and Cleo. Cleo, is introduced as cheer-leading captain, is completely superficial, and treats Ghoulia like a personal assistant, sometimes not even like a person. The first wave of shorts don't show a lot of progression of the character of Cleo, and there's sort of feigned 'haha she sure thinks about herself more than other people' and it's all pretty uninteresting at first. But as the series goes on there are shorts and movies that make a point to really drive at how Cleo is treating other people and you make a genuine attempt to learn and develop empathy for others, starting with how she treats Ghoulia, at this same time we see Ghoulia get to develop as an individual, no longer expected to be defined by Cleo alone. Cleo is held accountable for her actions without being completely alienated as she stumbles through learning empathy. The scenes with her boyfriend, Deuce are also especially important, he's not a pushover character, and plays part in guiding Cleo to empathetic choices and doesn't put up with being mistreated. But I think where it really crystallizes is when you finally meet the rest of Cleo's family.
Watching Cleo interact with her father and sister it drives home just where her habits and traits came from, drives home exactly why she is the way she is. Her sister and father are deep into NPD or related traits, and have been forcing these ideals on Cleo all her life and you see exactly where her way of thinking came from and why it's still a struggle for her to learn. I think it really comes to a head in "Monster High: Boo York, Boo York" one of the main plot points the whole focus is Cleo struggling to assert herself and also the temptation of pleasing others that has been ground into her all her life. It may seem very silly or an easy choice to those without personal experience with those kind of power dynamics, but for the kids with similar experiences, these are powerful messages. Telling stories like this in silly or simplistic ways is important. And watching a person struggle with those influences and not be labeled as the bad guy and being rewarded for putting in an honest effort, is important for kids to see.
As for Ever After High, the character in question here, has a different type of formation of Narcissistic traits that may not be as apparent. Apple White and Raven Queen are the two focus characters for most of the start of the shorts, while other characters share some importance I only really need to mention these two. Apple is introduced as popular and well loved, nice and kind and a model example of a princess. But as the story goes on it's clear that she doesn't really understand what being genuinely nice is. She understands the motions and trappings of being nice but it's clear she's never sat down and thought about it. It really starts to look ugly when she can't even see the problem with asking for happiness (perceived happiness) at the expense of another. She exhibits the behaviors of narcissistic fleas in a way that Cleo, and it shows that it is not inherently mean behaviors and traits.
Like with Cleo, we really get an idea of why Apple is the way she is when we finally see her mother for the first time. It's easy to tell right away just how Apple's mom had made her this way, feeding her high expectations, monitoring her performance and activities, but unlike Cleo, Apple seems to be almost completely unaware of just how bad things are. The facade of nice-ness, the heaps of worship piled on by everyone Apple knows and how no one ever sees it as a problem, hides the damage done, to herself, to others. And most importantly, the series itself doesn't frame Snow White, as 'nice'. Even if everyone seems to praise her name with talk about what a good queen she is, her introduction in contrast to the tone and setting she's placed in, it's made clear we're not supposed to be siding with Apple's mother. It's something that Apple has to slowly contend with, and it's particularly difficult for her to do.
Having these types of dynamics, showing characters with these traits, watching them struggle, watching them learn empathy and receive support along the way, is so very important. It's both pointing these behaviors as manipulative but also not casting these people as completely irredeemable. Even more important, they're main characters, not villains that are recovering. In these settings it's always the bully you see have to address their flaws and recover, almost never is it the main cast. 'Good' people can be flawed and have to seek change in themselves too and that has to be seen by kids. Struggling with empathy, dealing with narcissistic behaviors, that's not something that should make someone a villain right out the gate, it's possible to be better. And that's a framing we need to see more of.