Entire forests have been felled describing why 2020 sucks (with over two months left to go), and no one needs any more recaps. Suffice to say it’s pretty bad when we all yearn for the days when our biggest problem was when the entire continent of Australia was on fire. So there’s a good chance you’re looking for something a little hopeful, a little optimistic, to put in the Christmas stocking of that important Nerd in your life. And couldn’t we all use something that reminds us of better days under the tree this Yuletide season?
Well look no further than CW’sStargirl, which was the breath of fresh air we all needed in 2020.
Let’s be honest, when Stargirl debuted as the newest kid on the CW’s super hero block back in May, most of us didn’t have any genuine expectations.Â
But a funny thing happened on the way to cynicism; it kind of grew on us. And at just the right time.
Super hero media constantly faces a tough choice. Does it go the heroic route, with the good guys being pillars of moral infallibility 24/7 and always winning the day? Or does it go the dark and gritty route, making every super hero a version of Batman? The second approach is pretty attractive considering that the likes of the Dark Knight and Wolverine and other assorted anti-heroes tend to the most popular kids in school and the most commercially successful. Does a creator try to modernize characters and their motivations to reflect the shifting social trends of the day? Does the medium try to address it’s sometimes own problematic history? Or do you leave decades old properties be?
In today’s cancel heavy, Twitter centric world the answers to those questions are often the difference between creating a breakout, blockbusting success or a mocked and heavily ridiculed failure. Creators are constantly walking a tightrope suspended over the Grand Canyon.
But Stargirl managed to transcend all of that effortlessly. And if we’re being honest, the secret of it’s success was pure 2020. Or more importantly, how much 2020 has sucked.
Do you remember the first time you saw a comic book? It was probably on a spinner rack at the local bookstore or some obscure shelf at the nearest convenience store. Odds are that the first comic you ever read was a book you plucked from that display. It was probably an Archie or a (pre-Netflix) Sabrina The Teenage Witch. If you stuck with the medium you probably progressed from those to Batman or the X-Men, Superman or the Avengers (especially if you were wading into the MCU by that point).
Maybe you branched into indie stuff or manga or maintained a balance between alternate titles and the traditional publishers with their spandex clad heroes and villains facing off in four coloured panels.
But no matter which direction you went or if you even stayed a fan, you probably remember that first book. Or at least the comfortable feeling that came over you when you read it. The innocent charm and idea that anything was possible if you believed hard enough. If you imagined hard enough. You remember (and cling to) the reassuring idea that the forces of good and bravery and hard work always triumphed and the right people got the girl/guy in the end. Â
Watching Stargirl resurrected that nostalgia and it was something we all needed this wretched year.
Make no mistake, this show was the definition of the word corny. Everything from the costumes to the characters to the writing were kitsch to the extreme. Even the little town it took place in-Blue Valley-looked like a fugitive from a Norman Rockwell painting. Even the character names felt like they were a throwback to a more naive time. Icicle? Wildcat? Hourman? The whole show almost felt like it was Leave it to Beaver with superheroes.
But the show leaned into the sappiness. Everything had an explanation, even if it was of the pop-up book variety. The lonely and ostracized kids had hearts of gold and would go onto become the super heroes while the popular kids and the bullies were secretly villains stalking the innocent by moonlight (two things our teenage selves always deeply suspected).
Stargirl also managed to embrace gender and racial diversity in a way that didn’t invite the usual political or social backlash (especially during such troubled racial times). It simply presented it’s characters with neither apology or explanation. There were no declarations or press releases. Here are our characters, heroes and villains alike, it said. Accept them and let’s move on.
None of this is to say the show was all rainbows and kittens. The heroes all learned important lessons along the way, but instead of coming during a public service announcement they came at personal cost and sacrifice. Including death.
The sexting origin of one of the characters was decidedly mature. And questions of whether heroes can still call themselves heroes after they kill-especially out of revenge-and the power of forgiveness were more than flirted with.Â
Nor is this to say the show didn’t have it’s warts. The writing wasn’t anything to brag about, the stories were fairly simple and the acting wasn’t going to win any awards. The Machiavellian plot of the show’s super villains came straight out of left field (it was hardly your standard take-over-the-world scenario) and there are some things the show needs to address moving forward if it wants to enjoy a prolonged shelf life.
How long will Stargirl’s inherent corniness masquerade as charming? The world will see daylight sooner or later and when that happens, the consuming public’s appetite for such nostalgic, innocence may dry up. Will the show and its tone mature along with its heroes? Can it?
And at the risk of sounding like a prude, the show may also want to consider how much it shows off Stargirl’s midriff, especially if it continues to embrace messages of girl power. Every episode went to great lengths to show off her belly button as both Stargirl and in her secret identity as a high school gymnast/cheerleader. While lead actress Brec Bassinger is twenty-one, she looks much closer to her character’s age of sixteen. And yes, she’s already being turned into a sex symbol online, which could become problematic (particularly if the show wants to cling to its “wholesome as white bread: tone).
Stargirl isn’t for everyone. And the truth is it only succeeded because we all needed some unchallenging, hopeful fluff in our lives during a year that has been one horror show after another. If you avoided the show, it may be worth checking out, especially if 2020 has another grim surprise or two up its sleeve. It could be just the gift the Nerd in your life deserves.
Or needs.
Stargirl season one is currently available on Blu-Ray/DVD and on all 13 episodes are available on the CW App (where available).
Image www.denofgeek.com
