Okay, here’s my little rant. When Spinter first got the boys, they were just dumped on him. I mean, he was taken from everything he’d ever known, experimented on and mutated, outcasting him from society. Now he’s a rat, a single father of four, and he’s isolated. Still, he took care of the boys. There’s a reason they had a place to stay and food on the table. Splinter took care of there physical needs. But, he was emotionally neglectful. You can see in all of there own ways by the boys he wasn’t really there for them as kids. Donnie works incredibly hard hoping to be recognized for his achievements because he never was acknowledged as a kid for his accomplishments. You can see this when he says “that will teach you to give me my first piece of positive enforcement from a parent aged adult ever!” in the big mama episode, and when he’s goes to the demolition derby with splinter and he’s so surprised to hear Spinters proud of him. He very obviously was never shown this kind of love as a kid from his dad. He doubts his worth because it was never reinforced as a child that he is important. Leo is very obviously insecure and seeks his worth by physical achievements, trying to prove himself he is important and he means something. He has a very massive inferiority complex. Mikey always puts others peoples problems before himself, and is always try to take care of everyone. Raph is took on the parental figure for his brothers every since he was younger. Spinter was not there for them and it forced Raph to grow up faster and take on their responsibilities. He had to be there for his brothers because his father wouldn’t. It’s been rough on all of them. In the rise series you can really see his improvement as a father. I mean, he started off as someone who’d just throw on a movie and tell his kids to watch instead of taking care of them, and he’s improved so much as a father. Parents arnt perfect, they all make mistakes and struggle. Especially when they’ve been mutated into a giant rat forced to live in the sewers and take care of four turtle children.
Big Mama’s kidnapping and exploitation of Splinter is literally the catalyst for what ruined his life. It only took one dehumanizing act, and everything spiraled from there.
Ok, we don't know since we had only half season 2 and not season 3 but Rise Splinter felt to me like a tmnt version of uncle Iroh. It's evolution in ATLA was kind of: Season 1 - comic relief, hinting something more Season 2 - scratching the surface of how deep this character is and showing he's more than the eye can see Season 3 - the greatness of the character it's shown to us in all his glory for the final showdown.
Im so glad you talked about the good and the bad, I wouldn't have even thought about any of this. Also, if they bring it back they need to get at least one asian person in the head writing room.
This is the MOST IN DEPTH SPLINTER VID IVE EVER SEEN and I wanted to seriously thank you for this, it makes me so happy being part of a fandom that actively is trying to get better and separate from decade old racist narratives that western animation inherently is associated with, it makes me warm inside and it really gives me hope for the future
Absolutely beautiful, you have so many amazing points and dig so deep into what connects this franchise and Rise specifically to the audience of color. When you mentioned the toys, it instantly reminded me of all the times my sisters and I would gravitate to the dolls that seemed "more Asian" like Jade from the Bratz or Musa from Winx Club. And I definitely remember looking at those nameplates in Walmart and wondering why a name that looked like mine wasn't there. We don't realize how important those things are until way later. I'm so glad to hear all of this from a Black fan's perspective considering how heavily influenced TMNT is by Black art and culture, so thank you so much for taking the time to put this together. Keep up the amazing work! 🐢🐁♥💙💜🧡
Thank you. I'm really glad this reached out to more people of color in particular. TMNT has appropriated so much of both Asian and Black culture that I think it's great to see Rise taking another step in pulling it out its appropriated roots even if not perfectly done. I hope more non-white fans to get more of a voice, particularly as we keep getting more parents in these works not being treated with any grace. Side note, I love your videos! Glad to see people giving Casey love!
I'm not black or asian myself. (Hispanic) However, what you mention in this comment is something I strongly relate to. I remember getting excited on the rare occasions I found a doll with light brown skin and dark hair. Sure the dolls all had straight hair, but it was pretty close to me. Hispanic characters in general weren't all that common in the media I consumed as kid. I latched on to Dora and Diego as a kid as a result, although I obviously quickly grew out of it growing bored. My real name is also one I never really saw written in those find your name cards when I was little. Although there was a variation of it when I was older, but still pretty off. It is those little things that I don't think about too heavily, but now realize un hindsight. Especially the time period when father was stationed in England I was one of the few POC kids in the class. It led to an interesting question from a classmate once. He asked me why I had hair on my arms. I remember being confused since little 8 hear old me hadn't considered it off until then. I tried shaving it that day and My mother lectured me on why that wasn't good and that hair all over arms is perfectly normal for us. Another thing, my younger sister had lighter skin like our father and my mother's face more. While I was the reverse with my father's facial features and body type and my mother's skin tone and hair. Basically, I remember envying her slightly at certain instances because a lot more characters on tv looked like her than me. It was brief moments like that growing up, but yeah. Overall, this video was great to listen to and the point about Splinter being exploited and viewed as inhuman by most people around him is something I that never fully clicked with me about this show until now. Just wow. I'm not always the best at analyzing media so, it is great to hear the context surrounding it.
While I admit that the voiceover jumpscared me a bit at first as a newcomer to the channel, this has got to be the most informative and complete analysis of any character I have ever seen. Not only do you masterfully dissect Splinter's character, but also provide rich context to why his character was constructed the way it is and why it's important to do things differently. Truly a gem of a video essay, which makes me reflect upon my own beliefs and makes me want to watch more of your work. Thank you so much for putting this together and sharing it with the world- I'll make sure to share it around some more among my friends! After all, such well crafted video essays deserve all the recognition they can get :}
This is a beautifully made video you did an excellent job. Ive heard and thought about some of the topics in this video but not nearly as detailed as you dove into it. Rise is such a good show but its rlly nice to see someone dive deeper on these thoughts and actually think criticality about media that people enjoy and the places where it definitely fell short. I hope more people see this in the hopes to better educate and stear away from bad representation of asain and poc in general. Will definitely be recommending this video to my friends :)
This is a beautiful and well-rounded analysis, and your discussion of generational trauma and orientalism really encapsulates why this show resonates with so many marginalized folks. Thank you for this awesome video and also-> 33:04, I second this.
oh i adore this video thank you for making it! and absolutely appreciated the mention of orientalism and the asian stereotypes (the sonic clips were so painful lmaooo)
I do agree that Rise Splinter is a good character and becomes more fleshed out later on even though I would say that other versions are still more interesting but I can't say I agree with TMNT being a franchise that uses orientalism because even though they do emphasize certain aspects of asian culture, they still respect it while also showing other personalities and struggles with asian people as well while also showing more than just asian stereotypes; 2003 Splinter is a wise master but we also see how it doesn't define his whole character because we see how he xan still feel pain from his father figures death, feel hatred for Shredder for what he did, fear of his sons safety, and fun loving nature when spending time with his family; it is possible to make harmful stereotypes but when you take archetypes tgat have existed in history and use that to craft a three dimensional character which is something that the Ninja Turtles as a franchise has done multiple times with not just Splinter but many other characters as well and I wouldn't say writers being white makes it harmful because even people from different races can understand cultures and depict them in ways that respects it which is even seen on the opposite spectrum like Japanese writers depicting European culture like Vinland Saga which respects and deconstructs the culture of vikings and crafts a great story.
Okay, here’s my little rant.
When Spinter first got the boys, they were just dumped on him. I mean, he was taken from everything he’d ever known, experimented on and mutated, outcasting him from society. Now he’s a rat, a single father of four, and he’s isolated. Still, he took care of the boys. There’s a reason they had a place to stay and food on the table. Splinter took care of there physical needs. But, he was emotionally neglectful. You can see in all of there own ways by the boys he wasn’t really there for them as kids. Donnie works incredibly hard hoping to be recognized for his achievements because he never was acknowledged as a kid for his accomplishments. You can see this when he says “that will teach you to give me my first piece of positive enforcement from a parent aged adult ever!” in the big mama episode, and when he’s goes to the demolition derby with splinter and he’s so surprised to hear Spinters proud of him. He very obviously was never shown this kind of love as a kid from his dad. He doubts his worth because it was never reinforced as a child that he is important.
Leo is very obviously insecure and seeks his worth by physical achievements, trying to prove himself he is important and he means something. He has a very massive inferiority complex.
Mikey always puts others peoples problems before himself, and is always try to take care of everyone.
Raph is took on the parental figure for his brothers every since he was younger. Spinter was not there for them and it forced Raph to grow up faster and take on their responsibilities. He had to be there for his brothers because his father wouldn’t.
It’s been rough on all of them.
In the rise series you can really see his improvement as a father. I mean, he started off as someone who’d just throw on a movie and tell his kids to watch instead of taking care of them, and he’s improved so much as a father. Parents arnt perfect, they all make mistakes and struggle. Especially when they’ve been mutated into a giant rat forced to live in the sewers and take care of four turtle children.
Big Mama’s kidnapping and exploitation of Splinter is literally the catalyst for what ruined his life. It only took one dehumanizing act, and everything spiraled from there.
The whole series is his "hear me out" gone horribly wrong.
Ok, we don't know since we had only half season 2 and not season 3 but Rise Splinter felt to me like a tmnt version of uncle Iroh. It's evolution in ATLA was kind of:
Season 1 - comic relief, hinting something more
Season 2 - scratching the surface of how deep this character is and showing he's more than the eye can see
Season 3 - the greatness of the character it's shown to us in all his glory for the final showdown.
Im so glad you talked about the good and the bad, I wouldn't have even thought about any of this. Also, if they bring it back they need to get at least one asian person in the head writing room.
This is the MOST IN DEPTH SPLINTER VID IVE EVER SEEN and I wanted to seriously thank you for this, it makes me so happy being part of a fandom that actively is trying to get better and separate from decade old racist narratives that western animation inherently is associated with, it makes me warm inside and it really gives me hope for the future
Absolutely beautiful, you have so many amazing points and dig so deep into what connects this franchise and Rise specifically to the audience of color. When you mentioned the toys, it instantly reminded me of all the times my sisters and I would gravitate to the dolls that seemed "more Asian" like Jade from the Bratz or Musa from Winx Club. And I definitely remember looking at those nameplates in Walmart and wondering why a name that looked like mine wasn't there. We don't realize how important those things are until way later. I'm so glad to hear all of this from a Black fan's perspective considering how heavily influenced TMNT is by Black art and culture, so thank you so much for taking the time to put this together. Keep up the amazing work! 🐢🐁♥💙💜🧡
Thank you. I'm really glad this reached out to more people of color in particular. TMNT has appropriated so much of both Asian and Black culture that I think it's great to see Rise taking another step in pulling it out its appropriated roots even if not perfectly done.
I hope more non-white fans to get more of a voice, particularly as we keep getting more parents in these works not being treated with any grace.
Side note, I love your videos! Glad to see people giving Casey love!
I'm not black or asian myself. (Hispanic) However, what you mention in this comment is something I strongly relate to. I remember getting excited on the rare occasions I found a doll with light brown skin and dark hair. Sure the dolls all had straight hair, but it was pretty close to me. Hispanic characters in general weren't all that common in the media I consumed as kid. I latched on to Dora and Diego as a kid as a result, although I obviously quickly grew out of it growing bored.
My real name is also one I never really saw written in those find your name cards when I was little. Although there was a variation of it when I was older, but still pretty off. It is those little things that I don't think about too heavily, but now realize un hindsight. Especially the time period when father was stationed in England I was one of the few POC kids in the class. It led to an interesting question from a classmate once. He asked me why I had hair on my arms. I remember being confused since little 8 hear old me hadn't considered it off until then. I tried shaving it that day and My mother lectured me on why that wasn't good and that hair all over arms is perfectly normal for us.
Another thing, my younger sister had lighter skin like our father and my mother's face more. While I was the reverse with my father's facial features and body type and my mother's skin tone and hair. Basically, I remember envying her slightly at certain instances because a lot more characters on tv looked like her than me. It was brief moments like that growing up, but yeah.
Overall, this video was great to listen to and the point about Splinter being exploited and viewed as inhuman by most people around him is something I that never fully clicked with me about this show until now. Just wow. I'm not always the best at analyzing media so, it is great to hear the context surrounding it.
While I admit that the voiceover jumpscared me a bit at first as a newcomer to the channel, this has got to be the most informative and complete analysis of any character I have ever seen. Not only do you masterfully dissect Splinter's character, but also provide rich context to why his character was constructed the way it is and why it's important to do things differently. Truly a gem of a video essay, which makes me reflect upon my own beliefs and makes me want to watch more of your work.
Thank you so much for putting this together and sharing it with the world- I'll make sure to share it around some more among my friends! After all, such well crafted video essays deserve all the recognition they can get :}
This is a beautifully made video you did an excellent job. Ive heard and thought about some of the topics in this video but not nearly as detailed as you dove into it. Rise is such a good show but its rlly nice to see someone dive deeper on these thoughts and actually think criticality about media that people enjoy and the places where it definitely fell short. I hope more people see this in the hopes to better educate and stear away from bad representation of asain and poc in general. Will definitely be recommending this video to my friends :)
Wow this video blew my mind I never thought of some of those aspects of this show!
This is a beautiful and well-rounded analysis, and your discussion of generational trauma and orientalism really encapsulates why this show resonates with so many marginalized folks. Thank you for this awesome video and also-> 33:04, I second this.
why? whats wrong with white dudes running a tmnt show any specific reason or do you assume all white men are racist
oh i adore this video thank you for making it!
and absolutely appreciated the mention of orientalism and the asian stereotypes
(the sonic clips were so painful lmaooo)
I do agree that Rise Splinter is a good character and becomes more fleshed out later on even though I would say that other versions are still more interesting but I can't say I agree with TMNT being a franchise that uses orientalism because even though they do emphasize certain aspects of asian culture, they still respect it while also showing other personalities and struggles with asian people as well while also showing more than just asian stereotypes; 2003 Splinter is a wise master but we also see how it doesn't define his whole character because we see how he xan still feel pain from his father figures death, feel hatred for Shredder for what he did, fear of his sons safety, and fun loving nature when spending time with his family; it is possible to make harmful stereotypes but when you take archetypes tgat have existed in history and use that to craft a three dimensional character which is something that the Ninja Turtles as a franchise has done multiple times with not just Splinter but many other characters as well and I wouldn't say writers being white makes it harmful because even people from different races can understand cultures and depict them in ways that respects it which is even seen on the opposite spectrum like Japanese writers depicting European culture like Vinland Saga which respects and deconstructs the culture of vikings and crafts a great story.
ALL of you love this show, and it sickens me!
Good for you, bro. People can like shit you don't.
Ok. Nobody cares.
Is this some sort of joke?
@@Nyorane You think I'm joking to you?