Civic Imagination

Sailor Moon



Sailor Moon is a young teenage girl that learns that she has magical powers that allows her to fight against the evils of the extraterrestrial world. She finds the Sailor Scouts, Venus, Mercury, Mars, and Jupiter. Each of them have powers that relate to the symbolism of their planet and a specific superhero outfit that they wear. Based in Neo-futuristic Tokyo the story was released in the 1990’s as a manga and then a television anime came out. It became very popular among teens especially young Asian-American girls because of where it was based although the characters were many depicted as white skin tone.

Sailor Moon was a television anime show I watched growing up as a child. A great show displayed female characters that could use magical make up kits to turn into justice fighters. I enjoyed watching the bond with the female characters and held the relationships that they shared strongly. The point of friendship was the most meaningful to me as I carry this into my life today. Many of the people I see as role models come from a variety of diversities. They are my peers. I am inspired every day by the women around me. I believe that if we create a world where we encourage and support one another as leaders and advocates for what we believe in, we create a better future. The show taught me to understand empathy for those that can be casted in the wrong shade of light through prejudice. It showed to believe in others with a pure and open heart and not to take compassion for granted. We live in a society that tries to mute that feeling through fear. In the face of fear, Sailor Moon and her friends were able to overcome hardships even through sacrifice, in the end they would win. One of my most distinctive memories was not about the show but a conversation. I chose to have a conversation about Sailor Moon in the car instead of seeing my Grandmother. I ended up missing the last opportunity to see her before she passed. It is quite pivotal of how much guilt is a motivator in my life. Yet, I compel myself to be a stronger person because of the sacrifices of the generations of women before me. If it were not for them, I would not have been here. If I am here, I must do something. 

Sailor Moon is inspiring due to the characters that they embody as women. They show that throughout their struggles that they can support and empower one another. It gives a pathway to feel as though you can be within your own skin but you can also have a way of fighting for yourself and for others. It brings back the point of creating a supportive society among one another. It shows that by creating and building bonds that last it can create for a better society. The sacrifices that the girls make are similar to women in the previous generations that had women’s suffrage. It touches on themes of feminism and girl power movements. It has inspired other pop culture shows like Power puff girls and Totally Spies. Sailor Moon is a symbolism of strong female empowerment. There are many relationships we can find inspiration from by watching it. We continue their fights for equality throughout our nations all over the world. The pop culture identity resonates with many young women because it gives them a story of female leaders. Although it is popular among American culture for both females and males inspiring other types of fan fiction. I have shared it because they continue to make new adaptations of the manga and the older series. It is on American Hulu. 

Many strong women leaders are embracing their roles as outspoken individuals. One of them being Malala Yousafzai. She is a schoolgirl who fights against the injustices that she sees in the world. Much like Sailor Moon who teams up with her fellow Sailor Scouts to fight crime with friendship and magic. Closer to home there are many women leaders and college that are using their voice and their opportunities to advocate for a better world. By using our friendships to encourage and empower one another, we are creating a better planet. There is the idea of sacrifice throughout Sailor Moon as oftentimes her friends would die and Queen Serenity / Sailor Moon would resurrect them. These sacrifices are much like the lives of the females before us that have sacrificed in their lives so that we can resurrect for what they were fighting.

Sailor Moon Speech- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=279BMaR6NJU

Sailor Moon, Feminism, Social Justice, Anime
 

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