Non-Humans Arent Worth Much

Non-Human’s aren’t worth much

Today, I’m gonna talk to you guys about a narrative device / story trope called “What Measure Is a Non-Human?” This device refers to the choice a creator might make to question the distinction between human and non-human. In terms of censorship, it refers to how, especially in children’s media, you can inflict worse fates on explicitly non-human characters than human ones without the people funding your project trying to axe your story. It’s basically an excuse to rack up a body count without there actually being a body count because the things being “killed” are not human and are, therefore, not really being killed. You can’t kill something that’s a thing.

Thomas Astruc has worked with children’s action/adventure shows for years. He knows about this story device, he has even taken advantage of it. Aeon and Sentibug were killed on-screen and Miraculous Ladybug is still rated TV-Y7 or the equivalent in most countries. In contrast, Batman: Mask of Phantasm, an animated kids’ superhero movie, where human characters die nonviolently on-screen, is rated PG.

Even in the case of the Special, Aeon’s death was undone almost instantly after. This story trope is often called a Disney Death, where a character can die and it won’t affect the rating as long as it gets undone quickly enough through a fakeout or resurrection. Even so, Aeon was in her robot form when it happened, to make sure her non-humanness was explicit. In contrast, Sentibug’s death doesn’t get undone, meaning a Sentimonster’s life is worth even less than a robot’s in the eyes of the arbiters of the Miraculous Ladybug universe.

In other words, Sentimonsters are considered explicitly enough “non-human” that they can be killed irreversibly on-screen without it affecting the rating. They cannot be killed. They do not have lives that can be taken away. They are not human.

This means that, if the writers then turned around and revealed one of their main characters to be a Sentimonster, an explicitly non-human creature that can be killed with no out-of-universe repercussions (aka, a rating bump) because they are not really alive, then he isn’t human in a metatextual sense. If Adrien is meant to preserve his worth as a human being or as close to human being as possible while being a Sentimonster, every single other Sentimonster needs to be treated as fully human and their deaths have to be undone.

These people who are raising voice against war and human rights violation atm are the same who turn their eyes blind and become mute spectators when it comes to Palestine, Libya, Iraq, Yemen, Bosnia, Burma Kashmir and etc.

“only karens ask for refunds” is pro-corporation propaganda. if they don’t give me what i want they’re giving me my money back and that doesn’t make me an angry middle-aged karen harpy, you’re just cucked by stupid reddit memes

This is so cool and really interesting!

The English name “Catwalker” is nice and it works, but now I prefer/like the more clever original French name “Velvet Paws” due to what @little-mari-on-a-roof said above. I understand why the name would not translate the best for those who are unfamiliar with the saying.

I’m still going to refer to Adrien’s short lived persona as “Cat Walker” because that is how he is more popularly known in the English MLB fandom and the fist name I associate when I think about him.

I want to join the French “Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir” fandom too but I don’t understand French well and Google Translate can only get me so far.

Today the french dub for Kuro Neko came out and it turns out that catwalker's original name is Patte de velours, lit. "velvet paw" and I really love it so here's a little explanation of the name :))

In french, the saying "patte de velours" means to retract one's claws (when talking about a cat) or to hide one's true intentions beneath a friendly and kind exterior. Which is pretty much what Adrien does in the episode. His claws are physically less sharp, he refrains himself and he acts all perfect to get ladybug to like the new him.

And just like catwalker, it also hints (but in a way more subtle way) to Adrien's involvement in the fashion industry because of the word "velours"!

I’m so glad that we’re finally getting payoff for the “using multiple miraculouses at once can make you lose your mind” thing from Kwamibuster.

Like. Gabriel isn’t acting himself anymore. He’s growing more and more erratic. He seems to be having difficulty keeping the composure that used to be so integral to his character.