Not the revolution I was expecting
What does the Netflix series "Masters of the Universe: Revolution" have to do with reviving the literary traditions of western civilization? Much more than I would have ever guessed, THAT's for sure.
My discovery of the rather astonishing connection between these things came while I was recently pondering a certain question: "Is poetry still relevant?" Or perhaps, to phrase it more bluntly, "does poetry sell?" You see, I've been writing a lot of poetry lately, and I want to start publishing my work. But I had been wondering if the pursuit was a waste of time - or perhaps, at best, a fun little hobby. Sure, people used to read poetry a hundred years ago, but does anybody today actually enjoy poetry as a form of entertainment? I love making patterns and artistic designs with words, but in the age of Marvel and Disney, does anybody care?
One day I was texting with a friend, and a He Man meme came up in our conversation (as they do from time to time in educated circles). After seeing that muscular hunk of manflesh yelling about The Power, I decided on a whim to browse Netflix and see if there were any recent shows about him. And sure enough, I found the freshly minted 2024 production "Masters of the Universe: Revolution" (sequel to the similarly named series "Revelation"). With nothing better to do, I hit the couch and revved up episode one.
It didn't take long for me to notice something both surprising and amusing: the characters spoke in alliteration. Not all the time, but whenever an important scene was going on, at least one character would break out into alliterative speech. "Know ye not that this is where despair displaces dreams?" asks the villain Scareglow in an opening monologue. "Our hearts are heavy for the loss of our liege" laments Prince Adam during a funeral a few episodes later. And this poetic flair wasn't just limited to sad or serious scenes (hah! I just alliterated unintentionally! Words are so fun). Even Skeletor, a bad guy who no rational person could take seriously, gets in on the fun: "Minions of our mighty Motherboard, there was a time when magic, not machines, was my weapon of choice. But as plan after pitiful plan fell apart, did I blame my silly spells and idiotic incantations?" At first I thought these lines were rarities or coincidences, but as I kept watching, I realized that the writers had intentionally included them. Indeed, just about every scene or plot development included somebody speaking in alliteration.
And it was freaking AWESOME!
Seriously! Adding alliterative speech, along with the occasional rhyme, to the dialogue of Revolution made the show an absolute gem. Somehow, a completely forgettable plot with throw-away characters (to be fair, this is He Man we're talking about here) became a genuinely entertaining, witty production. Alliteration took what would otherwise have been a simple kid's cartoon to a completely different level, and this fact has two highly significant implications.
Implication Number 1 - Yes, poetry sells!
It's not just me, the English teacher nerd, who was impressed with this iteration of He Man. As of this writing, Masters of the Universe: Revolution currently boasts a perfect 100% score with the critics on Rotten Tomatoes. It ranked among Netflix's top 10 most watched shows for at least a week after its debut, making a sequel highly likely. Now of course, the show has other merits besides poetic style points... but if you ask me, it's all about the poetic style points!
Implication Number 2 - Western Civilization is still kicking
Stop and think about this for a second. Alliteration is one of the key features of English poetry, going all the way back to Shakespeare and earlier. Here, in 2024, we see a kid's show that was markedly improved by including this poetic feature. For any cynics (like me) who are tempted to dismiss western civilization as a lost cause, or western art as hopelessly mired in postmodern garbage, He Man shines like a beacon of magical light reflecting on a set of impossibly chiseled abs. We in the west still know how to make and appreciate good art. We have THE POWER!
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