Showtime, SinUrge!

There has been much murmuring about the actions of Jem and the Holograms possibly being more 'evil' than that of their antagonists on the show - notably the Stingers and Misfits. Seeing as I've been something of a moralist in many past discussions, I decided to set down on paper (figuratively, at least until someone prints it out) my personal take on the matter. To wit:

I tend to see things in 'black or white', and it's been my experience that the greatest evils wrap themselves in a cloak of righteousness... The Inquisition, the Holocaust, Slavery, Apartheid and similar practices were presented in such a way that it seemed their doing was 'just', and opposition to same 'unjust' which pretty much follows the standard 'with me or against me' moral stance. If people considered that doing 'bad' things for a good cause was acceptable, they were even moreso persuaded when told that what they were doing wasn't bad at all, but rather 'just', 'right' or 'natural'. People enjoy doing 'good' things, and will do just about anything when they can be convinced that it IS good, even when it is clearly wrong, immoral, or similarly 'not good' in an objective view...

In fact, much evil is wrought in this world when someone decides what someone ELSE does is wrong and must be remedied 'for their own/the greater good'. This is simply megalomaniacal behavior, and such naked elitism and 'high horsing around' is generally considered NOT a good thing.

Unless, of course, you happen to be a cartoon in the '80s.

The theme of 'Good Always Triumphs' was never played so loud as it was in the days of the pastel-breasted yuppie, which is pretty ironic considering the downright EVIL things done in those days for the sake of 'success'. No matter how outmatched, the square-jawed hero would manage to turn the tables and save the day. Some could point fingers at the strange tendency of the 'evil' side to hire morons as 'help' for an indication of stacking the deck, but the bottom line was that 'evil' lost ALL THE TIME simply because it was SUPPOSED to. In some hackneyed way, it was no doubt intended to show kids that they should be 'good' since it was STUPID to be evil because they ALWAYS lost. We'll get back to that in a bit...

Jerrica Benton -aka- Jem inherited from her doomed but loving father a powerful weapon that would do immense harm if it fell into the wrong hands. She bravely shouldered this incredible responsibility, and pledged that the weapon would not fall into the 'wrong' hands of those that would use it for their own gain or to harm others... Nice little theory, right? One problem:

Hers weren't the right hands either. Emmett Benton dropped the ball. BIG TIME.

The first thing she did once she found she had the ability of the Synergy Machine (SM) at her disposal was to level it at what she decided was not 'proper' and harry and impede them at every chance - many times putting the lives of others at risk in so doing. Of course, this was simply brushed under the rug and ignored because she was supposed to be the 'good guy', but even as I watched the show back in the olden days something clicked in my head...

Jem is the Devil