By Luis Mila
Sugar, spice and everything nice were the ingredients used by Professor Utonium to create one perfect little girl, but the addition of Chemical X brought three girls into existence. They became known as Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup—the Powerpuff Girls.
In the past, Professor Utonium conducted a similar experiment, which produced another daughter, who ended up leaving to a distant land due to complications involving lack of control over her powers. The long-lost sister returned, and her name’s Blisstina, Bliss for short.
On September 6, Cartoon Network announced the new addition through an Instagram post that displayed the silhouette of the taller, darker sister. Bliss was revealed September 17th, in Cartoon Network’s five-part movie premier Power of Four. After the marathon, viewers took to social media to announce their thoughts on this new character, most of the reviews, when counted for, are mixed, yet mostly leaning towards the negative.
A popular blog named blacknerdproblems voiced their negative opinion on Bliss, giving five reasons as to why the new character presents a problem. They first addressed how the creation of Bliss was a lackluster attempt to address the lack of diversity in the show.
“She got the name of every POC character that hit PPGs cutting room floor,” said the user. To the user, her lengthy name—Blisstina Francesca Francia Mariam Alicia Utonium—was an attempt to make up for the lack of racial representation in the show.
Another issue is Bliss’s attitude problem. Viewers pointed out how Bliss’s backstory is one where she had to disappear due to a breakdown which resulted in an explosion, ultimately wrecking the professor’s home, her father’s home. Black users on Twitter stated how offended they were that Bliss, the only POC on the show, had an attitude problem, and that it tucked her into the stereotype of the “angry black girl.”
Furthermore, the main villain of the show, Mojo Jojo, is a monkey who seeks domination of their hometown, Townsville. It came as a shock to viewers when Mojo Jojo is revealed to be Bliss’s only friend; many took this as offensive and racist because the only POC character has a monkey as her best friend.
The last issues arises with Bliss’s appearance: longer legs, taller, cinched waist and accentuated hips. While her appearance can be justified by her older age in comparison to her sisters, many viewers are taking her appearance as a fetishization of black female bodies. Moreover, fans are uncomfortable watching a hypersexualized teenager fight crime with her younger sisters who are innocent in appearance.
I'm not at all okay with @cartoonnetwork adding a 4th powerpuff girl. It was originally 3 and should always remain that.
— — 𝕄❦𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕨🗡🧸🕯 (@Poisen_Paradise) September 8, 2017
“The PowerPuff Girls reboot might as well be ‘How to Alienate Your Fanbase 101’” said Twitter user Jake Smith .Other users said this would be the end of the Powerpuff Girls. Multiple inputs stated they wanted the original squad with only Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup. Further statements said that due to the racism displayed on their screens, the show was ruined for them and they refuse to follow along.
