A Deep Dive into the Transformation Trope

• 00:00-18:00: intro & history/listing of usages in old media (Christian biblical tales, classic literature, old anime, etc).
• 18:00-23:00: proposal of transformation trope taxonomy
• 23:00-end: critique and analysis of the trope and its usages, mostly focusing on the queer/trans allegories in The Little Mermaid, Nimona & Steven Universe.

Transcript excerpt:

*Transformation one of the most prevalent and iconic tropes to have ever existed. It has been around for thousands of years and is truly universal to the human race. It touches virtually every culture, every demographic, every genre and every artistic medium but nowhere else does it shine brighter than in the world of animation.

Animals, monsters, inanimate objects, magic, ascension, older, younger, gender, positive, negative, karmic, religious, physically, psychologically... the list goes on and on and on, and it shows no sign of stopping.

Transformation is a trope an animation that is as common a trope as you can get, but why is that the case? How deep does it truly go? How is it done right and how was it done wrong? And where did the idea of transformation even come?*