Since I’ve been losing a lot of my Warrior Cats fandom darlings recently, I just wanna focus on the good ones for a second. I’ve been thinking about fandom controversies and who is actually still good, who’s controversial, and who should not have a platform to interact with a bunch of kids who idolize them. And specifically, the crazy ratio of fandom controversies to things actually done wrong in terms of Moonkitti.
I love Moonkitti, I’ve watched her content since I was a kid and find her more recent longer videos have helped the fandom age with my particular age group. She brings a mature, mediating presence to discourse where she participates, but doesn’t ever feel like she’s intentionally trying to make people angry. That’s coming from someone who doesn’t agree with her probably close to half the time.
I’ve been watching her image in the fandom change a ton from year to year. She is one of the most widely beloved creators, and by virtue of that the “fans only get their info and opinions from her” take honestly isn’t that far off. But that isn’t her fault. She’s entitled to opinions on the books like the rest of us who read them, no use getting mad at her for something she has tried to control but can’t ever really fix herself.
But what I really want to talk about is the admirable responsibility she takes when choosing what fandom discussions to focus on. While her opinions on Ashfur are sometimes controversial, all in all seeing the pretty clear cut villain as a villain, especially now that we have more content around him being evil, isn’t really the bold take I admire so much.
What I will always have a positive outlook on is how she uses Mapleshade, Thistleclaw, and most controversially, Brambleclaw to make videos which don’t just discourse, but educate her younger audience on what they might have missed. Because if someone needs a warrior cats analysis to teach them the warning signs of abuse and manipulation:
Mapleshades vengeance might confuse audiences who aren’t familiar with more nuanced stories told by unreliable narrators. So it’s important those people are al least familiar with the fact “Hey sometimes the victims of a story might not do everything right and still not deserve what happened to them.” And “Just because someone is telling a story doesn’t mean they’re being truthful about everything they’re saying.” And I like how she highlights Mapleshades use of manipulation.
I think her video on Spottedleafs heart got the right message across. I personally haven’t read the book and would prefer not to. But Moonkitti filled in the gaps that it seems the book itself was unwilling to properly convey to the audience.
And lastly Brambleclaw/star. Say what you want about the character himself. I think he was a good protagonist, that he is quite a loving character, even good natured in some situations. But Moonkitti’s “Bramblestar is worse” video is downright academic in its meticulous sourcing, analysis of in-text dialogue which she provides for you to find, and well supported thesis. In text, I’m convinced that is what the Erin’s portrayed. More than likely unintentionally, they portrayed the cycle of abuse in pretty clear detail.
To me the value of “Bramblestar is worse” is not in changing your mind and making Brambleclaw out to be an irredeemable pure evil character. After all that was not the author’s intention. But the value in the video is a responsible adult in our fandom making it clear that in real life this kind of treatment is not ok. Knowing how to identify abuse is one of the most valuable tools you can give a young person.
I think the old controversy around that video was dumb. My apologies for digging it back up again. But what got buried in all the opinions about Brambleclaw is how important it is for a fandom creator to take this step to inform people on something which is a lot more serious then silly cat books in real life.
Sorry for the long post but this is my love letter to Moonkitti. I’m happy with the influence she has had on the fandom and how much more fun she has made it for me as an adult reader.
