But some parents saw things differently.
At a school board meeting earlier this week, those parents denounced the mural’s LGBTQ imagery and “witchcraft”-related symbols, as reported by Grand Rapids local news station WZZM. It claimed that the video game art identified by Mono Kotaku as a “Genshin Impact” character was actually a depiction of Satan.
Located at Grant Middle School in Grant, Michigan, this mural contains the message “Stay Healthy” and depicts students wearing colors found in the transgender and bisexual pride flags. increase. Another student is wearing her T-shirt with rainbow her stripes on overalls. In public comment, guardians singled out several elements of the mural they claimed were problematic, including a small graffiti of a hamsa.
One attendee, Daniel Bate, criticized LGBTQ representation and likened transgender identity to a disease.
“It’s a mental illness when adults pretend to be real,” Bate said in video footage of the conference captured by WZZM. “We need counselors. We need drugs to help bipolar disorder. Fix their brains.”
Gonzalez, whose design was selected in the competition, tearfully defended his work during the conference. She argued that her mural was intended to promote inclusivity and did not portray what her parents argued.
“I put my art there so that people could feel welcome,” Gonzalez said.
Unsure, one adult claimed that Gonzalez was trying to trick the adults at the meeting.
“I feel like she did a really good job of finding excuses to defend what she wears,” said Caitlin Thompson, one of the speakers captured during WZZM’s segment about the conference. “None of us are that stupid.”
Kotaku writes that the painting of what some parents described as Satan’s face is actually the mask worn by the character Xiao in the popular action role-playing game “Genshin Impact.” In the game, Xiao is the immortal guardian of the Liyue region and is tasked with defeating the evil spirits of the land. Wearing the mask depicted in the mural triggers Xiao’s ability Bane of All Evil, and its design is based on the Nuo opera, a genre of Chinese opera that evolved from ancient religious rituals meant to exorcise demons. Inspired by what was worn in
The mural also contains several references to Disney’s cartoon “House of Owls,” about a girl studying magic in the demonic realm, which has been widely praised for its bizarre expressions. Tiny images of the character’s footy and magical glyphs from the series are scattered throughout the student’s drawing. Another cartoon character, the “Amphibious” Sprig, can also be seen.
Grant Public Schools later released a statement saying that despite some changes, the murals would remain intact despite the backlash. , was not part of her original contest submission.
“At the request of the student artist, the mural will be returned to its original form as originally submitted and approved by management,” the statement said.
Across social media, users condemned the outrage from their parents and voiced their support for the artist. on Twitter I encouraged Gonzalez not to let the haters let her down.
“If you are a student artist, I just want to say that you do not deserve such criticism, keep creating! [Owl House] The crew is rooting for you! she wrote
