Stealth veganism, He-Man style.

Several weeks ago, we here in the Eastern United States got spanked with over a foot of snow. Our humble suburb topped out at 22 inches, which is quite a lot. Our plans for the weekend were understandably curtailed, and so we found ourselves engaging in three major activities to ward off cabin fever: shoveling snow, baking cookies, and watching movies.

Well, you can only shovel so much, and eventually the sugar ran out, which left us with the spoils that Netflix had so proudly delivered pre-snowstorm. Chief among these was the 1987 masterpiece, Masters of the Universe. Having been a He-Man-loving kid, Red was psyched. “Is She-Ra in this?” I asked suspiciously, thus outing my own loyalties. She wasn’t, but something even better was: a gem of a scene in which the Eternian visitors are grossed out by the Earthlings’ habit of eating animal flesh.



If you can’t view the clip, here’s a play-by-play:

Duncan (or Man-at-Arms) and Teela find Gwildor hiding in the bushes outside a fast-food joint. He’s purloined some fried chicken parts and cow ribs. He’s guzzling barbecue sauce when Duncan stares him down and he decides to share. They dig in.

Duncan: Mmm...good food.
Gwildor: Yes! I’ve never tasted anything like it.
Teela: I wonder why they put the food on these little white sticks?
Duncan: Those are rib bones.
Teela (gagging mid-chew, horrified): You mean this used to be an animal?!
Duncan (continuing to eat, undisturbed): Mm-hmm.
Teela (dropping her rib): Ugh! What a barbaric world.

Suffice it to say, that warmed my cold little vegan heart more than blankets and fuzzy socks could. By the power of Grayskull, I salute you, Teela.