My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic

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When I took the job, I braced myself for criticism, expecting many people–without even watching the show–to instantly label it girly, stupid, cheap, for babies or an evil corporate commercial. I encourage skeptics like this to watch My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic with an open mind. If I’m doing my job right, I think you’ll be surprised.
—Lauren Faust

My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic is an American animated television series that airs on The Hub, a cable channel partly owned by the toy company Hasbro, created by Lauren Faust. The show is based on the My Little Pony brand of toys, and premiered on October 10, 2010.

Although originally written for, and marketed towards, a demographic of young girls, Friendship Is Magic has an extremely large and unexpected cult following among men in their 20s and 30s. Often dubbed "Bronies" (and in the case of female fans, "Pegasisters"), this demographic has become a controversial cultural phenomenon, generating debate about what this instance of fandom says about gender neutrality and tolerance. The show has also attracted discussion and controversy about other topics that relate to rational and skeptical arguments.

Contents

[edit] But it's a show for little girls!

Friendship Is Magic's cult following originated on the website 4chan, whose userbase decided to watch the show in response to a strangely alarmist article claiming the existence of the Hasbro-owned Hub network signaled the end of "creator-driven" entertainment and quality childrens' television. Although their viewing of the show was originally supposed to be ironic and tongue-in-cheek, many members of the site were surprised at their genuine enjoyment of the series. Common arguments cited for the show's popularity among its unintended teenage/adult male demographic include the detailed and high-quality animation, strong female characters who defy conventional gender stereotypes, and moral lessons that are typically in line with a modern inclusive worldview as opposed to "family values" (although there are some controversial exceptions; see below).

However, the overtly colorful and feminine nature of the series has led to widespread mocking and derision of those who enjoy it. Fans of the series are regularly derided as being gay, as furries, or as practitioners of bestiality. As the series was specifically intended to challenge the idea that female-oriented entertainment cannot be enjoyed by all genders, these criticisms are seen as particularly ironic. The fact that the show's fans legitimately enjoy the series (and are not part of some elaborate prank or hoax, as has been suggested) has been cited as the best example of the New Sincerity[wp] trend, a movement of young people who are said to be tired of post-9/11 war, conflict, and cynical/sarcastic entertainment and are instead more interested in optimistic and friendly films and television shows.

The fandom is the subject of two documentaries: Bronies: The Extremely Unexpected Adult Fans of My Little Pony (2013)[1], and A Brony Tale (2014).[2]

[edit] Plot overview

Friendship Is Magic takes place in the land of Equestria and focuses on Twilight Sparkle, a studious and science-minded[3] unicorn pony who is sent to the town of Ponyville to learn how to make friends. The plotlines range from simple slice-of-life stories detailing the day-to-day adventures of the character, to high-fantasy stories featuring ancient artefacts, epic quests and a whole rogues' gallery of creepy villains. Each episode centers around Twilight or one of her friends learning a lesson about friendship and cooperation. A prominent theme of the show is the idea of the 'Magic of friendship' not just being a metaphorical concept, but that in the show friendship is a genuine and incredible source of magical power that can be used for everything from releasing ponies from brainwashing to blasting villains with magical rainbow beams. The show generally attempts to avoid very special episodes, although it has indulged in the odd one, such as one episode attempting to tackle the subject of childhood bullying (Emphasis on 'attempt', as the jury is still out on whether or not they did it well).

[edit] Specific controversies

The show's explosive popularity has caused its fans, critics, and mainstream media sources to butt heads on a variety of subjects.

[edit] Liberal/gay/feminist agenda

Like many childrens' series, some conservative groups have targeted Friendship Is Magic as being part of the vast liberal conspiracy to indoctrinate children through entertainment. Their evidence includes the fact that the show's core tenets, such as loving and accepting people who are different from oneself, are obviously evil liberal conspiracies. The series' popularity among college-aged men, a notable Democratic voting bloc, is seen as additional "proof" of this indoctrination.

Conservative groups have also claimed that the series is promoting the wicked Gay Agenda. Particular focus, both from fans and critics, has been placed on one of the main characters, Rainbow Dash, whose macho behavior, rainbow-themed appearance, and rejection of feminine social norms has been widely suggested to be proof that she is a representation of butch lesbianism. Although the show's creator, Lauren Faust, has rejected wholesale the idea that Rainbow Dash is supposed to be a "stealth lesbian,"[4] the rumors and myths have persisted. Accusations that one or more of the characters are "secretly" lesbians and are trying to convince America's children to be gay are reminiscent of the conspiracy theories that conservative groups have leveled against other children's shows like SpongeBob SquarePants or the 1960s Batman series.

The fact that the series portrays positive female characters that fall under a variety of archetypes and suggests these lifestyles are all equally valid has been accused of being a nefarious feminist plot.[5]

[edit] Homophobic/racist/smart-shaming agenda

Despite the astounding array of evidence that the show is a Nefarious Feminist Plot, some feminists just did not get the message, perceiving the show as containing an agenda from the other end of the spectrum. Kathleen Richter, writing on the Ms. magazine blogs, made some allegations of homophobic, racist, and "smart-shaming" messages in the show. Rainbow Dash was supposed to represent a stereotyped view of lesbians as "angry and tomboyish" (usage of rainbows being common to many LGBT organizations). Black-furred ponies were supposed to represent enslaved black people (since in the intro, several black-furred unicorns can be seen acting as royal guards for the white-furred Princess Celestia), while the premise of Twilight Sparkle getting her muzzle out of her books for the purpose of making friends was deemed to be "smart-shaming."[6] Lauren Faust, herself a feminist and reader of Ms., wrote a thorough rebuttal in the same forum, insisting that Richter was reading far too much into a children's cartoon. She insisted that the colour of ponies' fur was never intended as any sort of indication of race (And the presence of white-furred, pink furred and yellow-furred ponies also acting as royal guards throughout the show more or less disproves Richter's black-slavery claim as well). She also explained how Twilight Sparkle being ordered to get her head out of her books to make friends was because of how unsociable she was: She explained that "since socializing and making friends is an important, healthy aspect of anyone’s life, her mentor encouraged her to, essentially, go out and play.", as well as bringing up the fact that in later episodes, Twilight Sparkle is still an avid student and reader, even taking up residence in the town-library. And concerning the claim that Rainbow Dash was meant to be a negative stereotype of lesbians as "angry tomboys" was untrue, since nowhere in the show is her sexual orientation mentioned (though that hasn't stopped her from becoming somewhat of an icon among the LGBT members of the fandom), and that by assuming that the tomboy character was meant to be a stereotypical lesbian, Richter was being "extremely unfair to both straight and lesbian tomboys". [4]

[edit] "Feeling Pinkie Keen"

The fifteenth episode of the first season, "Feeling Pinkie Keen," is filled with woo. In the episode, Twilight learns that her friend Pinkie Pie appears to possess precognitive powers. Twilight spends the duration of the episode trying to find a rational, scientific explanation for Pinkie's abilities.[7] At the end of the episode, after a particularly dangerous adventure spurred by Pinkie's precognition, Twilight gives up on trying to find an explanation and says that some things in the universe don't have any rational explanation. During the closing scene, she explains that "I now realize there are wonderful things in this world you just can't explain, but that doesn't necessary make them any less true. It just means you have to choose to believe in them. And sometimes, it takes a friend to show you the way."

The episode prompted significant criticism from the teenage/adult male fanbase, many of whom are atheists and believed the episode's questionable moral was an indictment of critical thinking and scientific skepticism. The implication that Twilight is a bad friend because she does not believe the same (unproven) things as her friends has been accused of being a promotion of the bandwagon argument, a particularly dangerous moral to impose on children. Lauren Faust, the show's creator, denied that the episode was supposed to promote religious faith or criticise skepticism, and expressed disappointment that the episode was interpreted as such, stating; "if I could have anticipated such a misunderstanding, I would have revised [the episode]." The episode's writer, Dave Polsky, has also gone on record claiming that the faith-vs-skepticism interpretation of the episode was a misunderstanding, and that his original intention was for it to be more about not clinging to old ideas and theories simply because they are what you have been brought up on. His original idea was that the episode was meant to cast Twilight and Pinkie as being similar to a Newtonian-physicist and a Quantum-physicist (With his explanation being that in the show's universe, magic is basically a science), with Twilight refusing to acknowledge that Pinkie Pie's powers are real simply because from the perspective of the magic she has been brought up learning, Pinkie's powers make no sense. However, to his credit, Polsky has admitted that the episode has flaws, and had he known the episode would have been as intensely analysed as it was by the fandom, he would have revised it as well.

[edit] "The Last Roundup" and Derpygate

In the first episode, an animator in-joke resulted in a cross-eyed pony seen in the background of one shot. The show's fanbase noticed and dubbed the character "Derpy Hooves," a reference to the slang term "derp," which is often used to refer to being clumsy or messing up. After learning of the meme, the series' writers and animators began intentionally adding the cross-eyed pony into later episodes. In the fourteenth episode of the second season, "The Last Roundup," the character is given speaking lines and addressed as "Derpy" onscreen for the first time. Derpy is depicted as extremely clumsy and talks in a voice that has been criticised as being a caricature of people with learning disabilities (Derpy's voice-actor, Tabitha St Germain, later explained that she had not actually been informed that Derpy was a female character, so she had given her a more boyish voice, which some had misinterpreted as a stereotypical 'disabled' voice). Shortly after being aired, the episode was pulled from iTunes, and replaced with an edited version in which Derpy's eyes are fixed, she is not referred to by name, and speaks with a different, more generic voice. (If only the Star Wars prequels had taken similar steps to make Jar Jar Binks less obnoxious.)

Fans took this change about as well as one would expect. Shrieks of political correctness gone mad and "censorship" were common. Petitions to restore Derpy's original appearance and voice gained thousands of signatures. Notably, a DVD release of the episode features the original scene, which fans have praised as a "victory" over the evil forces of not gratuitously giving people offense. To Hasbro's credit, she still had large amounts of merchandise based around her, and while she was notably absent for much of season 3, she returned for a few blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameos in the season finale, including one moment where she even winks directly at the audience. In season 4, Derpy returned to the show in a big way as a pony chosen to replace Rainbow Dash in a flying race after she was injured, and became a frequent background character throughout the season and a regular in the show's merchandise (Though she is no longer called Derpy, instead being represented by a graphic of a muffin, her own smiling face, or referred to as the 'Equestrian Mailmare'. The Pegasus Formerly Known as Derpy, anyone?)

[edit] Pornography

Friendship Is Magic's fanbase has developed a negative reputation for the creation and tolerance of pornographic images depicting the show's pony characters. Feelings about these works and those who enjoy them (called "cloppers", also slang in the community for masturbation) are mixed within the Brony community. Both sides of the fence argue the others are not true fans of the series because they are intolerant of each other. Arguments against the existence of such pornography include an opposition to bestiality and the fact that the show's target audience can easily stumble across pornographic images while looking for more child-friendly content. Although the show's creative staff has been critical of pornographic content starring the characters, various fan websites and conventions have been more tolerant.

[edit] Back in the eighties...

The 1980s incarnation of the My Little Pony franchise also provoked criticism from certain segments of the religious right, such as Phil Phillips.

[edit] External links

[edit] Footnotes

  1. Official website: http://www.bronydoc.com/
  2. Official website: http://www.bronythemovie.com/
  3. As science-minded as is possible, given that she can cast magic spells with her horn.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Faust, Lauren. "My Little NON-Homophobic, NON-Racist, NON-Smart-Shaming Pony: A Rebuttal." Ms. Magazine.
  5. Breitbart Media goes to War against the Bronies
  6. http://msmagazine.com/blog/2010/12/09/my-little-homophobic-racist-smarts-shaming-pony/
  7. Yes, this is the same Twilight who routinely exhibited magical powers of teleportation and telekinesis in other episodes. She claims here that unicorn magic isn't the same thing at all as Pinkie Pie's "Pinkie Sense".
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