This is not a rant, but more a request for an explanation. Try to read the whole thing before responding. NO HATERS OR FLAME WARS, this is a just a study and everyone has their own opinion.
I would like to direct attention to this post, posted recently in the Culture, Media, and Arts section.
I have found recently that, i like little kids shows more then i do average TV... (excluding the cooler new fantasy live action shows) But, to name an example, Instead of watching the crummy, bad joke shows on Disney channel like "good luck Charlie" or "Jessie"... Id like to watch things like My sisters (*gulp*... cant believe im about to say this...) Strawberry shortcake shows from back in like 2005... Or old "Rescue Heroes". I've recently been even doubting my gender and age at some points too... :/ The reason i feel this way is because, there's more... how do i put this... "Story" to most older cartoons, Rescue Heroes even had their own movie, and they have safety tips at the end of each episode... as for strawberry shortcake, I don't even know myself why i even like that show :/ Is this normal for a teenager of 14?
Read the whole thread here if your interested. This brings up my first question, very similar to the one discussed in the thread: why do "older" people get into "little kid shows"? Please note that I am asking why, not if it is normal or not (if that was the case, than why start a new thread (But i do have a poll question on that)?).
More media! I go on a site sometimes, Know Your Meme, to learn more about, well, memes. While browsing around, I found this page to be the third most popular page viewed. Of all the shows out there, My Little Pony seems to be the most popular. From my perspective, the show was intended for ten year old girls; there is no way everyone on the internet is ten. The so called "bronies" (Bro + Ponies = Bronies), or fans of the show, come from all different walks of life. They are teenagers. They are adults. They are male.
As the video on the page states, the "lets all be friends" mood doesn't fit in with the norm. So here is my second question: why My Little Pony, of all else? I could see shows like Gravity Falls, Good Luck Charlie, ect. being somewhat popular. But ponies, and rainbows, and friendship?
A quick third question to all "bronies" reading this: Why do you watch the show?
Feel free to discuss the topic maturely below.
-Note- I have never watched any part of the show/movie/-insert other medium here-.
This brings up my first question, very similar to the one discussed in the thread: why do "older" people get into "little kid shows"? Please note that I am asking why, not if it is normal or not (if that was the case, than why start a new thread (But i do have a poll question on that)?).
Because they can be good. Some people really like positive things, so the themes and morals really do it for them. Some for comedy. Some for the story and characters. Some just because it's cute. But mostly a combination of all these will make a TV show of any sort likable.
So here is my second question: why My Little Pony, of all else? I could see shows like Gravity Falls, Good Luck Charlie, ect. being somewhat popular. But ponies, and rainbows, and friendship?
Because of the exact reasons I stated above, and because it's My Little Pony. People like the idea of liking something so absurd and then showing other people. And that's what started this entire brony idea that over the past two years got really freaking popular.
A quick third question to all "bronies" reading this: Why do you watch the show?
It's a good show. But not only for that. It's also because of the community. If you go to the front page of deviantART, and refresh it, you'll get a pony picture or two on there about every 20 seconds. Granted, they are not always be good pieces, but then you get another one a few seconds later. And then there's the stories, videos, music, sculptures, and other things. As far as I know, about half of the bronies came for the show, and stayed for the community. If the community didn't exist, then not nearly as many people would continue to watch the show.
The question should be "why," but "why not." I don't see any reason that a simple, clean, childish show can't be entertaining. It's good for the same reason anything else might be considered good: humor, music, story, great animation, well-developed characters, etc. I'm not going to go through and explain in detail all the things that make it great, because that would be silly. If "It's a good show" is a good enough explanation for anything else, why not this?
As for why MLP and not anything else, BJ said it pretty well: it's the absurdity of it. When people hear that MLP is popular among grown men, it draws their attention. Then they may find that they like it, and the surprise of that makes it a bigger deal than liking just any other show. The fan community is tight-knit and accepting simply because it seems so weird that adults would like ponies, and that produces both camaraderie among fellow bronies and a sense that they are outside the social norm therefore they must protect themselves. And indeed, there are quite a few people opposed to the idea of people other than little girls watching a show about ponies. The protection from outside threats plus dependence upon each other does produce a sort of primal herd mentality which is comforting.
But, beyond that, it is also an exceedingly creative, friendly, and overall amazing community. Frankly, I don't think the show is really the best thing ever made like some people say it is. It's the fanbase that keeps me interested in it.
To close, here's a rather apt quote from the creator of the new series, ' class='bbc'>Lauren Faust:
Quote from Lauren Faust »
I didn't create this show for little girls, I created it for little girls and their parents--including male parents. It only stands to reason that adult animation fans without children may like it, too.
The belief that boys shouldn't be interested in girl things is the main reason there's hardly anything decent for girls in animation--or almost any media, for that matter. It's a backwards, sexist, outdated attitude.
By the way, I think this belongs in the megathread rather than on its own. I'm not sure since, after all, you can't make a poll on the megathread and you can't ask a question to non-bronies there, either.
I wouldn't say MLP is the best show in existence, but I would say it's certainly a worthy show to be watched and one of the best out there.
Per why I watch it: one of the primary reasons has been with the writing being actually gender neutral on my ears. Despite the name and franchise history the new Friendship is Magic was written in a way to appeal to male and female audiences and older and younger audiences alike. I'd venture to say that enjoying MLP - or any cartoon today - is like an adult liking a Dreamworks animation like Wall-E or Wreck it Ralph.
In this comparison, both examples (MLP, Adventure Time and Wall-E and Wreck it Ralph) are shows that are primarily marketed towards children and younger viewers. Yet they do have that older generation viewer base. How does this happen? I would put it into the writing. Adults can grasp more complex themes than children and young people and when a show's writers drop complex themes and or references to ideas that the intended may not get, the adults may get it. And doing so serves to attract and amuse older audiences.
Beyond this, one of the primary standing reasons I've found for people to like MLP is in its animation quality and accessibility of the art work and style. The characters match well with their environment and are not offensively loud or grotesque to look at. And at times, they can be intimidating in their own right. In MLP's case, more-so when compared to the general environment, at least.
Queen Cheeselegs Chrysalis has been noted as being one of the darker draw villains in the show. Sombrero Sombra somewhere behind, his silent determination for Sauron level malevolence filling in for what creepiness he has, and the goofy name.
Psychologically I've found many bronies can relate to the characters of MLP fairly easy which helps for audience appreciation. And every once a while the show will touch up on socially important issues that help to relate to most of the viewer base. Most recent with bullying with the episode Bad Seed.
And let's face it, we're all nerds here people. And even if we're done with that stage of life or already know how to deal with it, it only helps the case if we can relate more to the show via situation experience.
There was also a study I read examining the brony phenomenon as conducted by a professor of behavior studies at the University of Boston that concluded the prominence of MLP is a side-effect of events within our lives. The most prominent viewer groups are those in college or the later half of HighSchool leading to the conclusion that in some shape or form the events of 9/11, two major wars, and the continued stressed environment of the economy and the Horseman of War rearing his head in the Middle East are factors that make the relatively peaceful, and easily relatable world of MLP attractive.
It could go up to debate and the man's study is ongoing. But it's a certainly better explanation that what I've heard prior which is heavily reliant on Freudian sciences and probably based primarily on people who have malignant psychological issues and who make up a minority of the fandom. And is easy to sell to Fox and other media outlets.
Beyond this and returning to the appeal of the show at large: it's got an immense world behind it with the surprising advantage of it being primarily unexplored which allows for fan exploration. Fan art and Fanfics add to the community and the world in surprising ways and allow for a creative freedom the creators of the show do not mind, or straight up appreciate.
The fanculture itself is also very... colorful to say the least and I can find it amusing and astounding. It produces some master works of fiction, art, and music which blows me away. The quality is also matched by the rate at which it can come out.
Within the day of the airing "Bad Seed" its keystone song "Babs Seed" was remixed and covered at least a dozen times. And then it continued to explode being probably one of the most remixed and fan covered songs since "Love is in Bloom" and "Winter Wrapup".
Original:
A couple remixes of it I got in my favorites that came out within the day (the cover within an hour or two):
It's also a point that when they do it, the songs (even the background music) is well written and composed element of the show.
For the purpose of one-upmanship discussion, for those interested, here's my favorite scene from the series, followed by my favorite song, followed by my favorite episode:
The fanculture itself is also very... colorful to say the least and I can find it amusing and astounding. It produces some master works of fiction, art, and music which blows me away. The quality is also matched by the rate at which it can come out.
I'd like to note that I'm an avid reader and aspiring author, and my three favorite works of fiction (Take note: Not just fanfiction, fiction in general) are all three fan-written stories set within the MLP universe. Some of the fanart is just absolutely stunning.
I'm a pretty big fine of the Fallout Equestria fic... Which already is like, a fandom in a fandom. It's pretty meta.
But if you want to know just how deep things can get look at the general MLP-verse and how deep that is. Then at the Fallout Equestria verse. It started with Kkat. Then it exploded, and now artists and writers and songwriters the fandom over are building the Equestrian wasteland.
Now THAT is beauty.
Plus somewhere on there a full FO3 and F:NV conversion mod is in the work to bring the Equestrian Wasteland to a PC near you.
A quick third question to all "bronies" reading this: Why do you watch the show?
Wow... did my thread really start this? ...
OT: Idk tbh xD I think its because i like how it's flash animation (shown by the layering according to the my little bloopers, mistakes are magic series, somepony correct my if i am wrong ) and its just cute in general (get it general? ok, I'm done with he puns... someone get me a therapist... >_<)
OT: Idk tbh xD I think its because i like how it's flash animation (shown by the layering according to the my little bloopers, mistakes are magic series, somepony correct my if i am wrong ) and its just cute in general (get it general? ok, I'm done with he puns... someone get me a therapist... >_<)
I'd like to note that I'm an avid reader and aspiring author, and my three favorite works of fiction (Take note: Not just fanfiction, fiction in general) are all three fan-written stories set within the MLP universe. Some of the fanart is just absolutely stunning.
What he said about favorite literature. The stories are just some random few hundred word stories like you might find on fanfiction. There's a requirement on fimfiction.net (The place for all things story) that it must be at least 1000 words long. They have a few restrictions which make it so you can't just post a story for the sake of posting a story. Quite a few bad ones make it through, but thankfully not as many as on Fanfiction. For example, some really good ones are "Background Pony" which is about 430k words long. For comparison, the 5th (and longest) Harry Potter book is 257k words long. I've actually helped with a story called "My Second Life" which is 630k words long. Here's some of the best pieces of fanart I think I've seen. (Warning, both are around 10 MB in size)
I'm a pretty big fine of the Fallout Equestria fic... Which already is like, a fandom in a fandom. It's pretty meta.
But if you want to know just how deep things can get look at the general MLP-verse and how deep that is. Then at the Fallout Equestria verse. It started with Kkat. Then it exploded, and now artists and writers and songwriters the fandom over are building the Equestrian wasteland.
Now THAT is beauty.
Plus somewhere on there a full FO3 and F:NV conversion mod is in the work to bring the Equestrian Wasteland to a PC near you.
Continuing with the fanfiction, Fallout: Equestria as Aaron said is pretty much a fandom within a fandom. You've got the original which is 620k, and then you've got Fallout: Equestria Project Horizons written by someone else which is well above 1,000,000 words.
We're also all crazy. I should mention that.
As large as this sub-fandom is I'd gamble that people who aren't familiar or much of a fan of the original Fallout games follow Fallout Equestria. But I haven't polled anything or anyone, or heard of a poll asking if everyone in it is a Fallout fan or not.
As large as this sub-fandom is I'd gamble that people who aren't familiar or much of a fan of the original Fallout games follow Fallout Equestria. But I haven't polled anything or anyone, or heard of a poll asking if everyone in it is a Fallout fan or not.
I'm probably over-thinking.
If I had the time I'd read it, but unfortunately the only things I know about Fallout are from playing about 10 hours of New Vegas. I need to play that game. But I would still read it right now if I could.
Once you muscle through the first few chapters (which feel about as lost as anyone gets when they start a game like Fallout) it's smooth sailing because it finds the rails which help direct its plot.
Once you muscle through the first few chapters (which feel about as lost as anyone gets when they start a game like Fallout) it's smooth sailing because it finds the rails which help direct its plot.
And a few trains get thrown around.
Sounds like it's a tough read. Interesting trains though.
And darn it, why does the only person to answer "no" to the first question not say why?
Is it normal?
To put it simply.
No.
If it were normal, there would be way more people that did it. I'm not saying it's wrong, but if you want to class by society's standards, unless you're watching it with your child, it isn't.
And as I've watched it, I rate it a 3. And slowly degrading as the seasons go on.
I would like to direct attention to this post, posted recently in the Culture, Media, and Arts section.
The first post:
Read the whole thread here if your interested. This brings up my first question, very similar to the one discussed in the thread: why do "older" people get into "little kid shows"? Please note that I am asking why, not if it is normal or not (if that was the case, than why start a new thread (But i do have a poll question on that)?).
More media! I go on a site sometimes, Know Your Meme, to learn more about, well, memes. While browsing around, I found this page to be the third most popular page viewed. Of all the shows out there, My Little Pony seems to be the most popular. From my perspective, the show was intended for ten year old girls; there is no way everyone on the internet is ten. The so called "bronies" (Bro + Ponies = Bronies), or fans of the show, come from all different walks of life. They are teenagers. They are adults. They are male.
As the video on the page states, the "lets all be friends" mood doesn't fit in with the norm. So here is my second question: why My Little Pony, of all else? I could see shows like Gravity Falls, Good Luck Charlie, ect. being somewhat popular. But ponies, and rainbows, and friendship?
A quick third question to all "bronies" reading this: Why do you watch the show?
Feel free to discuss the topic maturely below.
-Note- I have never watched any part of the show/movie/-insert other medium here-.
Because they can be good. Some people really like positive things, so the themes and morals really do it for them. Some for comedy. Some for the story and characters. Some just because it's cute. But mostly a combination of all these will make a TV show of any sort likable.
Because of the exact reasons I stated above, and because it's My Little Pony. People like the idea of liking something so absurd and then showing other people. And that's what started this entire brony idea that over the past two years got really freaking popular.
It's a good show. But not only for that. It's also because of the community. If you go to the front page of deviantART, and refresh it, you'll get a pony picture or two on there about every 20 seconds. Granted, they are not always be good pieces, but then you get another one a few seconds later. And then there's the stories, videos, music, sculptures, and other things. As far as I know, about half of the bronies came for the show, and stayed for the community. If the community didn't exist, then not nearly as many people would continue to watch the show.
As for why MLP and not anything else, BJ said it pretty well: it's the absurdity of it. When people hear that MLP is popular among grown men, it draws their attention. Then they may find that they like it, and the surprise of that makes it a bigger deal than liking just any other show. The fan community is tight-knit and accepting simply because it seems so weird that adults would like ponies, and that produces both camaraderie among fellow bronies and a sense that they are outside the social norm therefore they must protect themselves. And indeed, there are quite a few people opposed to the idea of people other than little girls watching a show about ponies. The protection from outside threats plus dependence upon each other does produce a sort of primal herd mentality which is comforting.
But, beyond that, it is also an exceedingly creative, friendly, and overall amazing community. Frankly, I don't think the show is really the best thing ever made like some people say it is. It's the fanbase that keeps me interested in it.
To close, here's a rather apt quote from the creator of the new series, ' class='bbc'>Lauren Faust:
By the way, I think this belongs in the megathread rather than on its own. I'm not sure since, after all, you can't make a poll on the megathread and you can't ask a question to non-bronies there, either.
My DeviantArt
Per why I watch it: one of the primary reasons has been with the writing being actually gender neutral on my ears. Despite the name and franchise history the new Friendship is Magic was written in a way to appeal to male and female audiences and older and younger audiences alike. I'd venture to say that enjoying MLP - or any cartoon today - is like an adult liking a Dreamworks animation like Wall-E or Wreck it Ralph.
In this comparison, both examples (MLP, Adventure Time and Wall-E and Wreck it Ralph) are shows that are primarily marketed towards children and younger viewers. Yet they do have that older generation viewer base. How does this happen? I would put it into the writing. Adults can grasp more complex themes than children and young people and when a show's writers drop complex themes and or references to ideas that the intended may not get, the adults may get it. And doing so serves to attract and amuse older audiences.
Beyond this, one of the primary standing reasons I've found for people to like MLP is in its animation quality and accessibility of the art work and style. The characters match well with their environment and are not offensively loud or grotesque to look at. And at times, they can be intimidating in their own right. In MLP's case, more-so when compared to the general environment, at least.
Queen
CheeselegsChrysalis has been noted as being one of the darker draw villains in the show.SombreroSombra somewhere behind, his silent determination for Sauron level malevolence filling in for what creepiness he has, and the goofy name.Psychologically I've found many bronies can relate to the characters of MLP fairly easy which helps for audience appreciation. And every once a while the show will touch up on socially important issues that help to relate to most of the viewer base. Most recent with bullying with the episode Bad Seed.
And let's face it, we're all nerds here people. And even if we're done with that stage of life or already know how to deal with it, it only helps the case if we can relate more to the show via situation experience.
There was also a study I read examining the brony phenomenon as conducted by a professor of behavior studies at the University of Boston that concluded the prominence of MLP is a side-effect of events within our lives. The most prominent viewer groups are those in college or the later half of HighSchool leading to the conclusion that in some shape or form the events of 9/11, two major wars, and the continued stressed environment of the economy and the Horseman of War rearing his head in the Middle East are factors that make the relatively peaceful, and easily relatable world of MLP attractive.
It could go up to debate and the man's study is ongoing. But it's a certainly better explanation that what I've heard prior which is heavily reliant on Freudian sciences and probably based primarily on people who have malignant psychological issues and who make up a minority of the fandom. And is easy to sell to Fox and other media outlets.
Beyond this and returning to the appeal of the show at large: it's got an immense world behind it with the surprising advantage of it being primarily unexplored which allows for fan exploration. Fan art and Fanfics add to the community and the world in surprising ways and allow for a creative freedom the creators of the show do not mind, or straight up appreciate.
The fanculture itself is also very... colorful to say the least and I can find it amusing and astounding. It produces some master works of fiction, art, and music which blows me away. The quality is also matched by the rate at which it can come out.
Within the day of the airing "Bad Seed" its keystone song "Babs Seed" was remixed and covered at least a dozen times. And then it continued to explode being probably one of the most remixed and fan covered songs since "Love is in Bloom" and "Winter Wrapup".
Original:
A couple remixes of it I got in my favorites that came out within the day (the cover within an hour or two):
It's also a point that when they do it, the songs (even the background music) is well written and composed element of the show.
My DeviantArt, so sexy
*Feels inadequate*
For the purpose of
one-upmanshipdiscussion, for those interested, here's my favorite scene from the series, followed by my favorite song, followed by my favorite episode:I'd like to note that I'm an avid reader and aspiring author, and my three favorite works of fiction (Take note: Not just fanfiction, fiction in general) are all three fan-written stories set within the MLP universe. Some of the fanart is just absolutely stunning.
My DeviantArt
But if you want to know just how deep things can get look at the general MLP-verse and how deep that is. Then at the Fallout Equestria verse. It started with Kkat. Then it exploded, and now artists and writers and songwriters the fandom over are building the Equestrian wasteland.
Now THAT is beauty.
Plus somewhere on there a full FO3 and F:NV conversion mod is in the work to bring the Equestrian Wasteland to a PC near you.
My DeviantArt, so sexy
Wow... did my thread really start this? ...
OT: Idk tbh xD I think its because i like how it's flash animation (shown by the layering according to the my little bloopers, mistakes are magic series, somepony correct my if i am wrong
Excuse me, but was that supposed to be a pun?
My DeviantArt, so sexy
How do you think I feel?
What he said about favorite literature. The stories are just some random few hundred word stories like you might find on fanfiction. There's a requirement on fimfiction.net (The place for all things story) that it must be at least 1000 words long. They have a few restrictions which make it so you can't just post a story for the sake of posting a story. Quite a few bad ones make it through, but thankfully not as many as on Fanfiction. For example, some really good ones are "Background Pony" which is about 430k words long. For comparison, the 5th (and longest) Harry Potter book is 257k words long. I've actually helped with a story called "My Second Life" which is 630k words long. Here's some of the best pieces of fanart I think I've seen. (Warning, both are around 10 MB in size)
Continuing with the fanfiction, Fallout: Equestria as Aaron said is pretty much a fandom within a fandom. You've got the original which is 620k, and then you've got Fallout: Equestria Project Horizons written by someone else which is well above 1,000,000 words.
We're also all crazy. I should mention that.
At this point, Studio B won't be able to draw a book large enough for any one to make a Project Horizons length joke.
My DeviantArt, so sexy
My DeviantArt
As large as this sub-fandom is I'd gamble that people who aren't familiar or much of a fan of the original Fallout games follow Fallout Equestria. But I haven't polled anything or anyone, or heard of a poll asking if everyone in it is a Fallout fan or not.
I'm probably over-thinking.
My DeviantArt, so sexy
If I had the time I'd read it, but unfortunately the only things I know about Fallout are from playing about 10 hours of New Vegas. I need to play that game. But I would still read it right now if I could.
Once you muscle through the first few chapters (which feel about as lost as anyone gets when they start a game like Fallout) it's smooth sailing because it finds the rails which help direct its plot.
And a few trains get thrown around.
My DeviantArt, so sexy
Sounds like it's a tough read. Interesting trains though.
And darn it, why does the only person to answer "no" to the first question not say why?
To put it simply.
No.
If it were normal, there would be way more people that did it. I'm not saying it's wrong, but if you want to class by society's standards, unless you're watching it with your child, it isn't.
And as I've watched it, I rate it a 3. And slowly degrading as the seasons go on.
no, i did not intend for a pun, if it was one....