On the subject of the MLP & Brony Phenomena sweeping across the internet
By Lunardoom
@Lunardoom (1)
December 7, 2011 10:29pm CST
Recently the whole My Little Pony: Friendship is magic subject has caught my attention. It's been bombarded with criticism just as much as it has been received with open arms by others. On the side of criticism is the claim that it's the end of the creative era for cartoons as we know it(apparently) as well as the Hatred that Fox News seems to have for 'Bronies'. For those of you who do not know what a brony is yet, it's a member of the My Little Pony:Friendship is magic fandom that falls outside the key demographic of it's audience, meaning anyone outside the young female demographic. This includes young men, women, teenagers and people who are even thirty years or older. Now, there's people who absolutely loathe this subject because of some sense of threat to their masculinity, there's people who don't care at all and let the fandom go on it's ways and there's bronies, who are fans of the show. The base of the subject is simply to observe your(the reader's) reaction to any of these factors, how you feel about both show, fandom and how it's even changed the internet over the past year and (almost) a half.
2 responses
@CaptAlbertWhisker (32507)
• Calgary, Alberta
26 Feb 12
My half brother is a playboy, a military guy and a tough guy and its so weird that out of a sudden he became a Brony. He sleeps next to a Pony stuff toy, His girlfriend is the one who converted him into one, Guess what my brother is trying to convert me but I wont give in. I will not watch an episode of My little Pony cos I dont want to become a Brony cos it scares me. I mean my brother is a tough guy who is badass, suddenly he likes ponies.
@Rockburgh (31)
• United States
24 Feb 12
MLP:FiM is quite frankly one of the absolute best things to happen to society in the past decade. Almost everyone who follows that series becomes a better person overall. The show preaches strong character values and points out flaws in society that more than a few supposedly mature adults ignore. (Such as how people aren't always what they seem to be. (1x07))
The community surrounding the series is a major point as well. There have already been dozens, if not hundreds, of original songs written in base of the series, and several musicians (Odyssey, WoodenToaster, Mic the Microphone, and Not a Clever Pony being among them) have risen to a sort of fame, where almost anyone in the fandom will know exactly who you're talking about if you mention them. Writing is similar, with KKat and Pen Stroke taking the top of the bill with their novel-length stories. (Pen Stroke's Past Sins is about 550 pages, and KKat's Fallout: Equestria is even longer.) There isn't quite so much of a hierarchy for visual arts, however.
The biggest point of interest here is the behavior of people involved in the show's community. They are generally accepting of others, kind to all, highly empathetic, honest, and perhaps most importantly happy.
