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An observation concerning MLP: FiM et al.
14 years ago
It has been my observation thus far that the only outright negative reactions I've encountered to My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic have come exclusively from people who, for one reason or another, haven't bothered to actually watch the show at all. Among people who have taken the time to watch it the most negative reaction I've encountered has simply been to the effect of, "Okay, it's not really my thing but it's a lot better than I was expecting and I can see why people like it."
I've got no issue at all with people giving something a try and deciding it's not for them. That's fine, that's normal, that's part of the beautiful diversity that makes up the experience of life. But the people who feel the need to get particularly vocal about their distaste for something without or before having actually seen it themselves, be it the new My Little Pony Show or Avatar or Twilight, grate on me considerably. What it really seems to boil down to isn't even a dislike for the actual thing most of the time, but rather 'I'm tired of hearing about this new thing that's popular and well-liked, how dare so many people around me actually find enjoyment in something and want to celebrate that enjoyment. I think I'll decide to hate it and insult it just to be contrary.'
So if we take a step back and analyze this train of thought for a moment, people are effectively deciding to be crankypants about something solely because other people -like- it. Maybe even because their close friends like it. I bet that's doing wonders for those friendships, in that special way that having people you care about insult things you love always does.
People love to be armchair cynics, to sit back and complain about something they have no intention of actually doing anything about, or have no firsthand experience with to really be entitled to a particularly strong opinion on. It's a cheap and easy way to make oneself feel superior and clever without actually having to do anything, or take the risk of standing up for something that somebody else might come along and bash on. But it is also shallow, immature, and needlessly alienating to everyone around in the long term. Maybe it's a quick thrill to sit around and insult something to watch its fans get upset, but as people mature they tend to, startlingly, prefer to be around people who are capable of taking enjoyment in life rather than people with persistent stormclouds over their heads. Bear this in mind, it will be on the test.
It may be tempting to read this entry and immediately think, 'well I don't like X because of Y reason.' If Y is something you have decided or confirmed for yourself by firsthand exposure to X to a significant enough degree that you can reasonably reflect on it and form Y as truly being your own thoughts, then congratulations, you have performed Thinking and formed a Valid Opinion. Go celebrate with your favorite variety of cookie.
If, on the other hand, Y is simply something you are parroting from having read or heard somewhere without confirming for yourself, and/or you haven't spent enough/any time investigating X to really grasp what it's referring to, then at best you are making a huge leap and assuming things without any verification or any real thought on your part. In doing so you are insulting the miraculously capable brain you presumably have nestled between your ears by ignoring its capabilities, and you are potentially spreading a practice of misinformation and uninformed thinking that reaches as far as influencing the politics of nations and doing harm to the long term welfare of the human species and our planet as a whole. Knock it off.
This began as a brief observation about MLP: FiM specifically and I got all soapboxy about a related pet peeve, apologies. I believe I make valid points though. Just some things to consider.
Bonus thing to consider: When you have valid negative opinion about something, there is a very big difference between these two things:
A) "I don't care for X."
B) "X sucks."
A is how to correctly state a personal opinion. B is how to misrepresent a personal opinion as a solid fact, carries with it the subtext that anyone who thinks otherwise is wrong and an idiot. As such, it is a very effective way to unintentionally insult all of your friends who might feel differently than you. Knock it off.
I've got no issue at all with people giving something a try and deciding it's not for them. That's fine, that's normal, that's part of the beautiful diversity that makes up the experience of life. But the people who feel the need to get particularly vocal about their distaste for something without or before having actually seen it themselves, be it the new My Little Pony Show or Avatar or Twilight, grate on me considerably. What it really seems to boil down to isn't even a dislike for the actual thing most of the time, but rather 'I'm tired of hearing about this new thing that's popular and well-liked, how dare so many people around me actually find enjoyment in something and want to celebrate that enjoyment. I think I'll decide to hate it and insult it just to be contrary.'
So if we take a step back and analyze this train of thought for a moment, people are effectively deciding to be crankypants about something solely because other people -like- it. Maybe even because their close friends like it. I bet that's doing wonders for those friendships, in that special way that having people you care about insult things you love always does.
People love to be armchair cynics, to sit back and complain about something they have no intention of actually doing anything about, or have no firsthand experience with to really be entitled to a particularly strong opinion on. It's a cheap and easy way to make oneself feel superior and clever without actually having to do anything, or take the risk of standing up for something that somebody else might come along and bash on. But it is also shallow, immature, and needlessly alienating to everyone around in the long term. Maybe it's a quick thrill to sit around and insult something to watch its fans get upset, but as people mature they tend to, startlingly, prefer to be around people who are capable of taking enjoyment in life rather than people with persistent stormclouds over their heads. Bear this in mind, it will be on the test.
It may be tempting to read this entry and immediately think, 'well I don't like X because of Y reason.' If Y is something you have decided or confirmed for yourself by firsthand exposure to X to a significant enough degree that you can reasonably reflect on it and form Y as truly being your own thoughts, then congratulations, you have performed Thinking and formed a Valid Opinion. Go celebrate with your favorite variety of cookie.
If, on the other hand, Y is simply something you are parroting from having read or heard somewhere without confirming for yourself, and/or you haven't spent enough/any time investigating X to really grasp what it's referring to, then at best you are making a huge leap and assuming things without any verification or any real thought on your part. In doing so you are insulting the miraculously capable brain you presumably have nestled between your ears by ignoring its capabilities, and you are potentially spreading a practice of misinformation and uninformed thinking that reaches as far as influencing the politics of nations and doing harm to the long term welfare of the human species and our planet as a whole. Knock it off.
This began as a brief observation about MLP: FiM specifically and I got all soapboxy about a related pet peeve, apologies. I believe I make valid points though. Just some things to consider.
Bonus thing to consider: When you have valid negative opinion about something, there is a very big difference between these two things:
A) "I don't care for X."
B) "X sucks."
A is how to correctly state a personal opinion. B is how to misrepresent a personal opinion as a solid fact, carries with it the subtext that anyone who thinks otherwise is wrong and an idiot. As such, it is a very effective way to unintentionally insult all of your friends who might feel differently than you. Knock it off.
MLP is a special case in a few ways, those who haven't watched it can't understand the appeal at all and the way it seems to challenge the ridiculous gender roles our society has so deeply ingrained makes some people feel a bit threatened by it too. The idea that a not-gay male could actually like MLP just breaks some people's sanity, it feels like.
Plus, I think MLP might just be healing my shattered innocence and fixing all those wounds inflicted by the internet as a whole. XD
As for that sense of innocence, I think that's a really powerful thing too. They go hand in hand, FiM is well-written enough that it makes friendship and love and innocence believable again, even to us who have grown up and been turned jaded and cynical by a difficult world. It makes us long for something it feels like we've lost, and convinces us that with a little effort, if we were all just a little kinder to one another, there's no reason we couldn't build that world for ourselves.
At least that's my take on it. :) That kind of thinking is why even before FiM came out, I had a strong affection for the original MLP as well. ^^ The awesome writing of the new show just took it to incredible new heights of awesome though.
I think this stems from the fact the characters are very anime-ish and the animation is bright, sharp and eye pleasing. Character wise .. holy fuuuck, they are why this show succeeds, they are not air brained bimbos, and even when some of them act like it, its played to a sorta charming comedic effect, not like other shows where the characters personalities are reduced to piles of glee and brain damaged mush.
FYI Pinkie Pie is my favorite character... yet I HATE ditsy overly bubbely bimbo types IRL... go figure lol
As you say, the art style is really well done, clean and bright and unique but without being so stylized that it's hard to get into. It's well presented. That's about the most intelligent thing I can say, not really having much experience or insight into animation. ^^; I just know what I like.
And yeah, the depth and lovableness that the characters all have is what really drives the show for me. And when you think about it, it could have so easily gone wrong. I love them all, I have a few favorites I think but it's hard to choose because they're all so great. I look at Rarity's character for example, and it feels like so many shows would take her to an extreme and make her 'the prissy obnoxious one' that you hated and groaned every time she came on screen, who ruined things and made everybody's lives more difficult and annoying than they should be. But, she's written with enough depth and balance that even though she exemplifies a certain personality and element, she still feels like a real person you'd want to hang out with. This is true for all the characters. They all embody personality extremes that we've all got inside us to varying degrees, but none are taken to such an extreme that it makes them two dimensional or irritating. They all balance each other out so beautifully. :)
Your last point about Pinkie Pie is great too, by the same token in real life I tend to really not like overly aggressive and competitive sorts of people, and really don't like being around them. And yet Rainbow Dash is one of my absolute favorites in the show. ^^
So, you know, some haters have valid reasons.
But yeah, it is a bit silly how much it's "in fashion" to hate on anything popular.
So anyway that's why Twilight got a mention. You having given it a fair read and thought about its shortcomings is the entirely valid, thought-out opinion I'm advocating for. And I know you well enough to know you're a thinker, and don't just leap to a position without thinking it through first.
But yeah, haters gonna hate. That's all I have to say about it.
As you say, haters gonna hate. But if they're gonna hate for stupid, unjustified reasons, I'm going to call them out on it. ;) Hating something because it is worthy of hatred is having a valid opinion. Hating something simply because somebody told you you should hate it, or to be contrary because somebody told you you should love it, is silly and ridiculous.
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