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SPOILERS!!! INSIDER MLP FIM INFORMATION FOR FUTURE EPISODES!
14 years ago
"First rule of magic: Always be the smartest furry in the room."
... not.
Ok, now that I've got your attention, I just wish to make a statement; I have been aware of the MLP-related art that has been surfacing within the past few months; between all the Trollestia fanart and 20% cooler shrugging ponies, it's gone a REALLY long way since its inception in 2010-2011, from Episode A to Episode Z. (No lie! Exactly 26 episodes were used for Season 1). And with Episode 2-A just released (which I have yet to watch) and the final straw (the banner on FA), the time has come for me to state my official stance to this.
So guys,... yes. I admit it. I'm starting out the road to bronyism. Before you choose to sever our contact by unwatching and blocking me, I must also state that I have not taken this to the degree as is demonstrated by the stereotypical basement-dwelling loser who sits in his computer surrounded by plastic crap. But... you know... it could end up that way.
I've always thought that religion is one of the most powerful forms of inception ever executed on mankind; to achieve that level of followers over millenia is simply astounding, and with the advancements of mass media, even easier than ever. Though I do not wish to earn the ire of pretty much half the world in my words, I find the purely patriarchical religions as were advocated by Abraham to be... saddening to say the least. As a wise man once said, we all are slaves to our own passions. And I think religious ones are no exception.
But you might ask, what does this have to do with ponies? Well let me ask you another question in return. Suppose a TV show designed specifically for young girls not only becomes popular among that niche, but continues to expand in a runaway pace throughout entire demographics, causing even the hardest men to enjoy it thoroughly? Something as powerful as that, to incept so many worldwide... this in my opinion could make My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic one of the most powerful 21st century psychological weapons to be unleashed onto Man. As Oppenheimer once said, "it worked!"
I am by no means a psychologist. But I could become that. In the three years of performing illusions and taking on the graduate-level curriculum offered to me, I have earned substantial knowledge in reading others, but not only that; I have not been entirely blind to the patterns around me.
You see, here's what I've noticed. If you expect anything to be so popular, and especially be so popular at the rate MLP or (my other example) Angry Birds does, you need the following:
1. Cuteness. If you are considering their respective target audiences, this is the defining factor in both Angry Birds and MLP. I believe it is the pivotal reason for Angry Birds, resulting in the plush toys out there. However, we must be careful not to put so much sugar into our work that it turns people off by its cloying excess.
2. Understandability. Angry Birds got the point of the plotline across very succinctly. MLP clearly delineated the surroundings, characters and environment.
3. Qualities one can EASILY relate to. For Angry Birds, this is not as important, though one can sympathize with the birds' plight thereby helping them out more. But for MLP, this is probably even more important than cuteness. The original TV series made the mistake of not accounting for this facet, hence subsequently earning the ire of today's fans (20 years later).
One of the most fatal pitfalls that one can have when writing a story is the Mary Sue; in Matsuricon, someone mentioned this definition: a direct projection of self into the story with all your secret desires and none of the weaknesses. It is always important for a character to have some flaw in some way or another; as we are all flawed, we can understand someone better if that person is too; after all, can we associate ourselves with a perfect robot? I think that would creep us out. And same here with Mary Sues. The original played on the tastes of little girls of the 1980s, so Hasbro's not totally at fault to make all their ponies Mary Sues. But as for Lauren Faust... we see these ponies have significant character flaws that have been exploited numerous times throughout the first Season either for comical effect or for a good story plot. They are characters we all can relate to.
Of course, popularity is a two-edged sword. Once EVERYONE starts enjoying something so much, it is so easy to get bored of the thing and leave, or express so much disgust at the apparent human state that you become a hipster. Look what happened with Angry Birds. Though a good concept (and so portable) it was limited by the boundaries as provided by a mere online computer game, so it did not have as much room to reach out more (other than admittedly good merchandise).
As for MLP,
nikosei once mentioned something in her journal about the new banner (I must stress this is not of my opinion and purely hers; also, I make no accusations of character by stating this) that I took great interest to and found relevant to the topic at hand:
I'll be honest. I don't like MLP. Mostly because I tend to not like super-popular things. It annoys me when something is so popular that I hear it or see it every single day. I just don't like conformity and how people become overly obsessive about things.
That raises a good point. My prediction is that people will get tired of MLP:FIM proper and move on to other things. The only problem with this argument is that no one could have forseen the chain reaction that was executed on the internet because of this very show. To start, it is near-impossible to count the memetic mutations that have emerged on the Web (even excluding all the shippings seen in fanfics). For instance, I once read a fanfic of MLP based on Assassin's Creed I found very enjoyable. Also, to consider the level of depth people have taken to creating Derpy Hooves as a character in her own right was quite astounding for a cameo background pony with an animation error the higher-ups did not take notice of. I think that MLP provides very fertile ground for creativity that is sorely needed in this demographic; once the Nile flood of conformity wanes, we are then left with the black soil where ideas can take root.
I do hope this entry has given you some thoughts. I also dedicate this to the fellow newly-induced brony friends
vant_talon and 
zarelthewinddragon, whose induction to brony-hood I was also witness to.
Hoping you well,
Sean Skyhawk
Ok, now that I've got your attention, I just wish to make a statement; I have been aware of the MLP-related art that has been surfacing within the past few months; between all the Trollestia fanart and 20% cooler shrugging ponies, it's gone a REALLY long way since its inception in 2010-2011, from Episode A to Episode Z. (No lie! Exactly 26 episodes were used for Season 1). And with Episode 2-A just released (which I have yet to watch) and the final straw (the banner on FA), the time has come for me to state my official stance to this.
So guys,... yes. I admit it. I'm starting out the road to bronyism. Before you choose to sever our contact by unwatching and blocking me, I must also state that I have not taken this to the degree as is demonstrated by the stereotypical basement-dwelling loser who sits in his computer surrounded by plastic crap. But... you know... it could end up that way.
I've always thought that religion is one of the most powerful forms of inception ever executed on mankind; to achieve that level of followers over millenia is simply astounding, and with the advancements of mass media, even easier than ever. Though I do not wish to earn the ire of pretty much half the world in my words, I find the purely patriarchical religions as were advocated by Abraham to be... saddening to say the least. As a wise man once said, we all are slaves to our own passions. And I think religious ones are no exception.
But you might ask, what does this have to do with ponies? Well let me ask you another question in return. Suppose a TV show designed specifically for young girls not only becomes popular among that niche, but continues to expand in a runaway pace throughout entire demographics, causing even the hardest men to enjoy it thoroughly? Something as powerful as that, to incept so many worldwide... this in my opinion could make My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic one of the most powerful 21st century psychological weapons to be unleashed onto Man. As Oppenheimer once said, "it worked!"
I am by no means a psychologist. But I could become that. In the three years of performing illusions and taking on the graduate-level curriculum offered to me, I have earned substantial knowledge in reading others, but not only that; I have not been entirely blind to the patterns around me.
You see, here's what I've noticed. If you expect anything to be so popular, and especially be so popular at the rate MLP or (my other example) Angry Birds does, you need the following:
1. Cuteness. If you are considering their respective target audiences, this is the defining factor in both Angry Birds and MLP. I believe it is the pivotal reason for Angry Birds, resulting in the plush toys out there. However, we must be careful not to put so much sugar into our work that it turns people off by its cloying excess.
2. Understandability. Angry Birds got the point of the plotline across very succinctly. MLP clearly delineated the surroundings, characters and environment.
3. Qualities one can EASILY relate to. For Angry Birds, this is not as important, though one can sympathize with the birds' plight thereby helping them out more. But for MLP, this is probably even more important than cuteness. The original TV series made the mistake of not accounting for this facet, hence subsequently earning the ire of today's fans (20 years later).
One of the most fatal pitfalls that one can have when writing a story is the Mary Sue; in Matsuricon, someone mentioned this definition: a direct projection of self into the story with all your secret desires and none of the weaknesses. It is always important for a character to have some flaw in some way or another; as we are all flawed, we can understand someone better if that person is too; after all, can we associate ourselves with a perfect robot? I think that would creep us out. And same here with Mary Sues. The original played on the tastes of little girls of the 1980s, so Hasbro's not totally at fault to make all their ponies Mary Sues. But as for Lauren Faust... we see these ponies have significant character flaws that have been exploited numerous times throughout the first Season either for comical effect or for a good story plot. They are characters we all can relate to.
Of course, popularity is a two-edged sword. Once EVERYONE starts enjoying something so much, it is so easy to get bored of the thing and leave, or express so much disgust at the apparent human state that you become a hipster. Look what happened with Angry Birds. Though a good concept (and so portable) it was limited by the boundaries as provided by a mere online computer game, so it did not have as much room to reach out more (other than admittedly good merchandise).
As for MLP,
nikosei once mentioned something in her journal about the new banner (I must stress this is not of my opinion and purely hers; also, I make no accusations of character by stating this) that I took great interest to and found relevant to the topic at hand:I'll be honest. I don't like MLP. Mostly because I tend to not like super-popular things. It annoys me when something is so popular that I hear it or see it every single day. I just don't like conformity and how people become overly obsessive about things.
That raises a good point. My prediction is that people will get tired of MLP:FIM proper and move on to other things. The only problem with this argument is that no one could have forseen the chain reaction that was executed on the internet because of this very show. To start, it is near-impossible to count the memetic mutations that have emerged on the Web (even excluding all the shippings seen in fanfics). For instance, I once read a fanfic of MLP based on Assassin's Creed I found very enjoyable. Also, to consider the level of depth people have taken to creating Derpy Hooves as a character in her own right was quite astounding for a cameo background pony with an animation error the higher-ups did not take notice of. I think that MLP provides very fertile ground for creativity that is sorely needed in this demographic; once the Nile flood of conformity wanes, we are then left with the black soil where ideas can take root.
I do hope this entry has given you some thoughts. I also dedicate this to the fellow newly-induced brony friends
vant_talon and 
zarelthewinddragon, whose induction to brony-hood I was also witness to. Hoping you well,
Sean Skyhawk
