Movies, Hasbro, and the fandom · 3:06am Feb 9th, 2013
Note to anyone reading my in-progress stories: Derpy's Human is coming along on schedule, the next chapter of Bronygeddon is close, and after that I'll be back on Spiraling Upwards. But for right now, I'm more interested in non-fanfic things. . . mostly.
Apparently there's a made-for-tv movie in the works. This is a good thing, as well as season 4 being 26 episodes. That seems to suggest that more Canon Content is considered profitable and desirable by the powers that be of ponies. I'd still prefer to see an OAV released directly to video, because I think then it could be a little more brony-centered. But it's all good news.
Now for something more negative. Hasbro has sent a C&D letter to Mane6 to shut down Fighting is Magic. And we also haven't seen Derpy in a while. And there are all the reports of their being reluctant to allow the talent to go to conventions. The picture I'm getting is of a company so ravenously protective of its brand that they want as much control over the content as possible. If Fimfiction were send a C&D, I would not be shocked. Increasingly I've come to doubt the good faith of Hasbro. I don't think they intended MLP:FIM to be good. I think they wanted another toy commercial, and happened to hire people who care about their work. All the big names involved in the production seem like nice people. All the hidden names involved in the distribution seem like bureaucrats. This may not be fair, but I believe in judging on the evidence available.
And now, without segue, one more thing.
The last point I have tonight was originally a comment on EQD that wouldn't post for whatever reason. They wrote an editorial about how important content filtration was to keeping a quality blog. I think they're right, but within limits.
Every morning, I go to work. When I do, I accept the rules of the office, including listening to what the boss says, even if it's not right or logical. This is right and proper, since I'm producing something (labor) that they are buying from me. In the same way, a company open to the public produces for them, and show deference and respect to their customers.
Art and creativity are somewhat like that. If you make a show or a movie, you've got to play to what people want and what they should want. But creativity on the internet is different.
I would like to see a movement towards "creativity as consumption." On a site like this, I don't regard my readers as customers that I have to satisfy. I think that readers and commenters are the production side, and writers are the consumption side. It's the same on derpibooru. When I view an image, I think I owe it to the artist to make a nice comment. I write for pleasure, and I enjoy all the feedback I get from you. But you're not the reason I write.
What I would like to see come about, both on the web in general and in the ponysphere in particular are blogs dedicated to hyping whatever is submitted to them. EQD disclaims that it's not their job to make submitters popular. That mantle should be taken up elsewhere. There are enough creative people in the fandom to make a consumer base of their own. We just need someone to produce the audience.
I don't even know how I'd react if they tried to take FimFiction down. Is that even legal..? Last I checked, FimFiction is doing anything BUT making money from this site.
Oh. Well... I guess this post is how I find out about Mane 6... Dang. Just dang, man. Still, I want to believe that this thing has enough momentum that at the very least there'll be another strategic leak.
This is a very interesting idea and I already sort of agree with it, though I'm still in the process of unpacking it. I do think this is something we'll see a lot more of simply because of the tools and access that are available.
I think there's a sort of intersectionality going on with information tech and the distribution of goods this makes possible: I was at a party the other week where a one-man brewing company set up a tiny bar, providing his various artisinal brews for a modest donation, and we exchanged business cards and had a long talk about this very idea. Throw in 3D printing and blah blah blah you know the rest.
Everyone knows Jaron Lanier, and while I don't always agree with him, I think he's in fine form here talking about this trend: Link
Or in Arthur C. Clarke's words, "The goal is full unemployment, so we can play."
As I posted on another blog about the C&Ds:
""Trademark rights can also be lost through improper licensing or assignment. Where the use of a trademark is licensed (for example, to a franchisee) without adequate quality control or supervision by the trademark owner, that trademark will be canceled."
AKA - Not protecting your trademarks will result in cancellation because of lack of, "Quality control or supervision."
Posted by The Guy on the Fighting is Magic site.
So it's either, we get the fan stuff or Hasbro loses it's trademark.
809416 They will do so regardless to show their power.
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That's really not my complaint. If it were all about the money, then I would agree to try to start a kickstarter and buy a license. But I don't think that Hasbro wants a My Little Pony fighting game out there at any price. This is their brand and it's about pleasantries, not irony, no matter how well it's done.
Of course, you could make this exhibit A in the case of how patents, copyrights, and trademarks are a huge anachronism. The purpose of them is to encourage creativity. Their upshot is to stifle it.
809548
Interesting stuff at the link, and I love the Clarke line. It actually relates to why I'm such a Conversion Bureau/Optimalverse junkie. Allow me to quote myself: