My One Thought on "Rainbow Rocks"

The theremin:

Is the perfect instrument for Twilight Sparkle. I mean, it's a mess of tubes and wires, it sounds peculiar, and you don't need fingers to play it. I'd give any movie with a theremin joke a passing grade, but yeah, while I thought the first movie was OK, this one's a bit better than that.

Mike

Comments

[FanOfMostEverything]

I was hoping Derpy would play one. We've seen how well she works with electricity. Still, the saw worked too.

[Sirius_Face]

The second movie feels like it offers more. I would definitely say it's better than the first one.

[Honeycomb]

Seriously, imagine playing the theremin with multiple magically-controlled floating objects at once. The precision would be amazing.

[Skywriter]

Agreed that:

This is the superior movie.[1] While it's clear that we would all like a real pony movie, "Rainbow Rocks > Equestria Girls" seems to be the general consensus opinion, with a minority dissenting camp of "hate the first one hate the second one hate all Equestria Girls equally which is to say always and forever."

Some vocal members of the minority dissenting camp have not and do not intend to watch the film, which is admittedly understandable, though I have never completely figured out the mentality that says "I am confident I can assemble a comprehensive list of this film's flaws without seeing it."

[1] I can see why you do that; it's fun!

[PresentPerfect]

That was a real stand-out moment, I tell ya.

[AugieDog]

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The musical saw:

Was indeed another fine, fine moment. As for multiple magically-controlled objects and theremin playing, I'd hafta take it a step further and have multiple theremins as well. 'Cause that's the only problem with the theremin: you can't do harmony on it. But with four or five of the things and four or five levitating marimba mallets, I think Twilight could revolutionize the entire concept of sound.

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The only "blue pencil" I had to take to the film involved Twilight's role. I would've had Twilight actually reach out to Sunset for help in that midnight scene they share in the Pie family's kitchen. This would've allowed Twilight to do something that a Princess of Friendship should be doing, would've let us have scenes of Twilight and Sunset growing increasingly more upset with each other when they can't come up with a spell-song, and would've given Sunset's epiphany when they're all trapped under the stage a more cumulative feel: it would've become a friendship lesson that we would've been watching her learn throughout the second half of the film. It also would've given a little extra heft to the epiphany Twilight has a moment later.

In short, the film reminded me of about half of Season 2: enjoyable, yes, but coulda used one more run through the word processor...

Mike

[PresentPerfect]

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I still say going through the portal erases half of Twilight's character. That's why she needed Spike there to constantly remind her she was the Princess of Friendship, even if she never friendshipped or princessed once during the whole thing.

[AugieDog]

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It might be:

That Humanian skulls are smaller than Equestrian skulls. This looks like a job for a trained phrenologist!

Mike

[Aquillo]

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This would've allowed Twilight to do something that a Princess of Friendship should be doing, would've let us have scenes of Twilight and Sunset growing increasingly more upset with each other when they can't come up with a spell-song, and would've given Sunset's epiphany when they're all trapped under the stage a more cumulative feel: it would've become a friendship lesson that we would've been watching her learn throughout the second half of the film. It also would've given a little extra heft to the epiphany Twilight has a moment later.

That's not the point of the film, though, and wouldn't have actually fitted in with what was going on. Rainbow Rocks is an analysis on FiM's stance on groups, and in particular, the role of the leader; none of what you've suggested would've addressed that.

Most of what's in RR is easy to miss, and given that parts of what you've said suggest to me you have, I'm just going to run through it from the top. Apologies if I'm being patronising or rude -- I have more of an intention to just gush.

The first thing to realise is that Twilight is no longer the element of magic within the EqG universe. That role has been taken up by Sunset Shimmer. Note that this doesn't take place over the course of the movie, but before it. There's a few things that hint at this, but the most indisputable is Sunset's immunity to the Dazzling's song magic -- this cannot be from her equestrian heritage as equestrians themselves were the first to fall victim to the Dazzlings, and so by all accounts she should be fully under their spell. The only thing shown to protect against them is embodying an Element of Harmony; hence, Sunset embodies one. That it is magic becomes clear when the metaphorical role of the music is taken into account.

I'm only going to take the two largest, and thus most verifiable, metaphorical strands from the music here. There's a lot of other things in the music itself, but this is probably going to be long enough as is without me going into them.

The Dazzlings are a group of individuals with co-aligned goals: they infight, bicker and clearly can't stand each other -- they are not friends -- and the way in which they sing reflects this: one main strand of melody with two backing voices meandering around in full polyphony, each voice perfectly capable of breaking off to form its own song but, for now, singing just one. Their musical style is a reflection of what they are as a group -- they sing one song but they don't really sing it together; they're all doing their own thing.

In contrast, the Rainbooms all play different instruments but maintain only one melodic strand, are each one of them different and yet manage to play as one -- in essence, they harmonise. A group of people who are all different that work together to form harmony -- it's a bit more subtle that the usual bleating it out through the song lyrics, but this is the sole work of "False Cadence" Ingram, so that's not really a surprise.

And thus the part where Sunset is magic becomes clear as Sunset finally sings, because she and Twilight sing in unison -- as one voice with no difference; in essence, fulfilling the same role within the band that is group. In terms of RR's music metaphor, they are one being, and as Twilight is magic, so Sunset is too.

There's also the larger clue that each element fires individually when Twilight is singing (Fluttershy's Butterfly Blast, Rarity's Piano Pounder & co), but it takes Shimmer before the rainbow actually appears; and that Sunset takes Twilight's place in the band after Twi left. She embodies an EoH, and that element is magic.

This should change your perception of what Sunset's arc is throughout RR, and in particular, the climax of it. It's not about her coming to the cumulative realisation about what's tearing the group apart -- she says out loud that she's seen it for a while now; already knew that it was happening, but felt it wasn't her place to tell them.

What her arc is about is best shown though the fact that she could see it and told no-one -- that even before divulging, she looked to Twilight first; that she emphasised her own inability to understand friendship whilst giving a lesson even Twilight couldn't see.

It's because season three made clear through Celestia's words that friendship is magic is leader, and though Sunset has friends and is now magic, she does not accept her role as leader -- rejects it out of fear and tries to find someone else to fill it. Her arc is about her coming to grips with this and accepting her role in the group, as well as in the larger group (aka, the school) that the Rainbooms are part of.

As for Twilight not doing Princessy things, well, her role in RR isn't as the central character, but as a catalyst -- it's not accidental that she takes on the role of Celestia to Sunset's Twilight in the end. Confusing this happens because she so often is that you expect her to be -- there's a good reason we don't see one purple hair of her until the movie's one quarter in. There's equally good reason why Twilight "break into song before the hat even fell" & "became a Princess for writing a spell" Sparkle can't write the song-spell -- it's not her place to because she doesn't embody magic for the EqG group.

And that's that done. As you might have guessed, I have had slightly more than one thought on RR most of which are probably wrong.

Also, hello, long time no talk, how are you

[AugieDog]

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And hello to you!

Gushing is good: I'm all for it.

Mike