Deconstruction is Magic: A My Little Pony Retrospective (S1E11)

Grrrrrrrrrrrrreetings everypony, and welcome back to Deconstruction is Magic, my Retrospective/Review/Analysis of every episode of My Little Pony: Friendship is magic ever. Today, we have a touchstone of the series, the epic event that is Winter Wrap Up! Without wasting any more time, let's get on with the analysis! I am the Mage of Mind, reminding you, as always, that even a cheeseburger can be deconstructed to its source.

I've mentioned worldbuilding quite a bit in my reviews so far. I try not to get too repetitive, as each episode has many different qualities to be examined in this little deconstruction of mine. However, with Winter Wrap-Up, the focus of the episode is the worldbuilding, and it does an incredible job of it! I've talked before about how the Ponies use magic as a form of science, moulding the weather and directly participating in maintaining a healthy ecosystem. Winter Wrap up is part of this, and the episode gives us a unique cultural perspective of Ponyville through it. Because Ponyville was founded by Earth Ponies, the seasons are changed physically, instead of using magic.

While later seasons would elaborate that magic is different for each of the three pony tribes, for the purpose of this episode, "magic" is used as a shorthand for Unicorn magic, which use spells to instantly transition seasons, or otherwise manipulate objects. This is shown toward the latter half of the episode, where Twilight's "come to life" spell goes haywire, causing Applejack to admonish her for using magic to give her a strength boost. While it's not directly stated, this episode can actually be used to illustrate the concept of Cultural Appropriation.

(Don't worry Twilight. I, too, would much rather remain naked.)

Cultural appropriation is defined as follows:

“the unacknowledged or inappropriate adoption of the customs, practices, ideas, etc. of one people or society by members of another and typically more dominant people or society.”

In this case, while Canterlot culture is to change the seasons via a spell, Ponyville culture is to make it a town-wide team effort, with all ponies working to the best of their ability to tackle one aspect of the transition. To use a magic spell would be to take the practice of manual weather change, and bend it to Twilight's own methods for her convenience. Now, I will acknowledge that this isn't a perfect 1:1 comparison. Twilight doesn't neccesarily represent a dominant social group who intends to take a minority cultural practice out of context, without due to care for respect toward the minorities.

Instead, Twilight is trying her hardest to find a use for herself within this new culture, so that she can make a difference, while also being respectful. This is what's called a cultural exchange. The power dynamic between Twilight, who is native to Canterlot, and the citizens of Ponyville is done so on equal terms, where Twilight is making an honest attempt to learn the Ponyville practices within their original context. This is an important lesson for children to learn, given that our lives are more multicultural than ever! It's not wrong to engage in another culture's practice. It's the difference between wearing a kimono to a Japanese food festival--where you learn about the cultural traditions from the Japanese people--and wearing a kimono for halloween with yellowface.

(That's one fine looking bird's nest... WHY DOESN'T MINE LOOK LIKE THAT?!)

I relate alot to Twilight in this episode. Fans of mine may recall that I wrote a fic that depicted Fluttershy and Scootaloo as having dyspraxia (see the tagged story for more details) and have hinted before that Twilight is on the autistic spectrum. Well, with her difficulties with physical coordination put her at a disadvantage for many of the required tasks. She wants responsibility, desiring to take part with this routine event as much as possible. But without using spells, she struggles to effectively manage what others find to be a breeze. Pinkie Pie's ice skating hit home especially, since it's something that requires tons of practice and balance!

Twilight gives it her all, but in her haste, she attempts to use a spell and ends up undoing much of Applejack's hard work. Some may see Applejack as being needlessly harsh in this case, but I think we should look at things from her perspective. She is an Earth Pony, a member of the same tribe that founded Ponyville. To use spells in place of hard work is seen as an insult to everything she puts in to Winter Wrap-Up! Of course, this doesn't mean that Twilight is bad, not by a long shot. The beauty of this show is that it demonstrates how ponies can screw up, hurting other pony's feelings, while still having good intentions. What makes Twilight a great pony is not that she's perfect, but rather, her sensitivity and drive to better herself, for the sake of her friends and all of Ponyville.

(Well, here are the snakes, but where are the badgers?)

I've mentioned before how Season 1 absolutely excells at slapstick comedy. While we do feel for Twilight, given how much she cares about Ponyville culture, it's hard not to laugh at her comedy of errors, as she stumbles from one misfortune into the next! A chain reaction of fails is something quite common to MLP. And, of course, I cannot talk about Winter Wrap-Up without the amazing musical number, introducing us to all the different functions of the event itself! Is it strictly necessary to be in song when we already see demonstrations later? Perhaps not, but it certainly captures the imagination, giving us a crash course in how every pony can aid in weather management, and not just the pegasi! It's catchy as all heck, with beautiful layered vocals that shows the love and enthusiasm the writers put into creating this world.

If I had to nitpick and find a flaw with this episode, it would be that the ban on magic use is a little too absolute to be practical. While automation spells are definately out of the question, why couldn't Twilight just use her magic to bolster her strength with the blow carts? Rather than making the whole thing automated, she could simply use her magic as an extension of her limbs, as Rarity does when levitating the materials for nest building. But even this is outshined by the episode's conclusion. Even if Twilight struggles with physical tasks, mental tasks like organisation are a walk in the park! This is something that adults can learn from, as well as children. Just because you aren't exceptionally athletic or handy-capable, doesn't mean you are useless! There are always ways to find your niche in everyday life, so long as there is enough support provided to facilitate them.

(Fly my pritties! Today, Equestria, tomorrow, ZE WORLD! MWUAHAHAHAHAHA!)

Conclusion

Winter Wrap-Up is without a doubt one of the best episodes of season 1, setting a high bar for all seasons to come. The worldbuilding is incredible, giving us rich details of Ponyville's customs, while contrasting it with the rest of Equestria. Twilight is a lovable goof, simaltaniously hilarious with her slapstick fails, and sympathetic with her struggles. Even if the rules over to what extent magic isn't allowed could be clearer, this is a very minor criritque on what is otherwise one of the defining moments in all of MLP! I give this episode a final score of 9.5/10!

What did you think of this episode? Is it worthy of the high praise I give it? Feel free to let me know in the comments of this blog! Until next time, stay safe, and take care all~.