For some time now, two obsessions have haunted me. The other is called philosophy, the other is know as the land of Equestria. It's not hard to see where I'm going with this: I wish to write a philosophy about the ponies. That is, I wish to incorporate philosophical analysis to dissect the world we're all so fond of, to unravel this seemingly simple cartoon in not-so simplistic ways.

There is a problem, though, and that is the nature of the very thing every philosophy strives to master: tha nature of interpretation itself. I need a theory of interpretation. Does anypony here understand what I'm after?

So far, Nietzsche and Deleuze are the canonic philosophers from whom I have tried to find the answers I seek, and indeed they have presented some very intriguing concepts around the subject. And still, I find myself severly lacking in background material concerning the concept of interpretation.

Anypony else having problems like as these? Do you know a writer who has a theory about interpretation as such? Have you tried using philosophical theories to create an analysis of the series MLP: FIM? What merit there even is for such a mission?

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This is a very deep question, I think, as well as an important one. I have my own opinions, having endeavored with great fervor to interpret MLP in a beneficial way, and I have spent quite lot of time on this matter. However, I think that the question you are asking for might be difficult to answer over this tag-based form of conversation. rather, I think live discussion is what we need. You wouldn't happen to have Skype or something of that sort, would you?

2078236
It is an intriguing subject, no doubt, and I also found myself pondering on this from time to time. As for examples of what you are asking for, what I can offer are this group and its stories, founded by members of LessWrong.com. As you can tell, it focuses on the "art of human rationality" and it seems like the most ideal group for your case, as its forum and stories explore philosophical themes using the wold of Equestria, among other things. I think you'll find it to be useful.

Oh, there is also of course this particular article which I read about a year ago. In short, it tries to explain the society of Equestria through Plato's (ideal) Republic. Seemingly, it does quite an excellent job and some of the shared values and similarities between the two are striking, I must confess... I was prepared to praise Lauren Faust to the heavens when I first read it, but after she read the article this happened... Well, it cetainly killed my mood a little, although the whole affair is still quite intriguing!

Thirdly, people like Digibrony and Tommy Elliot might help with their thorough dissections of the show's episodes and canon in their youtube videos. Who knows, you might pick something up from them.

Hmm, these are the best sources that come to my mind right now. My opinion is that, since the show is primarily targeted towards younger audiences, building a whole philosophical analysis around it would be somewhat difficult. It does not make for a exceptionally strong foundation for such endeavours, as it is flat and simplistic in essence like you said, which makes finding theories of interpretation for it a complex task. It's difficult, but not impossible. Some have written stories that come close, as I stated above. (Although, the theory with Plato is probably enough as an inspiration.)

In any case, I applaud you for the fact that you are willing to attempt something of such enormity. Not many people are intellectually curious like this. I hope I helped and I wish you good luck.

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Thank you for the informative answer: I shall put the links you posted to good use. I was actually familiar with the Digibrony already and I agree with you that his material is certainly worth reading about.

I disagee with you on the fact, though, that interpretation would have anything to do with the "depth" of its object. Nor do I believe that interpretation stems solely from the subject who executes is, but that a third road exists, one that moves from the realism-relativism dichotomy into a completely different level. That is the hypothesis, anyway, and I must confess that right now this theory lives its infancy.

Still, it is my wish that, some day, I would be able to do my doctorate on the interpretation of the ponies. A wild dream, but I believe in free range farming, at least when it comes to the stuff dreams are made of.

Another very good (albeit partially outdated) article that analyzes Equestria's society from a Marxist point of view:
Solidarity is Illusion: The Political Evonomy of My Little Pony