DerpyGate 2012 - My Thoughts · 7:53am Feb 25th, 2012
If you're reading this, odds are you're aware of iTunes recently putting 'The Last Roundup' back in their catalog. Odds are you were aware of the whole Derpy scandal that was said to be the reason for that episode being removed in the first place. Odds are you're aware that while it has been put back on iTunes, the entire Derpy scene was changed with the removal of her name mention, the uncrossing of her eyes, and her voice being changed from the original.
While I'm not a fan of the change (I dislike any changes to cartoons due to 'political correctness'), I respect Hasbro's decision and do still thank them for the shout-out they did give us when the episode first aired. I can't say for sure if it'll be the last time or not, but for that moment, Hasbro did acknowledge we exist on a more grand scale. I'm not going to rant and rave about the people who complained about the scene, because isn't the whole mantra of the show 'Love and Tolerance?' If I was to start bitching and whining over this, then I wouldn't be any better than them. The reason for the blog is to remind everyone of one simple fact.
Derpy/Ditzy, whichever you prefer, is NOT going away.
Go to Ponibooru and do a search on her (may wanna put on filters if you're sensitive). Search the archives of this very website for stories that feature her. Go to Youtube and check out the fan-made videos that passionate and artistic bronies have made of her. I can assure that you'd be mind-blown over the sheer volume of material you'll find. And that volume is just going to expand.
Finally, that a look back to when she first started: a simple animation error among a sea of background ponies. After that, we gave her a name, a job, a daughter, an adoptive daughter, and a lover. She's as much a part of our canon as the mane-6 are. Derpy was never Hasbro's, she's ours. And she always well be, no matter what happens.
UPDATE: Here is the dA journal entry of Kreoss, an animator for the show. Just an interesting read with his take on the situation.
Well said
I'm personally infuriated by the change, because lets be honest, all it does is set a precedent. If those out there who hate the show got together and organized well enough, they could actually threaten the shows very existence. All they'd have to do is find enough things in each episode that could be considered "Offensive" and it all goes down the drain.
I personally think we should send a message to hasbro, similar to the NUTS campaign of the Jericho fanbase seen here. And they succeeded in getting their message across, and even managed to get seven more episodes for their series.
The only problem is I'm not exactly sure how we'd go about doing something similar.
19234 That's a bridge we'd have to cross IF we get there. I sincerely doubt that we'll get to that point given the episodes we've seen after 'The Last Roundup.' We may not have another Derpy-like character grace the show, but I think the basic formula will still remain the same. Besides, look at all the funded organizations that tried to take down shows like South Park and Family Guy. Actual professional organizations and the most I ever see of them is on an episode's wiki page saying 'So and so hated this episode because of blah blah blah.'
We can't do anything to change things right now because half the community wants to start riots and the other half just doesn't care. Once the majority has reach a consensus on a topic that would lead to the obvious downfall of the show, then we can start planning for how to counter it, hopefully with some sensible thinking.
I'm going into this the same way I did over a month ago when iTunes first removed the episode. The show is safe and Derpy lives on in fanon.
This is true, but this does present a window to those who hate the show. If they hadn't been able to get this far, they would have come to the conclusion that attacking the show wasn't going to get them anywhere. Now they know that it can.
also, because I feel this is on topic, a thought I posted onto a brony forum called Pony Central.
"Tolerance isn't being all horribly politically correct. Its basic premise is ignoring whatever qualities annoy you and moving on with life."
19274 That is tolerance in a nutshell. I really wish those who started this whole fiasco would have known that.
I wouldn't worry too much about people trying to attack the show. We're a lucky community in that we have pretty close ties to those behind the show. Once some brony notices a 'plan of pony genocide' on some anti-FiM website, the word will spread, it'll reach the animators and move up from there. The problem with the Derpy thing was that it was members from within our own community who were so upset about it, so that's how things happened they way they did.
19299
Wait, this is the fault of bronies!!!!?
TRAITORS!!!
........
I feel better now, but really really wish they would have gotten over themselves and went on with their lives.