The Derpy Brouhaha -- Again · 2:13am Mar 1st, 2012
Today we finally got some kind of word from somebody who actually knows something about why and how the decision to edit Derpy was actually made. See here: Amy Keating Rogers Response to Derpy Hooves
This has sure stirred up a mix of feelings in me. I'm glad we finally got some kind of word -- not official, but at least informed -- from somebody at Hasbro. I still wish it had come a couple of weeks sooner.
I'm glad that the people involved put a lot of thought and consideration into their decision about changing the episode. I'm incredibly frustrated that after investing all that thought and consideration they still ended up making a bad decision and doing the wrong thing.
I'm infuriated to learn that this was caused by a whopping ten (count em!) negative emails. I want us all to think carefully about the implications of that. . . . If I get 10 friends together (or better yet, register 10 free mail accounts), can I get more stuff edited out of the show? The potential is endless.
Zecora: offensive racial stereotype
pilot episodes: Celestia = white, NMM = black, how racist is that?
Snails: goofy looking, goofy sounding, made a dumb and destructive mistake, and his cutie marks shows that he is "slow"
Screw Loose: making fun of mental illness
Pinkamena: making fun of mental illness
Flutterguy: gender confusion!
Discord episodes: clearly too scary and confusing for small children (TV-Y rating = 2yrs and up!)
Now that the precedent has been set, I'm sure a handful of people could get any or all of these offensive elements edited out of the show. And with a bit more work it might be possible to get FiM scrapped completely! Then we could get it rebooted and have a MLP:G5 show that offends nobody -- with ponies that giggle and have tea parties and giggle and play dress-up and giggle.... (just like MLP:G3, now that I think about it)
Seriously? Are some people that easily offended? Nobody seemed to have a problem with Patrick Star being slow and dumb as a rock in Spongebob. Come to think of it, they even made a few references to him having mental problems. Perhaps this is a conspiracy...