Things I'd like to see on MLP: The Harry Potter Effect · 2:18am Oct 27th, 2013
Continuing along with this I don't know how many part series of blogs, I present to you the next thing I'd like to see on the next and upcoming seasons of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. It's something I have personally christened "The Harry Potter Effect".
I have a feeling there are a lot of Bronies who are also into Harry Potter. That's good so I don't have to explain a lot. But why is that? Bronies are probably the most well known fandom to be made up of grown men enjoying a media directed towards children. To a certain extent, the same can be said about Harry Potter. If you're like a twenty-something now and only now have decided to get on the Harry Potter bandwagon (kind of like Leonard on that one episode of The Big Bang Theory) than you'd have to start with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, which is pretty much a children's book. It's more of an old-fashioned children's book since children's books these days are afraid of being too dark. Interestingly enough, grown men who read Harry Potter don't get as much flack as Bronies do.
Anyway, Harry Potter is unique among children's literature because the books mature along with their audience. It took about a decade for J.K. Rowling to write Harry Potter. If you were 10 when the first book was released, then you were about twenty when you were waiting in line at midnight outside Barnes and Nobles when the seventh book was finally released. At least I was. Harry and the things that he does and happens to him become more mature as the books progress. In the first couple of books, he's just a kid thrown into this fantastic world. In the fourth, fifth, and sixth, he becomes interested in the fairer sex. In the fifth book, he goes on a date with a girl, which did not end well. (To this day, despite all the horrible things that happen to Harry Potter in the course of the books, I feel that is the worst thing to happen to him! I think it's the normality of it. It could happen to any of us. Oh dear goodness.)
Moving on. In the fourth, he witnesses someone die for the first time. And continues to deal with people dying in every subsequent book of the series! He goes from being just a kid at a school to the center of a war tearing apart the Wizarding World! By the very end of the series... um... how do I say this without spoiling anything?... You see that someone has grown up and now has a fully-realized adult life. And you realize it's you! Hopefully. As you can see, the books grew up with their audience.
TVTropes.org merely lists Harry Potter under the trope of Audience Shift, which refers generally to the audience of a work changing over time in anyway. I feel that this shift in Harry Potter is particularly unique. You don't see it that often, and I guess it takes a genius like J.K. Rowling to pull it off well. I think there should be a specific name for a work that grows up or matures with its audience.
I hereby christen it The Harry Potter Effect.
I would like to see MLP pull off The Harry Potter Effect.
Now, the writers of MLP of fully aware and very encouraging of MLP's adult fanbase. So far, they've done a very good job of writing a show that appeals to both children and adults. However, I feel there some things that MLP lacks that appeals more to adult viewership. Beyond the Grand Galloping Gala arc from Season 1, they haven't really had any story arcs. Beyond Discord's return in "Keep Calm and Flutter On", they haven't had a villain last more than one two-part episode, and that's probably only because Discord was such a popular villain. You don't see them trying to unravel some kind of mystery that often. Really only in "The Magic of Friendship", "A Canterlot Wedding", and "Magical Mystery Cure". And I agree with many people that the problem in "Magical Mystery Cure" was solved too quickly. I'd like to see all these things brought together. I'd like to see a mystery solved over an overarching story arc with a villain behind it. Now before you say that would be too complex for a children's show, recall that it is exactly what they did on Gargoyles back in the day and what they do on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles these days.
I'm sure that the writers of MLP know full well that the most devoted of their target demographic are growing up as well. Let's say that a member of MLP's target demographic, little girls, was 10 years old when MLP premiered in 2010. She'd be 13 years old right now going into Season 4. Now, I won't claim to be an expert on the minds of young women, but I have some insights from having a younger sister. Anyway, that young pegasister is probably craving more complex storytelling and stories about more mature issues that she can relate to. Otherwise she'll just stop watching, considering the show to be too childish. She'd also be less inclined to buy MLP merchandise. The writers of MLP and Hasbro probably know this. It would be in their best interest to have the show start growing up with its audience. Now, I admit that it's probably very tricky to have the show mature to appeal to its maturing audience while keeping it kid-friendly enough to attract and maintain new viewers that might be younger. I have no doubt that the writers behind MLP, being as skilled as they've shown themselves to be, can pull this off.
As I mentioned in a previous blog, the synopsis for the Season 4 premiere sounds like this premiere is meant as a new beginning. As such, this is the perfect time for the show to start growing up. This is especially appropriate if Twilight Sparkle becoming an alicorn princess (and apparently remaining so) is meant as a sign that she's growing up. Megan McCarthy has already tweeted that this season will feature an episode dealing with disabilities. Already this season does seem on that track. But they can do more. I think it's time to have an episode deal with death, very likely the death of Applejack's parents. I'm sure there a lots of other dramatically interesting things they can deal with as well. My hope is that they are really making an effort to pull off what I'm suggesting.
God bless you all. God bless America. And God bless Equestria.
That's quite a fitting term you created: "The Harry Potter Effect".
I would definitely like to see the show start to mature further. And it seems season 4 might be taking that route with the disabilities episode (which I think involves Scootaloo). I'd also think it would be interesting to see a season-long arc with a returning villain. It would definitely be an interesting change for the series and would add to the "new beginning" feel that the season 4 opener seems to be setting up.
1457045 I see we are in agreement.