Aug
15th
2014
Sometimes /mlp/ comes up with the good stuff · 9:44am Aug 15th, 2014
Some anon's analysis of why FiM is so popular (chances are you'll need to click on the derpibooru link to read it properly).
- Member Since 12th May, 2012
- offline last seen Last Thursday
archonix
Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists.
archonix
Joined 12th May, 2012 ·
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Definitely an interesting take on things.
It's a solid line of reasoning. And perhaps that the show espouses optimism, where tv wants to show us all the negative, the worst and the evils of the world, some place cries to be different, to show hope, optimistic tendencies? And I latched onto that as a drowning man to a liferaft.
2372215
You're not alone! What struck me about this show very much parallels the reason why I fell in love with the Cosby Show in the Eighties (yes, I'm that old!) – the show took each character and respected it as a whole person. The audience was there not to mock their foibles, but to experience living as a quiet member of the family, sharing in their gentle love of each other. This was very different from other sitcoms of the day, as MLP is from other cartoons in the present. In some of the best episodes of Cosby nothing happened, and it was great!
Not that there aren't some episodes of MLP that fail to respect this principle, but for the most part they've managed to keep to it, which is why I continue to watch.
2372230 The classic cosby, ah, now thats a throwback, and a darn good one. But yes, i wholeheartedly agree there. The show was something amazing, when shows like rosanne, would degrade each other so quickly over little things. Cosby would have some slice of life shows, even the serious one now and then, yet, it was and felt like a wholesome show you enjoyed.
Much like star trek in its ways, it was a way to get the family together and enjoy the time they spent together. And I don't have a single negative thing to say on either show.
Friendship is Magic as a triumphant example of New Sincerity. I like it.
Also interesting to note is that FiM's own "idiot character" does seem to learn from her mistakes. At the very least, she medalled in the Equestria Games.
2372230
I hadn't considered the comparison to The Cosby Show. That's some good, quality television and a good comparison.
Not sure I'd project that much of my dating troubles onto the show, but he's right about sincerity. Modern cartoons "for adults" are influenced by the Simpsons, Seinfeld, etc. and are painfully self-aware. They can be very funny, but always in a self-deprecating way. It's nice to have a show that isn't cynical but also isn't giving basic arithmetic lessons.
My Little Pony is already a tough sell for most guys because it's seen as the ultimate "girly" franchise, but this iteration doesn't talk down to a young audience or sneer at its own premise for the older kids' benefit. Compare with Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse, the other ultimate girls' franchise-turned-cartoon, which takes the more normal modern route and goes full-sarcasm. Their world is silly. Their stereotypes are ridiculous. They know this and use it to their advantage. The result isn't bad. It's just not endearing the way FiM is.
One objection, though: the author says the characters are stereotypes. I think it's the ways they break with stereotypes that endears us to them. Rarity is high-strung and ambitious, but she'll set her own needs aside for her friends. Twilight is snarky and OCD, but her relationships motivate her to be a better person and a tireless leader. Even Pinkie Pie occasionally gets an episode like "Baby Cakes" that contrasts her public persona with her more human doubts and fears. It's that conflict between their virtues and flaws that makes them relatable and lovable.
That reminds me of the section Don't turn flaws into characters in something I wrote when I first started watching pony, but before I'd discovered fimfiction. So I just posted it to my blog.
2373339 Oddly enough I was just reading that when you left your reply. It'll take a couple of go-overs to fully digest, but it's an interesting essay.
2372234 2372230
Oh man, the Cosby show. I barely remember any of it but I used to watch that show like it was the only thing keeping me alive. It was brilliant.
That sincerity (or the new such, per 2372310) is what draws me to FiM as well. It's unironically happy and innocent and joyful. Joyful. It doesn't care what you think about it: it just is. So much of the world lacks joy. We're supposed to be very adult and serious and not enjoy things without feeling guilty or judged in some way, or whispering self-defacing deconstructionist shibboleths in order to justify our joy to the rest of the world.
2373361
Yep. And that's so rare in TV entertainment today. I like Fox TV, but I blame them some for the level of irony, sarcasm, cruelty, and reliance on stupidity for humor. They took it to a new level with "Simpsons", "Married with Children", & "South Park".
2373361, 2373394, 2372234
Sheez. I'm old enough to remember when optimism was normal.