Is the Fandom Dying? · 11:58pm Dec 3rd, 2014
Maybe I'm being farsighted, I don't know. It just seems like the brony fandom has rather... lost its thunder for lack of better words. Three years ago everything was cool and the fandom seemed to be in the limelight of the internet all the time, was exciting to write and talk about, but now... not so much. It very well could be attributed to the long absence of new episodes we are currently stuck in, but it just seems more than usual that there's less cool stuff coming out, less people, less everything than in past lull periods.
Season 4 was good and all, but idk the the very ending of the finale seemed to give off the jumping the shark vibes a bit. But once again, this is coming from a seriously depressed lonely 21 year old college student who has a pretty bad drinking problem. My views are probably skewed.
Three years ago I would never have thought I'd still be apart of this. MLP has been a positive force in my life through some pretty dark times, one of the best ways to abscond from reality imo. Few things have helped me feel better than the extremely jovial positive cheer of the show. It may have even saved my life at times. But these days I see more and more old friends and people leaving the fandom, and it really makes me feel all the more depressed to consider that it might in fact be declining. It is sooooooo important to me, probably too much so, and the consideration of this simply hurts inside.
Will the fandom die out someday? Yes, and probably not completely until the series is over. All good things come to an end at some point. But it's depressing to feel like it'll never be the same, never have the same "magic" (as cheesy as that sounds) as it used to.
Maybe the fandom will rebound once season 5 starts, and maybe season 5 will be great, I hope it will, idk.
Is there any merit to this? Or am I completely insane and overtly oversensitive. Please, don't hesitate to tell me I'm wrong if I am.
I don't think it's dying. Its just the delay of new episodes.
What it seems like to me is that the world is getting bored with making fun of us, so now we don't have something to rally behind and come together about. Maybe I'm over thinking it but that is what I feel.
What's the opposite of rose-tinted glasses? I think you've got those on, whatever they are. :)
How was the season 4 finale "jumping the shark?" If anything, the fan excitement surrounding it was greater than anything I'd seen in any previous finale. We had an epic battle with a classic villain, tying in to continuity from previous seasons and previous *series*. We had big changes - Twilight's new castle and the loss of her old library - that nevertheless built on developments that have been progressing throughout recent seasons. None of that felt like a ratings grab or a desperate attempt to "shake things up" to draw a hip new audience, IMO . Consider the fan reaction after season 3's abbreviated season and rushed finale, if you want a real "fandom is dying!" feel that's the place to go.
And then we had a fantastic movie just a matter of months ago, which injected fresh new things - Sunset Shimmer's a new fan favourite and just look at how many Sonata-loves-Taco fics are showing up.
I think perhaps the fandom hasn't been growing as rapidly as it has previously right now. But that's normal, you find S-curve growth patterns everywhere in nature. That's not dying, though. We're in the depths of the Hiatus, there isn't a huge draw to bring new fans in and keep existing fans quite so thoroughly engaged. The movie helped, but we probably will see things stay kind of muted until the new season starts.
okay then
2632105 the show is what is killing this fandom
I dunno about dying, but maturing works. In a fandom's heyday they will have far more people because it's the popular thing. But as more episodes come out, that dies off. New fans will discover the show, but maybe they will be less rabid than the heyday fans.
2632141 Perhaps, but like I implied when I said my views are skewed. I think about suicide daily so I'm probably not in my right mind.
You're just jaded.
It'll only die if we let it.
2632486
Exactly, I mean Trekkies were around long after the show was done, but before the reboot happened.
Same with whatever Star Wars fans are called (though they've always had the many, many, many, pieces of expanded universe to keep them sedated).
A fandom will remain alive as long as the fans are still fans.
As long as we enjoy the series, and keep doing what we're doing, even after Gen 4 finishes, and even if/when gen 5 happens, the fandom will be around.
Though, the wait for season 5 is making recruitment harder, but we'll probably see a boost in new members of the herd when the show starts again.
2632486
2632502
You're probably right. Perhaps I am a bit jaded as well, it's just from my perspective it seemed to be declining. Part of that is the fact that I've been apart of it for so long now, and I had many friends I guess here at one time. But most of them have left now, and it feels rather sad and empty.
I do hope though that season 5 will help revive things.
2632216 Well said, that's likely to be true as well.
2632533
Trust me, I know the feeling of friends leaving.
Someone you helped, someone you really thought had something.
Someone who doubted themselves, someone who eventually just decided to leave, and leave behind nothing they had worked so hard on.
It doesn't feel good, but you can't let that get you down.
As long as you're having fun, that's all that matters.
2632547 Words of wisdom there, except with me there's the problem that I can't really have fun anymore if it doesn't involve being fucked up in some way, usually per the bottle.
2632299 Oh dear. Have you spoken to anyone in RL about those suicidal thoughts? If not friends and family, perhaps your local doctor, or a support line? If it's a persistent and troublesome feeling it might be a symptom of something treatable. Maybe something as simple as Seasonal Affective Disorder (assuming you're in the northern hemisphere somewhere), maybe something in need of a bit more than improved lighting. I've known people with depression of various sorts and one of the most insidious things about it is that it makes you think it can't get better.
2632533 None of us are the same people we were five or ten years ago. Sometimes that personality churn takes us to different interests, so there's going to be a continuous flow of people in and out of the fandom even when it's growing overall. We've just got to keep on making new friends and finding new stories of interest as we go.
2632556
Well, if push comes to shove, we're here to help you.
That's why this is such a great group, they'll always make you feel better.
2632570 Oh I've tried to help myself plenty. I've spoken to all sorts of therapists, psychiatrists, family, friends, tried all sorts of antidepressants, the whole shebang, nothing has really helped. Yes, I live in the United States in a northern state where it snows a lot, and it's definitely a bit more depressing in the fall and wintertime, but I generally feel like crap year round so it's not really seasonal effective disorder. I honestly think I've been depressed for half my life to some degree, but my mind has especially deteriorated in the last couple years since I've gone to college, and as a result I've turned to a lot of substance abuse.
Not only can I not write anymore due to complete lack of energy and motivation, I can't really do anything anymore. My grades are starting to suffer and I feel completely doomed with nobody really to talk to. I have friends in RL, but I feel too ashamed to really talk it about it much with them for fear of judgement. I've completely shut myself in and have become very antisocial, and sometimes I feel like I'm descending into psychosis or dementia at the ripe old age of 21.
Sad and pathetic, I know.
2632584 Nobody here really cares though. 'Tis the nature of the internet.
2632604
Trust me, it's not uncommon to feel that way, but they really do.
They've helped me out of many jams, and are just great overall.
2632608 I'm not asking for pity though. Pity isn't going to help anything, I probably deserve to feel like I do anyway, for being a piece of shit in general.
2632596 Your college almost certainly has a counselor of some sort. Even if they can't make things great, I think it might be helpful if you'd swing by and let him know that you're suffering from depression - he might at least know of some ideas to help you make it through college, or help with your substance abuse, after which life opens up again and perhaps you'll find some other way. I know a lot of people suffer from the sudden change in lifestyle that going to college entails, especially from the dissociation that it causes. The counselor will have no doubt dealt with similar cases before.
Just give him a ping and see what happens.
2632656 Oh I've already done that too. I've done almost anything you can think of. And besides it's too late to really change my major now, I'm committed. If I do I won't graduate on time and that looks bad to future employers. If I want to have a decent future I need to stick to what I'm doing, which really is just super depressing and debilitating, but I don't have much of a choice now.
I'm sorry to be such a pessimist and I appreciate in you trying to help, but almost every way you look at it, I hit a wall. I'm doomed. I feel like if there was anyone who could truly justify taking their own life, I would be near the top of list.
2632619
Nobody's offering it, they're offering help.
2632667 Well, I actually finished my university degree before I realized that I hated the concept of a career in my then-chosen field (I enjoyed *learning* about it, not so much *doing* it) and so after taking a year to regather my financial resources I went back and took a supplementary degree that got me into a career I actually liked (it was related so it didn't take a full four years the second time around). So try not to feel too doomed! Once you've come out the other side of this there will be new options.
I think it has more to do with the absence of episodes right now, this lull has occurred in both of the previous off seasons, once there's actually something to talk about we'll see it pick up again.
The other problem right now is that there isn't much left for the show to do that it hasn't already done besides some kind of epic, season long adventure arc. There just isn't much speculation and some people are STILL pissed over the Twilicorn thing, and the EG things.
And buddy, if you need to talk I'm sure we'd be willing to put up with a few sadsack blog posts here and there.
2632674 Well, I put a detailed thread in the group about my issues. If you like, see for yourself if people will be able to help. I don't even know if that was the right thing to do in the group. We'll also see if anyone cares or not.
2632802
I just saw it, and it looks like plenty do.
2632877 I see it just as charity and pity.
I think a part of the problem is that there aren't any new episodes to play off of and we've been a fandom for a few years now so the hype is mostly over. We've reached a point where it's no longer the cool thing to be a brony, so to speak, and that means that it's here and now that is most important. If we all just sort of sit around and let our Flames of Youth die out than the community as a whole will wither and die. However, if we stand together and continue being the amazing bronies I know we are then even if the fandom takes a backseat to other things, like real life, it will continue to blaze on in our hearts.
I'd say that overall things have improved as far as the show is concerned (remembering that the writers are doing their damnedest to somehow reasonably incorporate the buy-our-toys plots and set pieces).
2632667
2632704
Sounds like me a year ago. Long story short, after some intensive therapy, a med change, and a semester-long medical leave (drop) I'm hoping to return to school and eventually finish in another year or two (after the 3.5 I've already put in). Unfortunately it took me a meltdown to realize that I'd put up a barrier to avoid shame for something that I don't have full control of. It was an unpleasant process, but looking back, I'd finally gotten sick and tired of being sick and tired. Working to change myself ain't easy, but I'm in a better place than where I was a year ago.
People say this every hiatus. The fandom was supposed to die when 4chan started banning pone, then when Faust left, then when Cadance shattered what was left of the Faust headcanon, then when Twilicorn and the 65 episode syndication mark was hit, then when EqD started getting sequels and the main series would be cancelled.
What's happened is called "leveling out." Pretty much everyone who wants to watch ponies, is. The show and fandom have hit market saturation--everyone knows about it and has made up their mind regarding it. At this point, "fan churn" is in effect--as old members of the fandom somehow miraculously leave the ride, new people who are joining the internet or becoming more immersed in internet culture are just finding out about it and joining.
When the show eventually ends--the real fun begins. The doomsdayers will see its their time to shine and shitstorms will become very, very common. There'll be petitions, and rants and all those wonderful dramas. There'll probably even be a growth in the fandom thanks to all the dust that's kicked up. Gen 5 will ultimately decide what happens. If there's a consensus it's good, the fandom will join the illustrious ranks of trekies, whovians and whatever Star Wars fans are called as a true never ending ride that will ride along side the franchise.
But if Hasbro can't bottle lightning twice and Gen 5 sucks, the balkanization will first set in--those that like Gen 5 verses those that don't. That drama will kill off a good part of the "casuals/bandwagoners." For a true "fandom death," the Gen 5 haters must be quite a bit larger than those who like it--otherwise, Gen 5 haters merely join Genwunners and the fandom takes on an appearance similar to its Pokemon counterpart.
Those that enjoy Gen 5 will settle into a small niche similar to what pony was like in 2010--perhaps even starting the whole cycle over again; while the Gen 4 folk will probably overwhelm Fimfiction and turn it and various other parts of the internet into a haven for fans of Gen 4. That's the extend of the fandom's true death.
In other words, it'll never truly die. There will always be fanfic writers. Fanartists. And fansites. The only question is how many.
26349
If you mean Gen 4 vs Gen 5 in the sense of the relation between 3 and the current one, I doubt Hasbro can one up that. They'd be better off trying to pull in new characters and eventually phase out the mane six as the central focus of the show.
I suspect the fandom may be fading, to a degree, in the same way that most interest and fascination does eventually. The lack of new episodes likely contributes to a measure of stagnation. The dust settles and it becomes clear how many people are deeply invested and those who aren't. Just because there are thousand of stories on here doesn't mean that all of them are equally good. A lot of people are riding together on the same bandwagons. The better writers are producing new work, not just rehashing episodes, tweaking the formula, or reworking outcomes. What they write will go on without the show, since it departs from show canon and has it's own and fuels itself.
2632667
I know that money is important, but basing your whole life on what looks good/bad to an employer is not a good way to go. I'm not suggesting you ditch your major, just that you need to know what you want and how far you're willing to go to get it. It's not the end of the world if you have to study something else. Graduating on time is important, but overrated. What's more important is the reason why you do/don't graduate "on time".
I don't think it's dying, but the bloating is definitely over.
The ones that only enjoy the show and nothing else (like the fanfiction) are definitely gone for the moment (until there's more episodes, duh), even the creation side (both the "viewers and the "creators") is probably shrinking down a bit.
I don't think all this accounts for a significant loss of people in the end though, what i think really makes it seem like it has died down is that "the internet" has stopped poking our "hornet's nest", and when they do there's not as big of a reaction from us anymore.
It seems bigger than it did two years ago. Much bigger. It's just not growing as quickly now. They still sell more merchandise for the stuff than they used to, a clue that more people are buying it than a year ago, and there's now people talking about it everywhere. I don't think it's over yet. It always seems to slow in growth between seasons/movies.