The Fault in Our Marks, and the Fault in Our YouTube · 8:18pm Sep 10th, 2016
Friendship is Magic first impressions review
S06e19 The Fault in Our Marks
by Obake
(SPOILERS!)
Watching this episode was insufferable. Not because of the episode itself, but because of Hasbro, Discovery Family, and YouTube. They ordered cease and desist on all livestreams. I was left scouring different websites for over an hour, just to see the second half in slow loading chunks. These three companies have done stupid things before, but I've finally reached my limit. Most of this will not be a review for The Fault in Our Marks, but a rant on how awful and disgusting this trio of corporate morons is.
The brief summary of the episode: A bubbly griffon named Gabriella (Gabby, for short), seeks help from the Cutie Mark Crusaders, so that she can get her mark. Obviously griffons don't receive marks, so the CMC are left wondering what to do. They tell Gabby the truth, that she can't get a mark, but they certainly will help her find her purpose.
The gang try out all sorts of things, in a song number I would remember had I not been forced to watch piecemeal. Gabby turns out good at everything she helps with, leaving no clear destiny. Until they figure out that Gabby's destiny is helping in general. They rejoice, and induct Gabby as the first griffon member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
There is not a lot to say about the episode, thankfully. I found (what I saw of it) passable. Gabby herself is charming (think a griffon version of Pinkie Pie), though her energy does wear down scenes from time to time. She is also a mail carrier, making me think that perhaps she is an expy of Derpy (think about it: Gabby is a mail carrier, is gray, flies, and has a generally bubbly personality. She just does not have the crossed eyes.)
There is also room for fan speculation about whether species besides ponies can receive cutie marks. Overall, The Fault in Our Marks is a simple, warmhearted episode.
It is too bad then that Hasbro, the owner of the license to FiM, is ungrateful and hotheaded, the opposite of what the show teaches. Livestreams are where a lot of people (including myself) see the new episodes. Taking those down is saying they care more about profits than their viewers, despite the majority of their profits coming from toys, not the show.
You see, a smaller company has the right to use more force to protect its license. I think of the guys behind Rifftrax: they rightfully do not allow their full commentaries to be uploaded for free, because they are essentially one small staff. Their source of revenue comes from the commentaries and DVDs they sell. Plus they are generally cool and let others upload parts of their work on YouTube with no trouble.
Hasbro is a multinational corporation that makes money primarily on toys. Having a show like FiM provided for free on YouTube is actually a benefit to them, because it gives the show easy exposure to a wider audience, and with more watching and sharing, the more toys they sell. Plus they still sell the show on NetFlix, Amazon, and iTunes, meaning those sources must still make a revenue. And it also runs on Discovery Family.
But Hasbro, the toy company with no ethics, does not care. They think everyone of their fans are pirates, who want to steal their profits and put them into bankruptcy.
Well, dear Hasbro, we are pirates, because you make us that way. You force fans to go through hoops just to promote your products, a free service to you. No charge. Your intent is to make tons of profit, yet you willfully cut into your own revenue to pay Advertising Agencies to promote your shows. And these advertisements appeal solely to an audience too young to buy your products themselves, relying on their parents to give you money.
All while those reviewing your products on YouTube attract vastly older audiences, audiences that are far more likely to have their own disposable incomes, and therefore buy as much of your products as they so wish. See one: Little Timmy has to beg his mom just to get a toy from the newest set of Transformers, and as a more generally fiscal parent, she only gets him one. Meanwhile Little Timmy's big brother Joe has his own job and transportation, is still young enough to not care how he spends his money, and therefore buys the entire set. And companies wonder why people generally view them as backwards dinosaurs. It's simple, Hasbro, you are one.
And it certainly is not like you cannot have it both ways. Appealing to the very young to beg their parents is a viable and well proven tactic. Why not also add having older audiences appeal to your products for no charge, too? No more stupid cease and desists, no more crying or bawwing every time an episode is livestreamed or uploaded, and how about learning what Fair Use really is, and not fighting against it?
The same goes for YouTube and Discovery Family. In YouTube's case, are there not stars who could help rally people against companies that threaten to sue you? Do you really think the fans of the biggest video sharing website would ever abandon you if you came to them for help, if you were genuine and upheld Fair Use? Of course they would rally for you, far more than they would rally for unfair companies. (Not even a multinational corporation could take an entire army of rabid PewdiePie fans, and that's a good thing.)
I know its almost passe to say "this is the end of YouTube." But I fear that may soon be right. All that's needed is a rival site to campaign in favor of Fair Use and attract the attention of the big stars, followed by smaller YouTubers, all to abandon loyalty to the Google-owned giant. It does not matter if the new company is successful or not (I gather it would be extremely successful), YouTube will be a carcass, a well-deserved stain on the petticoats of conglomerates.
Oh, and back to Hasbro: no more supporting the internet-censoring Trans-Pacific Partnership. You guys know that the only reason MLP: FiM is the huge breakout it is is because it was initially allowed to blossom and spread like wildfire on the net, right? If it were not for Fair Use, FiM would have ended at 65 episodes per usual, and would be totally forgotten by now. In simpler terms, your prized calf would have died before becoming a full-fledged cash cow.
Extras:
Not much extras this time, but how could there be? Anyways.
-The pre-title sequence of the Crusaders talking to the parents of a filly who recently received her mark is cute. The parents are horrified by their daughter's mark of a skull and bones. Of course her real talent is being an archaeologist. She even digs up ponyasouras bones in the backyard, establishing that yes, even Equestria had dinosaurs.
-Scoots has a line saying that not helping Gabby is the CMC's first failure ever. I can think of more than a few instances to prove that wrong.
-Butt shot with Gabby saying "A mark on these here haunches" (Look, I'm straining for extras here, all right?)
-Gabby constantly refers to the Crusaders as 'world famous.' I would object, except it makes sense coming from Gabby. She's hyper and exaggerates things.
Are you saying that youtube is beign abused with the copyright system again?
Or are you saying that Hasbro is just getting annoying?
Could you please cut it a bit down for me here?
4204947
I believe it's both. The livestreams that were getting taken down were nothing more than a black screen with the YouTube logo in the middle. According to the livestreamers, the cease and desists itself was from Hasbro.
I think Hasbro contacted YouTube to shut down the livestreams, because Hasbro doesn't understand what makes them money.
4207481 Oh please not again.
I really don't hope that there are gonna happen one of those big dramas on Youtube, i still remember the last one.
But i guess that no matter what you do you just can't be perfectly safe on Youtube.
But you said that the episodes are on Youtube So that you can see them right?
Or did i just read wrong or something?
4207803 They are on YouTube now, including The Fault in Our Marks.
It just took longer for them to be uploaded.
4208032 Ahh ok great.
Just had to be sure.