Pony Philosophy

by Persona22

What was the two part episode "Cutie Map" really about?

I was re-watching the episode "The Cutie Map" (both part 1 and 2) when something came to my mind.

Despite of the huge fandom this show has, the show is made, in esscence, for little kids. The show is to adress issues that little kids may face in their lives growing up, and tries to present them with a solution, or at least have them confront said problem.

Now, regardless of what you might think, communism, or even the idea of what communism is, is not something that might affect little kids. So, what was the episode about then?

Then I remembered an old news article I read a few years ago, which you can read here: CLICK LINK

We live in a society that, more and more often, has our youth trying to be the same in all aspects so nobody would feel left behind.

A coach that has a team that wins 100 to 0 is fired. Kids get "participant" trophies all the time.

Then this survey conducted recently in Europe that shows that over a quarter of children have stopped doing activities they loved, and almost half have hidden a talent, all for the same reason. They feared being bullied for their talent and enthusiasm.

You can read the news of that here: CLICK LINK

So, maybe, the episode was not about communism, or anything of that nature.

Starlight Glimmer is the society that sees excellence as a bad thing, being talented is frowned upon, being proud of your achievements is bad. You must comform, you must become less of what you are so the rest of society is happy, so they will accept you.

Then comes Twilight, saying that no, it's not wrong to be talented, its okay to be good at something as long as you don't bully others or try to push them down in your quest to reach the top. To be great at something is amazing and it should be celebrated and cultivated. Being proven wrong, or being beaten at something, is not bad, because it provides you with an opportunity of growth.

But when Starlight Glimmer is confronted by this, she shuts Twilight up. She will not change her mind.

The episode (well, episodes since its a two part season premiere) are not about communism. They are a critisims on our educational system and society as a whole that pushes down kids so the other, less talented kids will not feel left behind, instead of encouraging those other kids to do better so as to reach or even surpass those that are great at things. And to bullies that make some other children be quiet and hide their talents and dreams in fear.

This little philosophy video kind of explains it better:

So, what do you think?

Author's Note:

The pictures of Starlight Glimmer as some sort of overlord in a repressive communist system can be found in many places online. But, is the episode really about communism, or about a much deeper problem that today's youth have to face every day?