My Little Pony web invasion?

[Kemaiku]

On all the boards I fequent its been the same way really, no one caught the show on its original Hub airing due to the show and networks obscurity, when a few fans brought it to the sites it flared up. The groups formed, posted around, it died down to a dedicated thread of a couple of dozen or more fans.

The exception being some huge gaming sites with 10,000+page threads and 200/300+ Bronies.

 

[Trekker4747]

I visit and read some other boards and it is pretty much everywhere. In other boards often as either a signature image, an avatar, a quote in a signature or stuff along those lines. Other boards I visit may have stricter rules than TBBS does in regards to in-post images and thread bombs so I don't see those quite as much. But I've seen plenty of "Brony" avatars and signature banners to make me just shake my head and really wonder when the internet utter lost its mind to the point that countless numbers of adult men are all about ponies.

Sorry, I try and to be as liberal as I can when it comes to gender roles as I'm hardly the model of masculinity and manliness myself, but when I think of ponies, all I can think of is an 8-year-old over-indulged girl gleefully shouting that at her birthday party.

Add in the Pastel-toned/whatever colors, the cutesy voices and characters and it's just hard for me to accept it as being a show a male could stand to watch for more than a minute.

And I have tried watching it just to see what the fuss is about but it pretty much dives right into the deep-end of the cutesy-wutsey magical goodiness stuff right out of the gate. As a child of the '80s who did all he could to avoid the "pink aisle' of the toy store that's a lot to overcome.

The story, tone, and look of the show just did not work for me whatsoever nor can I understand how so many latched onto it so hard.

Most other aspects of fan-crazes I can at least understand on some level. MLP? Beyond my understanding. I'll sooner unlock the secrets to Zero-Point Energy than I will to seeing how so many people (again, mostly adult males) so latched onto a show about colorful cartoon ponies.

I'm sure there's plenty of "non-negative" shows out there to latch onto.

But, I digress. At least the craze seems to have mostly died down than it was this past Summer with fewer thread bombs. The cutesy avatars still bug but I can block those if they're too annoying and animated to the point of causing me seizures.

 

[Jetfire]

Sorry, I try and to be as liberal as I can when it comes to gender roles as I'm hardly the model of masculinity and manliness myself, but when I think of ponies, all I can think of is an 8-year-old over-indulged girl gleefully shouting that at her birthday party.

No you don't but thanks for playing.

 

[Kemaiku]

Regardless of whether or not you understand it, millions of grown men have fallen in love with the show and it is now a part of our lives. With Season 3 already beginning pre-production and it likely getting a 26 episode run after Season 2 ends next year, the show itself will run until the summer of 2013 at least, so it, and we, aren't going anywhere soon.

 

[RJDiogenes]

entertainment. There comes a time-- or should-- when people lose that teenage self-consciousness and realize that they can like whatever they want no matter what the lowest common denominator tells them they're supposed to like.

I tried that, the judge still put me on the nonce jotter.

I'm sorry to hear that. I have no idea what it means, but I'm sorry to hear it.

 

[Amaris]

Exactly, especially when the shows creator tried to make it for as large an audience as she could age-range wise.

As is pretty much their jobs in hardly different than any other show producer.... And it's not like she did it for a "I want 20-year-old men without kids to watch this" sort of way but more in a "I want fathers to be able to sit down and watch this with their kids, as good parents should, and not wish death upon themselves."

It's the same reason the Disney/Pixar movies have stuff in them for adults to like, so the adults get some entertainment out of it all too.

I doubt Miss PonyMaster intended for single, childless, 25-year-old men to be raving, drooling, lunatics over this show.

Some Bronies treat the woman as if she is great Messiah of cartoon tv! A wondrous woman full of gold, love and heart who made awesome.

She's not.

She's a TV-show creator deemed with the task of making a show to appeal to as wide of an audience as possible in order to generate high-level of ad revenue and move toys. That she was, somehow, able to make men out their willingly fall in love with a show about freakin' cartoon pastel-colored ponies is just a bonus.

Actually, she was delighted to learn that single, childless, 25 year old males were enjoying the show, and not from a commercial point of view. Here:

http://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/59956409.html

If you didn't click the link, I'll post the Q&A from her DeviantArt page:

Junkie121: "May I ask how it feels to know that a show you've created for little girls is obsessed over by sexually repressed manchildren? It is kind of scary."

*fyre-flye (Lauren Faust): Honestly? I feel the people who call them that are ignorant a-holes. That's how I feel. I didn't create this show for little girls, I created it for little girls and their parents -- including male parents. It only stands to reason that adult animation fans without children may like it, too. The belief that boys shouldn't be interested in girl things is the main reason there's hardly anything decent for girls in animation-- or almost any media, for that matter. It's a backwards, sexist, outdated attitude.

 

[Emher]

Go Lauren Faust, is all I say.

 

[Amaris]

Go Lauren Faust, is all I say.

Agreed!

When Jayson Thiessen became the showrunner for season 2, he promised to keep the exact same formula, so the high quality production values will continue. Great guy, too. He had a lot to say as well, and you can read about it here: EqD Article.

 

[Trekker4747]

All I can do still do is shrug and say I don't get it.

The "ramming it down our throats" bit is died down so it's not as big of deal on the boards as it was over the summer. But I still don't understand the appeal and I still find it odd.

But, whatever.

 

[Amaris]

All I can do still do is shrug and say I don't get it.

The "ramming it down our throats" bit is died down so it's not as big of deal on the boards as it was over the summer. But I still don't understand the appeal and I still find it odd.

But, whatever.

It's the "ramming it down our throats" part that doesn't make sense. I think people use that term way too often and don't quite get what it means. If you see something you don't like, but can ignore it, it's not being rammed down your throat.

If you logged into TBBS and couldn't post until you acknowledged the awesomeness that is MLP, THEN it's being rammed down your throat. If you're not allowed to post unless you choose an MLP avatar or an MLP signature, THEN it's being rammed down your throat.

If you experience displeasure at someone's av, sig, threadbomb or post about MLP, but can ignore, block, or disregard it easily, then it's not being rammed down your throat. Having to tolerate or put up with unpopular tastes does not mean something's being rammed down your throat, anymore than TrekBBS rams Star Trek down your throat, which it doesn't. Yes, it's everywhere, but you don't have to acknowledge it at all, or agree with it, or be forced to post about it. Therefore, it's not being rammed down your throat. The same applies over at Brony Kingdom. We have a non-MLP forum, and you're not required to post about ponies. Even there, it's not being rammed down your throat. You can choose to ignore, disregard and block it all without any trouble. Yes, ponies are everywhere there, but you are free to do and say what you wish without being forced to post about ponies.

So the "it's being rammed down our throats" point of view needs to be re-examined.

 

[Jetfire]

The "ramming it down our throats" bit is died down...

Were you even around when it was being "rammed down peoples throats"? I don't recall that you were.

 

[Trekker4747]

For a while there fans of the show posted about all over the places, mostly in the form of thread bombs and animated avatars. That's not entirely "ramming down the throat", sure. But it wasn't exactly subtle like most of the other fandoms and crazes that've rapt the board over the years.

Anyway, the "craze" has came down to a nice simmer now and isn't quite as much of a rolling boil as it was this Summer.

Actually, at times, it was less "rolling boil" and more like jiggling a super-heated glass of water in the microwave.

Like what you like and I'll go on not liking it and just scratching my head. I'm not going to judge any more, or as severely as others. I still find it odd but I have my peculiarities as well so I've no room to talk.

I take back the more extreme comments I've made towards Bronies in the past and no longer feel that strongly about it. In the end, though. I just don't get it.

 

[Itisnotlogical]

All I can do still do is shrug and say I don't get it.

The "ramming it down our throats" bit is died down so it's not as big of deal on the boards as it was over the summer. But I still don't understand the appeal and I still find it odd.

But, whatever.

It has never been "rammed down your throat". You're not being forced to watch the show or say that you like it or get a pony-related avatar or signature. If you see something you don't like, that's not being rammed down your throat: that's seeing something you don't like. And believe me, if you're not prepared to deal with seeing something you don't like on the Internet, then I despair of what you'll do when such a thing happens in real life.

 

[Count Zero]

I think what people mean by that is the large to excessive amount of threadbombs and pony related comments that were being posted at one point, although I think it was largely confined to TNZ here but I may be wrong about that. This also happened at other places and people conflate it to one big ball of being bothered and annoyed by it.
Now that it has died down considerably, the annoyance will subside, too. Trekker made an effort and now has a more nuanced view of the phenomenon. That's really the most we can ask of people.

 

[Amaris]

I think what people mean by that is the large to excessive amount of threadbombs and pony related comments that were being posted at one point, although I think it was largely confined to TNZ here but I may be wrong about that. This also happened at other places and people conflate it to one big ball of being bothered and annoyed by it.
Now that it has died down considerably, the annoyance will subside, too. Trekker made an effort and now has a more nuanced view of the phenomenon. That's really the most we can ask of people.

Wrong. I can hit them in the kneecaps with my club.

 

[Count Zero]

You're not helping...

 

[Amaris]

You're not helping...

Sure I am, I'm giving insightful commentary!

 

[Brian]

entertainment. There comes a time-- or should-- when people lose that teenage self-consciousness and realize that they can like whatever they want no matter what the lowest common denominator tells them they're supposed to like.

I tried that, the judge still put me on the nonce jotter.

I'm sorry to hear that. I have no idea what it means, but I'm sorry to hear it.

Nonce Jotter

The sex offenders register where paedophiles or 'nonces' will sign their name.

Yes, very sorry to hear that.

It has nothing to do with MLP, but sorry to hear it, nonetheless.

 

[Crusher Disciple]

I just watched it. Good job by Q. I still miss him as Eugene on Days of our Lives.

 

[Thestral]

But it wasn't exactly subtle like most of the other fandoms and crazes that've rapt the board over the years.

Wrapped? Raped? Rapped?

Wrong. I can hit them in the kneecaps with my club.

At least it's just the kneecaps this time.