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My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (Live Reactions & Discussion)

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A thread to discuss My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and the tie-in media.

All of the usual forum rules apply. In addition, please remember that the thread is discussing a kids' show, and it's primarily focused on the work itself, not the fanfic — in particular, we don't want to see lewdness creeping in.

     Original OP text 
I don't know WHAT the Hell happened (I blame shenanigans) but we're going to start from scratch. Post your feels for this awesome show again! Naow!

Edited by Mrph1 on Aug 26th 2024 at 10:24:26 AM

Ruise Nyanpasu~ from your subconscious Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: It's not my fault I'm not popular!
Nyanpasu~
#151226: Apr 4th 2016 at 11:21:19 AM

@Them there books: I barely remember anything from before college, so I don't know what grades I was in, but I read "Animal Farm," "To Kill a Mockingbird," "The Giver," and "The Great Gatsby" for school. "The Giver" was really good and I liked the movie (only movie I've snuck into ha) but I don't really want to read the sequels at this point...Also in mandatory school reading I actually enjoyed, "Catcher in the Rye" though I'll probably never re-read it.

I read "1984" on my own and thought it was trash, but at least it allowed me to better understand "Nineteen Neighty-Four" and that was hilarious by jove. evil grin "Brave New World" I also read on my own, that was even worse, yuck. "Fahrenheit 451" I read for school, also pretty bad...Though I love Shin Sekai Yori and No. 6 and read the translated books for both online so it's not like I just hate dystopian works in general.

Loves feel-good animation a whole lot.
LordVatek Not really a lord of anything Since: Sep, 2014
Not really a lord of anything
#151227: Apr 4th 2016 at 11:21:58 AM

I also remember really liking To Kill a Mockingbird. Specifically, I found Atticus Finch to be a great character.

edited 4th Apr '16 11:22:49 AM by LordVatek

This song needs more love.
Ruise Nyanpasu~ from your subconscious Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: It's not my fault I'm not popular!
Nyanpasu~
#151228: Apr 4th 2016 at 11:26:26 AM

I had the feels for Boo Radley since I'm really bad at socializing too. evil grin

Loves feel-good animation a whole lot.
KuroiTsubasaTenshi Streamer from Twitch Since: May, 2011
Streamer
#151229: Apr 4th 2016 at 11:31:50 AM

Oh, yeah, 1984. Totally forgot about that one, probably because I found it somewhat unremarkable when I did read it in high school. I guess I could chalk that one up as one I didn't have the perspective for before. From what I recall, were I to re-read it now, I suspect that I'd be pretty sympathetic with Orwell's views.

FE: New Mystery Only Feet 7PM PT Sun, Mon, Fri; Umamusume Haru Arima 7PM PT Wed, Thurs: http://www.twitch.tv/kuroitsubasatenshi
Ruise Nyanpasu~ from your subconscious Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: It's not my fault I'm not popular!
Nyanpasu~
#151230: Apr 4th 2016 at 11:35:59 AM

[up]Ah, but did you read Nineteen Neighty-Four? [lol]

Loves feel-good animation a whole lot.
EpicBleye drunk bunny from her bed being very eepy Since: Sep, 2014 Relationship Status: In Lesbians with you
drunk bunny
#151231: Apr 4th 2016 at 11:37:41 AM

Oh yeah, i read both 1984 and Gatsby.

1984 was an interesting read, but I think people use it too much as a reference point when it doesn't hold up to modern comparison as much as people think it does.

I really really like Gatsby, but while I understand it from a literary and symbolic standpoint it's been made clear to me (by this thread) that there's an experiential aspect to it that I quite won't get yet.

"There's not a girl alive who wouldn't be happy being called cute." ~Tamamo-no-Mae
KuroiTsubasaTenshi Streamer from Twitch Since: May, 2011
Streamer
#151232: Apr 4th 2016 at 11:46:57 AM

[up][up] Nope. I'm hardly in the pony fanwork community anymore.

[up] Maybe I'm misremembering, but I think it still more or less applies, just not to governments like Orwell thought it would. No, that honour is reserved for the Internet Hivemind.

edited 4th Apr '16 11:47:23 AM by KuroiTsubasaTenshi

FE: New Mystery Only Feet 7PM PT Sun, Mon, Fri; Umamusume Haru Arima 7PM PT Wed, Thurs: http://www.twitch.tv/kuroitsubasatenshi
war877 Grr... <3 from Untamed Wilds Since: Dec, 2015 Relationship Status: Having tea with Cthulhu
Grr... <3
#151233: Apr 4th 2016 at 11:53:19 AM

I read 1984 on the recommendation of a scifi buff. It was alright. Most of those others I know by reputation or adaptation only. Classics are usually just a bit too far on the boring side.

Not sure I get the ruined the internet thing.

As to The Gatsby, I do not believe a person needs to relate in order to understand the book. However, like any book that discusses things you are not familiar with, it would take more work for a teen to get it.

[up]Then why are you still writing those excellent adventures?

edited 4th Apr '16 11:53:49 AM by war877

LordVatek Not really a lord of anything Since: Sep, 2014
Not really a lord of anything
#151234: Apr 4th 2016 at 11:53:27 AM

While I have to roll my eyes any time someone brings up "Big Brother" in response to minor security situations, 1984 isn't nearly as bad as Fahrenheit 451, which can't even figure out its own message.

edited 4th Apr '16 11:54:51 AM by LordVatek

This song needs more love.
PrincessGwenevere Ooh, sparkly! from Coat Mountain Since: Jun, 2009 Relationship Status: Yes, I'm alone, but I'm alone and free
Ooh, sparkly!
#151235: Apr 4th 2016 at 12:02:37 PM

I actually really liked Farenhite 451, though I read it on my own terms rather then an assignment.

Tale of Two Cities was one of my favorite high school reads, as well as Gatsby. I couldn't stand Brave New World, though.

"I feel like I'm on a raft and surrounding me is an ocean of dumb."- Mr. Sark
LordVatek Not really a lord of anything Since: Sep, 2014
Not really a lord of anything
#151236: Apr 4th 2016 at 12:05:48 PM

Admittedly, Bradbury's comments about the message of the book (evidently it's not about censorship, it's about TV replacing literature) kind of soured the experience for me.

This song needs more love.
KuroiTsubasaTenshi Streamer from Twitch Since: May, 2011
Streamer
#151237: Apr 4th 2016 at 12:05:49 PM

War: Because 'hardly' doesn't mean I'm out entirely. I still have a compulsion to finish and love for the story involved in my current work (which will, honestly, likely end up being the last pony fic I ever write), but there are very few people whose works I will read anymore. It's actually kind of ironic, really, in that early on, I approached the community with a pretty enthusiastic drive for mutual exchange. When that turned out to be completely one-sided at the time, this totally burned me out. Now that things have started to swing the other direction, I'm still far too burned out to try to even things up.

FE: New Mystery Only Feet 7PM PT Sun, Mon, Fri; Umamusume Haru Arima 7PM PT Wed, Thurs: http://www.twitch.tv/kuroitsubasatenshi
AdricDePsycho Rock on, Gold Dust Woman from Never Going Back Again Since: Oct, 2014 Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
Rock on, Gold Dust Woman
#151238: Apr 4th 2016 at 12:06:57 PM

I read Fahrenheit 451 and To Kill a Mockingbird in high school. The former was boring as shit, the latter started boring and got better.

Funny story: my sophomore year was delayed for a few days because there was a lot of rain that flooded the streets, and when we got back, my new English teacher (who was fucking insane and I loved her for it) immediately put us to doing work on it. It pissed quite a few people off, because this dumb girl I knew there would end up dropping the class and doing it online because she refused to be told what to do.

Have you any dreams you'd like to sell?
PrincessGwenevere Ooh, sparkly! from Coat Mountain Since: Jun, 2009 Relationship Status: Yes, I'm alone, but I'm alone and free
Ooh, sparkly!
#151239: Apr 4th 2016 at 12:18:14 PM

Bradbury has waffled a lot on what the story means. Though themes of the dangers of mass media consumption are present, and usually make me roll my eyes too, I think the censorship themes are actually stronger. Apparently that's what he first claimed it was about.

Though, unlike Huxley, Bradbury has the decency to make his characters likeable.

"I feel like I'm on a raft and surrounding me is an ocean of dumb."- Mr. Sark
theLibrarian Since: Jul, 2009
#151240: Apr 4th 2016 at 12:27:31 PM

In my high school I had to read LOTR, Dorian Grey, 1984...and Twilight.

We also used Avatar The Last Airbender as a study in Archetypes.

crimsonstorm15 shine on from A parallel universe Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
AdricDePsycho Rock on, Gold Dust Woman from Never Going Back Again Since: Oct, 2014 Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
Rock on, Gold Dust Woman
#151242: Apr 4th 2016 at 12:31:01 PM

To give you an example as to how crazy my English teacher was: if anyone slept during class or acted stupid, she'd throw something at them. All the damn time.

Have you any dreams you'd like to sell?
LordVatek Not really a lord of anything Since: Sep, 2014
Not really a lord of anything
#151243: Apr 4th 2016 at 12:33:11 PM

[up][up][up][up]On that, we can agree. Brave New World was just unpleasant.

This song needs more love.
JapaneseTeeth Existence Weighed Against Nonbeing from Meinong's jungle Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Mu
Existence Weighed Against Nonbeing
#151244: Apr 4th 2016 at 12:52:54 PM

I actually didn't mind BNW much, though that's largely because I feel like the whole "controlling the masses through bread and circuses" theme is a bit more relevant to most of modern society than 1984's "government's boot stamping on humanity's face forever" thing. Not that they don't both have their relevant points. But yeah, BNW isn't something you read for the characters.

I honestly don't remember much about Fahrenheit 451 other than we watched some of the movie and it was cheesy as hell. That said, I can sort of see where Bradbury came up with the "television is the problem" thing. If I remember right, one of the first scenes shows that the protagonist's wife is basically obsessed with the television analogue and the implication is that that obsession is what led to the book bannings becoming possible in the first place. That said, the censorship themes are even more blatant. I can understand him saying it's not the only theme, but trying to deny that it's there is just ridiculous.

Also, my avatar has never been more appropriate.

edited 4th Apr '16 12:57:58 PM by JapaneseTeeth

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YamiVizziniX Since: Jan, 2015 Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
#151245: Apr 4th 2016 at 12:54:52 PM

There is no beginning. There is no end. There is only... Hooty.
LordVatek Not really a lord of anything Since: Sep, 2014
Not really a lord of anything
#151246: Apr 4th 2016 at 1:04:40 PM

[up][up]The message is alright for its time, even if I'm not a fan (it's practically impossible to do the "Society distracted by frivolous things" moral without being heavy handed) but of the two main protagonists one is obnoxiously arrogant and the other is obnoxiously pure.

edited 4th Apr '16 1:06:20 PM by LordVatek

This song needs more love.
kegisak Element of Class Since: Feb, 2011 Relationship Status: In Lesbians with you
Element of Class
#151247: Apr 4th 2016 at 1:15:11 PM

@JT: I think it might be fair to say that the censorship theme wasn't intended. I mean, they do come right out in F51 and say, "The government didn't do this; people just decided they didn't want books anymore'. Although it was then later government enforced, so if he didn't intend it then he kinda dropped the ball there.

The thing that struck me about F51 wasn't that people were obsessed with TV, but that the media they consumed was specifically vapid. I mean, the TV show consisted of non-issues and non-plots so that the watchers could be 'involved', and as a result there was simply no substance to them. The only other forms of entertainment it mentioned were music—which can, but does not inherent invite analysis or focused thought—and racing, which is a pretty no-thought thrill passtime. So in my mind, when I read it, I got the impression that TV still would have been fine if people took the time to think about it and talk about it. That was one of the biggest signs of the girl(whose name escapes me)'s strangeness, after all: That her family talked.

Birthright: an original web novel about Dragons, the Burdens of Leadership, and Mangoes.
theLibrarian Since: Jul, 2009
#151248: Apr 4th 2016 at 1:15:32 PM

Actually the reason books started being burned was because of Political Correctness Gone Mad. TV filled the void and made people into gormless idiots while their children became psychos that ran people down in the streets for fun.

JapaneseTeeth Existence Weighed Against Nonbeing from Meinong's jungle Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Mu
Existence Weighed Against Nonbeing
#151249: Apr 4th 2016 at 1:23:46 PM

[up][up]I agree, which is one of the other reasons that I think he dropped the ball when it came to trying to defend the "people decided books were evil" theme: he tied the value of the entertainment to the medium rather than the content of the entertainment itself. If he was trying to make the point of "obsession with vapid entertainment will result in meaningful entertainment disappearing" he sort of misstepped by going "books will be replaced by TV" rather than "good books will be replaced by bad books". It comes across as if he values books over TV solely because... they're books.

The censorship theme explains that weirdness by making it a matter of control; books have to be banned because they can be individually created and read by individuals with little oversight, whereas TV signals can more easily be monitored for "appropriateness". So if one assumes the book is about censorship, the books/tv thing makes some sense because the ban on books is a matter of trying to stamp out individual thought. If we go with Word of God that the story is about how "people decided books were evil because they were obsessed with other stuff", fridge logic starts to set in.

I mean, there's some overlap between the two, but still.

TL;DR the theme of "Vapid entertainment can overwhelm thought-provoking entertainment" is a valid one, but Bradbury muddled it by making all the vapid entertainment in one medium and all the thought-provoking entertainment in another, even though logically there should be overlap.

edited 4th Apr '16 1:26:03 PM by JapaneseTeeth

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LordVatek Not really a lord of anything Since: Sep, 2014
Not really a lord of anything
#151250: Apr 4th 2016 at 1:43:11 PM

[up] and [up][up][up] That was exactly the problem I had with the message he gave.

This is one of the things he said about it: "In writing the short novel Fahrenheit 451, I thought I was describing a world that might evolve in four or five decades. But only a few weeks ago, in Beverly Hills one night, a husband and wife passed me, walking their dog. I stood staring after them, absolutely stunned. The woman held in one hand a small cigarette-package-sized radio, its antenna quivering. From this sprang tiny copper wires which ended in a dainty cone plugged into her right ear. There she was, oblivious to man and dog, listening to far winds and whispers and soap-opera cries, sleep-walking, helped up and down curbs by a husband who might just as well not have been there. This was not fiction."

That just screams "New media is bad." I prefer the censorship and vapid media messages way more, but there was clear bias in his writing.

edited 4th Apr '16 1:45:32 PM by LordVatek

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