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.
Edited by Mrph1 on Aug 26th 2024 at 10:24:26 AM
[insert obligatory joke about Pinkie's world-destroying potential]
@On the romance topic What I'm trying to say is that while negative sides are explicitly shown and discussed and presented in several spotlights, the positives are just... there. It's like this:
- Show: Ok, if you try it, there's this bad thing, and that bad thing...
- Me: Are there good things?
- Show: Umm... em... um... there are? Maybe? I don't know.
- Me: Ok.
It shows bad things, but conceals good things. Ok, they can't shove the best thing in because rating, but come on.
edited 6th Feb '14 8:58:20 PM by Luminosity
Lum, aren't you're also the one who believes the show has a strong anti-success message, if I recall correctly? Because I see you doing a lot of the same things you did in that discussion, namely over-simplifying things into the most bare-bones description possible, and completely ignoring any and all context. I'd argue against you on this point as well, but if this is how you're going to make your points, I'm not interested.
Anyway, regarding movie depictions of romance.
@Wryte anti-confidence beyond arbitrary socially acceptable measures, if you're going to bring that up.
But here, I'm trying to make better points, not stricly stating the show does that and more concerned it'll do that again because that's what it likes to focus on. It knows how to do negatives on this subject, but either doesn't know or doesn't want to portray the positives in stronger light than "they just exist, alright?".
I guess, my problem is with the positive episodes really not living up to the points negative ones bring up.
edited 6th Feb '14 9:02:56 PM by Luminosity
Yeah, Pinkie Pie with infinite party energy would be a terrifying sight to behold. Either her Pinkievision would make the whole world look like this.
Or she breaks through the forth wall, turns male, and becomes Andrew WK.
@Irish: Whahahahahahahahaha!
edited 6th Feb '14 9:05:07 PM by japaneseteeth
Reaction Image RepositoryWell I haven't goten to the Party God episode yet. Is it in season 2?
Blind Final Fantasy 6 Let's PlayHeh, I remember back in the old thread we had a pages long debate over whether or not the show could pull off a mane-cast romance. That was sure a thing.
Yeah, when I saw that I basically went
edited 6th Feb '14 9:07:17 PM by japaneseteeth
Reaction Image RepositoryThe way I've seen all the negative examples Lum is talking about (and I'm making assumptions about how the next episode is going to turn out) is that they're specifically negative about being too obsessive about love. Rarity shouldn't obsess over some guy she's never met and she shouldn't have to change herself. The Crusaders shouldn't try to push someone into a relationship just because they think that person should be in a relationship. Given that media as a whole tends to push the message that you absolutely must be in a relationship or something is horribly wrong, I would say ML Ps slightly dismissive stance is hugely refreshing. It isn't anti-love, but it is anti-worrying-too-much-about-it. And I don't expect the writers to have a carefully calibrated scale, making sure the positive and negative portrayals are perfectly aligned. If you want to see love portrayed more positively you can watch literally anything else.
edited 6th Feb '14 9:09:58 PM by Crowfall
@Crowfall
You see, I don't mind how the negatives are done. I mind how the negative is the only one side that gets good, thoughtful episodes. Positive is lacking, cliched, avoding of the why's and how's, and just can't fight the negatives back. And that colors the attitude on this for me.
That "literally everything else" gets exact same positives. Nothing new, nothing better. While negatives get all these cool guns, the positives in this are still stuck with a Hollywood six-shooter.
edited 6th Feb '14 9:14:26 PM by Luminosity
@Irish: Sweetie Belle what are you even doing?
Let's just agree to disagree, because this is obviously going nowhere. I just don't think the show has treated it that badly. The show has no obligation to try to treat certain subjects in a certain way. As long as each treatment of the episode makes sense in context, I'm not going to complain about it. It's commented on certain romantic circumstances, but so far it hasn't said anything about "romance" as a concept.
And now I have to get to sleep. Work tomorrow.
edited 6th Feb '14 9:16:05 PM by japaneseteeth
Reaction Image RepositorySee, that might bother me more if it weren't for the fact that romance is portrayed as the end all be all good of all life in, like, 95% of our media.
I mean, for frig's sake, Frozen blew peoples' minds merely by showing that love at first sight can turn out badly. Is it really necessary for MLP to counterbalance an already atypical portrayal of romance by shoehorning in episodes with major focuses on romance being good?
For that matter, aren't episodes focusing on how great romance is exactly the kind of thing we all dreaded the show being about?
edited 6th Feb '14 9:18:53 PM by Wryte
Personally, I do feel hat the show extolls the virtues of a desire for unity, both in a general sense, and in various specifics. Romance is one facet of that, so I don't imagine it's trying to discourage romance.
Nor do I think it is discouraging romance, but that's a point of debate I'm not prepared to go on at length.
I have a message from another time...![]()
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It wasn't really love at first sight so much as it was "I just met this guy today but we're getting married". Which almost strikes me as moving a relationship extremely fast just for the sake of it, rather than any real emotional bond with the other person. Then again, maybe I'm interpreting "love at first sight" differently than someone else would.
edited 6th Feb '14 9:20:25 PM by IrishZombie

In other news, I just watched the "Power Animal" episode of Adventure Time, and now I'm imagining Pinkie Pie getting a wish from the Party god.
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