Thoughts on Bronies

[Hydra009]

I forced myself for 5 seconds, the nuisance got worse. I wanted to slap it.

Those are not ponies. They are some sort of body snatchers. That's the only explanation of you people watching it. Invasion of the pony snatchers!

[GrinningYMIR]

[Hydra009]

Just saw the latest episode, Bloom and Gloom.  For a cmc episode, it was surprisingly good.

[spoiler]

Gas mask pony.  Fallout Equestria confirmed!

Plus, I really like those twittermites.  They really pack a punch at just a few dozen feet from each other.  Imagine what they'd do to Equestria if they scattered for miles and miles.  Alas, they may or may not actually be real, considering that their only canon appearance is in a dream.

Shadowbloom is awfully creepy.



Geez, that smile is unsettling.

And finally...LUNA!



I about fell out of my seat when she showed up.  Not only can she dreamwalk, but she can also escort ponies into each other's dreams, allowing for dream-bound teleconferencing.  That's an incredibly useful ability.  And she states that she has had a busy night.  I wonder what she's up to while almost everypony is asleep and dreaming...

I loved Scootaloo's lucid dreaming.  Come to think of it, Star Trek Voyager had an episode with lucid dreaming, and Chakotay would know for certain that he was dreaming if he saw the moon...[/spoiler]

[drunkenshoe]

I'm very close to the herd.

[GrinningYMIR]

[drunkenshoe]

Today, I read that bronies are making adult men confront their emotions. And also cause some positive effects on their lives.

[GrinningYMIR]

They do, the show is very therapeutic to be honest.

[Munch]

Even the drunken peasants had a bronie on their show explaining what its all about and breaking some assumptions.
Of course TJ couldn't help but call the guy a horse fucker, but he was just making fun at the guys expense, he didn't seem to mind.

[Hydra009]

Even the drunken peasants had a bronie on their show explaining what its all about and breaking some assumptions. Of course TJ couldn't help but call the guy a horse fucker, but he was just making fun at the guys expense, he didn't seem to mind.

I saw that one.  IIRC, the furries got the worst of it.  Even though it was in jest, it seems odd that TJ of all people would be judgmental when it comes to sex.

It really wears on me that talking about the fandom/show to non-fans always revolves around the same handful of dumb accusations.  "It's for girls!"  "Bestiality!"  "Lyra plushie!"  It's like talking about atheism and getting the no purpose, no morality, communism arguments thrown at you over and over again.  It's either not correct (no morality) or not the whole picture (i.e. the atheism=communism argument is undermined by the existence of non-communist atheists).  I'm sure these sound like killer arguments to the person making them, but they're not.  And we've been over this stuff a million times before, can't we move on already?  Besides, there are more interesting things to talk about than somebody's bizarre fetish.

Fortunately, the other guys seemed more curious about the Star Trek - My Little Pony connection through John de Lancie and his very Q-like mlp character.  Ben seemed way more receptive to what the brony guest was saying.  Not necessarily interested in the show, maybe just a more charitable host.  Ben's cool in my book.

[Hydra009]

Today, I read that bronies are making adult men confront their emotions. And also cause some positive effects on their lives.

I'd like to see that article, if possible.  The claim seems plausible.  It certainly takes us on feels trips.  Watching the show generally puts me in this happy, carefree frame of mind.  Like petting a bunch of puppies.  Sure, I'm an adult and all, but who's too old for puppies?

[drunkenshoe]

Nothing serious. But it makes a lot of sense. Men are under constant attack from their childhood about how they should not show emotions, because that is something low and what women do; abused by social norms, other women and men; probably by themselves 'to man up', 'never to cry', 'never to reveal any weakness' ... many other bullshit you know better than me. So I am guessing this is speaking to some of them. Making them relax and calm about all this. Opening up. Putting down the defences.

It could be related to how cross dressing males -as you know have nothing to do with gender or sexaual preferences- but in a different way. To feel free from the pressures of a fucking norm that is violently imposed.

There are some others too. They are just simple little essays.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/real-life-stories/little-pony-friendship-magic-cartoon-4261072

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/05/01/inside-the-bizarre-world-of-bronies-adult-male-fans-of-my-little-pony.html

[Munch]

I also just saw this. As a comic book fan, I use to love batman the animated series and the JLU series. And I use to love shows like dexters lab and powerpuff girls.

But I've never been a fan of teen titans, never really appealed to me, yet seeing teen titans Go and the weird approach they went with that series, making comic book characters into straight up cartoon characters, it just came off as more weird to me then something I'd get into.

Anyway, even in this show, they made fun of the whole Bronie concept, which to me seems really ironic given how much teen titan go plays down the actual characters of teen titans as bumbling morons.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aS-jasCKLVU

[Hydra009]

Nothing serious. But it makes a lot of sense. Men are under constant attack from their childhood about how they should not show emotions, because that is something low and what women do; abused by social norms, other women and men; probably by themselves 'to man up', 'never to cry', 'never to reveal any weakness' ... many other bullshit you know better than me. So I am guessing this is speaking to some of them. Making them relax and calm about all this. Opening up. Putting down the defences.

Sounds plausible.  Never really thought about it from a men's lib angle.  Men are hurt by traditional gender roles (stuffing down emotions isn't healthy) and mlp does run against that.

Personally, my interest is from another angle.  My love of mlp isn't some aberrant thing, it's pretty much the same as other people's love of Disney movies or pokemon or toonami.    I like cartoons and I like high fantasy.  The only real barrier was the bad rap mlp had as an overly saccharine and poor-quality show consisting of nonstop girly tea parties devoid of conflict or characterization.  When I figured out they brought in new talent to reboot it, I decided to give it a shot.  Hooked in the first three episodes.  I didn't think I would, but I actually really enjoy the virtual utopia of the setting.  I'm into a lot of fairly grimdark stuff, and watching something unabashedly idealistic and heroic is actually pretty uplifting for me.

But one early criticism really stung me, that it's "for girls" because the main protagonists are female.  Apparently, as a guy, I can't like media featuring female protagonists.  So, male protagonist --> male or female audience.  Female protagonist --> only female audience.  This mentality effectively marginalizes female characters to secondary roles or halves their audience.  Total bullshit.  And sexist to boot.  Buck those people.  If believing that crap is "normal", then I don't want to be normal.

[GrinningYMIR]

Sorry I haven't been as active on this thread as I should have bee, the past few days have been shite, awesome, and stress all combined into one 0.o

I need some good mlp anti-depressants XP

[drunkenshoe]

Sounds plausible.  Never really thought about it from a men's lib angle.  Men are hurt by traditional gender roles (stuffing down emotions isn't healthy) and mlp does run against that.

Personally, my interest is from another angle.  My love of mlp isn't some aberrant thing, it's pretty much the same as other people's love of Disney movies or pokemon or toonami.    I like cartoons and I like high fantasy.  The only real barrier was the bad rap mlp had as an overly saccharine and poor-quality show consisting of nonstop girly tea parties devoid of conflict or characterization.  When I figured out they brought in new talent to reboot it, I decided to give it a shot.  Hooked in the first three episodes.  I didn't think I would, but I actually really enjoy the virtual utopia of the setting.  I'm into a lot of fairly grimdark stuff, and watching something unabashedly idealistic and heroic is actually pretty uplifting for me.

But one early criticism really stung me, that it's "for girls" because the main protagonists are female.  Apparently, as a guy, I can't like media featuring female protagonists.  So, male protagonist --> male or female audience.  Female protagonist --> only female audience.  This mentality effectively marginalizes female characters to secondary roles or halves their audience.  Total bullshit.  And sexist to boot.  Buck those people.  If believing that crap is "normal", then I don't want to be normal.

Male suicide rates are much higher than female suicide rates. What I described also triggers male violence against female. Men's or women's liberation from social norms prison relies on the same set of bullshit. But one is already a second class citizen.

However, there is something else important here related to what stung you that comes with 'its for girls'.

See, when girls raised to act like boys; participate in sports, martial arts, play computer games made for boys, drinking like boys, watch boy movies, learn to fix a car, do anything you can thing that is thought predominantly masculine,  they are praised. A female with 'male characteristics' is always rewarded in some way socially. But at the same time bashed down and mocked. What they are going to do? Either be a girly selfie girl fit all the 'annoying' female characteristics, choose 'female jobs', fit in 'female positions', embraced the role and norm of 'being a woman is a virtue in itself', 'I am something to be deserved, looked after, care for, protected, I am a fucking prize'   -beautiful ones are easily shaped as toddlers for that road- or be the girl who gives the finger to the world and do what they like. This could look like I am simplifiying it and divide it into black and white teams, no I am not. There is no such thing as the ones in the former group is stupid or the latter is ugly. there are women who manages to do it all of them at the same time all their life. And the bullshit they take from the world would kill a man easily.

No, I don't think men don't take bullshit or don't get oppressed, I am just talking about women right now.

But when it comes to a boy or a man who happens to like to do what is thought predominantly feminine  (we can't even say act like a girl or raised like a girl here) they are punished severely by men and women. Humiliated. And it is a very easy mechanism, because all the humiliating expressions, phrases and forms of behaviour is 'female'. A man could be abused for not liking sports or not wanting to be a driver, choosing an automatic. Being a stay at home dad and looking after kids, quiting his job to move for his wive's promotion, or if his wige is earning more than him. 

I know you won't like the term I use, but patriarchal human culture dictates we should raise our girls more like boys, but not our boys more like girls. Because that's the 'proper' person to be. The abuse on men and women is patriarchal. Because both of male and female culture is patriarchal.

It's exactly like the same thing with bronies, fuzzy stuffed animals, some certain sort of fantasy, cartoons, movies, books. This is fed by a so powerful category in culture, most males cannot even be aware that they would actually like something 'female' of the sort. We are all raised to be selective that way.

About people -men or women- watching, supporting strong female protagonists or side characters is still a no-no for an overwhelming majority. Conscious or unconscious. Almost all strong female characters are hated. Skip cartoons, think about famous successful tv series. Remember 'Bones'? May be the best of them ever created. It is the story of an atheist, genius scientist who eventually gets tamed, forced into traditional roles because that is what audience wants to see. Because that is proper. While another fantasy male character, Gregory House, a constantly praised asshole who gives more damage than he serves, a misogynistic, racist piece of shit who gets away everything he does and ends up with the most realistic scenario because he is entitled to it. He is so beloved people use this character's lines as if he was real and said them instead of an actor repeating a bunch of writer's repliques. What is worse he is defined as 'honest', 'straighforward' not taking bullshit telling the truth messiah. House is a derivative of Sherlock Holmes. Like almost all the solid, intelligent male characters available to/and created by Anglo-Saxon American show business which dominated the main stream in the world. The entitled white male. A high fucntioning sociopath which comes either with strong libido for women or an asexual alienating them, creating a privately defined sphere between special male characters where women are humuliated, presented as maids. Yeah, we may have one strong female to challenge him, but she is put in her place by his unrequited love for the asexual male head. Either way it is the king of a private world where women are denied. Now, yes it's OK for a story to have a plot of the sort, but what I am describing here is far more than the story Doyle wrote. It's a hand book and the blueprint of mainstream narrative. Do you know the True Blood character Tara? (A strong, intelligent black woman in the story and in the most of it the only sane character in it with the Irak veteran) There is a few articles on why she is one of the most hated character of his time. Doesn't matter what they made her do, everyone hated her. Let's turn it upside down. Why is Daenerys Targaryen is loved so much? What are the qualities of the character? She is a fragile, vulnerable, beautiful, sexy victim who took what was forced on her by men solemnly, embraced it and came over it just to deliver justice, goes on untouched and out clean. Ever so elegant, an ultimately good goddess. She is a more of a fantasy than her dragons and the giants in the story.

OK, forget about fantasy characters and let's look how some real characters are fantasized. I usually have great prejudice against how historical characters and their stories are presented, I am rarely wrong because I have an academic idea of some sort good or bad. The most famous historical female figure in the Anglo Saxon-American world is probbaly Elizabeth Tudor. That woman annoyed me to death at most of my younger days, being under bombardment of British assimilation and things always didn't add up about how her story was portrayed and what she created. Do you know the movies or the series made on her? 'A poor, unlucky woman of an executed mother who had to be raised to the British throne who apparently did nothing but crying, mourning that she couldn't get married and have children.' AW. How sad. What fucking bullshit. That woman is one of the most powerful soverigns, one fucking genius of a stateman and a creator of a culture what later layed stones that became British Empire and most of the English culture, highly likely never thought of marrying once let alone having children, probably had many lovers. Oh wait, that's a description of a man. I'm not even getting in to how her mother Ann Boleyn is portrayed. 'She was sooo beautfiul and love in with Henry the VIII, poor woman!' Yeah right. *Rolls eyes. 

Anyway, I got carried away again. You got me. I need to work and I am trying to avoid it by inventing things to do. Nobody likes to watch real strong female protagonists, even if they are real. If one day they would decide to make a biographical flick for Henrietta Leawitt, they will have to cast a beautiful woman and add a lot to story to make people watch it. Because she is an 'ugly', deaf, recluse who worked without being paid -like Noether- who, people had no idea that she was dead until they decided to give her the Nobel Prize after being scolded by Stockholm, she deserved when she is alive years ago. 

We have a looong way to go for a world -starting civilised countries- that men and women would watch/enjoy something they really themselves chose because they liked it under minimum bullshit possible.