Thoughts on Bronies

[widdershins]

I have a couple of "bronie" friends.  They not only watch the show, they have t-shirts, lamps, cups, figures, dolls, posters, the card game, bedspreads, sexualized pony desktop backgrounds occasionally...  I find it creepy that grown men are so into something my daughter grew out of before age 12.  If it was just about liking the show, cool.  No problem there.  But that's not what a bronie is.  A bronie is...something else.  I don't know what, but there is a lot more to it than just liking the show.  They are adamant, passionate about it and often the merchandise that goes with it.  I'm pretty sure they make more off grown men today than they ever did on little girls back in the day.  I'm getting old and I don't understand it so I want to kill it.  You damned kids and your sex ponies these days!  What is the world coming to?

[GrinningYMIR]

We've heard every argument and insult under the rainbow dash (pun)


Have fun with that

[widdershins]

We've heard every argument and insult under the rainbow dash (pun)


Have fun with that

I didn't think I was being insulting.

Okay, I just re-read what I posted and I see no insult there.  There wasn't even an argument.  More a statement.  I'm old, it's new, I don't like it, grumpy-old-man closer.  No insult or argument.  Unless you're seeing something I am not.

[GrinningYMIR]

You called it creepy and then listed off all of the merch, wouldn't be creepy if it were all about football and the like would it? No because that's accepted by the mainstream people. Sports fantatic is normal and a brony is a pathetic man child.

You'll excuse me and I apologize if I'm coming off as angry and if you didn't mean to offend or attack. But I've come across this so much it's like I'm gay in the middle of the Bible Belt. And I'm bisexual to boot. So I'm everyone's favorite.

Bottom line, it's a good show and I enjoy it and everything about it. But I don't seek to convert people and if you don't like it it's cool. It's alright to not like things just don't be a dick about it

[Baruch]

Sport paraphernalia is Boss!  I know a guy who has a sneaker collection of over 150 Nike pairs, in original packaging ;-)  It is kind of cute in a Peter Pan sort of way, this refusal to grow up ;-)

[doorknob]

I think I guy who isn't afraid to like mlp is sexy. Be who you are not who others want you to be.

[GrinningYMIR]

Call me sexy then doorknob

[Hydra009]

I find it creepy that grown men are so into something my daughter grew out of before age 12.

1980s cartoon =/= 2010s cartoon.  The later is deliberately aimed at adults in the same way that disney and pixar movies are.  Is it really such a shock that they have an adult audience?

If it was just about liking the show, cool.  No problem there.  But that's not what a bronie is.  A bronie is...something else.  I don't know what, but there is a lot more to it than just liking the show.  They are adamant, passionate about it and often the merchandise that goes with it.

Soo...this "something else" is not just liking the show but really liking the show?  I'm not following you.  Lot of shows have passionate fans.  That's fairly normal, not something particularly deviant or creepy.

[Hydra009]

Be who you are not who others want you to be.

Exactly!  And I'm pretty sure that was the moral of at least one episode and one of Rainbow Dash's main traits (authenticity).

[Munch]

I was watching a few episodes of glass of water, with Lily/Jerry Peet, and came to the one where he talked about the sisterhoof social episode, where big mac dressed up like a woman. I saw the episode myself, and thought it had some funny moments, but it did make me think about the of the only major problems I have with MLP.

Anyone could argue that they don't want anything to do with MLP:FIS because 'its a show for little girls' or 'bronies are perverts' and the usual shit that comes associated from assholes who don't bother to dig deeper into the reason why full grown adults watch such a show, instead just jump to conclusions.
However, after having watched MLP:FIS, I've grown to like the show, not as an avid fanboy bronie, but as just someone who enjoys the same on the same level as when I enjoyed Rugrats or Justice League unlimited, I don't rush out to guy merchandise or dress in costumes about the characters, I just enjoy a good, well written animated show, and honestly compared to a lot of stuff now, its one of the only newer shows I've gotten into in recent years (I haven't picked up on gravity falls, legend of korra or steven universe, depsite how good they all sound).

But anyway, one of the flaws I have with MLP, which sometimes I can ignore if its a good story that doesn't draw attention to it, is how male characters are treated in the overall dynamic of the show. The old argument is simply that MLP is a show aimed at little girls so its bound to be a female driven story. I'd be fine with that, being someone who grew up on shows like sabrina the teenage witch, Daria, and two of my fav disney movies of all time are mulan and the princess and the frog, with strong female leads.
But its just how completely blantant it is in MLP:FIS at how men really are just so short cast in everything, although there are men in the show, they more come off as stereotypes or tropes more then characters with any depth. Spike being the only constant male lead, but whos a little kid, and when he grows up into an adult dragon he becomes a jerk. Big mac, who never says any words outside of 'yep' and 'nope', EXCEPT, when he was in sisterhoof social, where he spoke all the time in drag sounding like a southern drag queen (only time he speaks up is when he's more leaning towards the opposite gender).
Of course there is discord, who for me is one of the best characters on the show, but even then, he kind of get pulled down several pegs by the most suger sweet character in the show, fluttershy, which redeems him good, but still makes him seem a little more lost.

I'm not arguing that its not a good thing to have such strong female characters in any show, the way they've written the female leads in MLP, including the rulers, is really well done, and when looking at contrast between characters like rainbow dash and fluttershy, between applejack and rarity (whos my fav character btw), they have their own personalities, flaws and backgrounds that make them great characters.
But when I think of shows as previously mentioned, ones like Rugrats, or ones like Recess, or Hey Arnold, or Teen Titans, all shows that had a mix of male and female leads, all with their own characters and personalities, it just makes it seem that today, in this current generation, MLPs more matriarchal plot is out of place, when so many shows that came years before perfected the art of having strong male and female lead characters.

If they made a show today, one that was at the same age range as MLP, but was primarily male driven, with just some background female characters, I feel there would be some major rants about it from modern media. Back in the 80s shows like transformers, TMNT, thundercats and similar shows were like that, but that was decades ago, it I just wonder, isn't it kind of out of place in 2015 to have a show that primerally focuses on one gender role, with very little positive male leads?
Even if the argument still rests that its a show aimed at little girls, don't little girls deserve to see males in a positive light too, as strong individuals, like women, like how little girls have moms and dads?

Yeah, this was whats been whizzing around in my head about it lately. I still love the show don't get me wrong, I just wonder if this one aspect of the show is as much a dated concept as the primarily male driven cartoons of the 80s

[Munch]

speaking of which.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoOW1Vvl2oU

Antonio Dazzle, Señor Dusk and Andy Blaze?

[Hakurei Reimu]

YOU THINK I DON'T RECOGNIZE JOJO'S BIZARRE ADVENTURE, MUNCH!?!!?

Yeah, Friendship is Manly has a very Jojo Fabulous feel. Always good for a laugh.

[Shiranu]

You called it creepy and then listed off all of the merch, wouldn't be creepy if it were all about football and the like would it? No because that's accepted by the mainstream people. Sports fantatic is normal and a brony is a pathetic man child.

If it was a kid's sport as overly sexualized as MLP is? Yeah probably.

I am all for Bronies, I don't have a problem with them (as I've said before I probably have weirder fetishes), but at the same time have to keep it real... there IS a huge difference between loving a sports team and sexualizing a children's cartoon.

[Hydra009]

If it was a kid's sport as overly sexualized as MLP is? Yeah probably.

I am all for Bronies, I don't have a problem with them (as I've said before I probably have weirder fetishes), but at the same time have to keep it real... there IS a huge difference between loving a sports team and sexualizing a children's cartoon.

Yeah, but all popular cartoons get the rule 34 treatment.  Last time I checked, pokemon (bizarrely enough) was the most popular show for that.  I don't recall any of us upset with Pokemon fans because of that.  Because, obviously, they can't control that and no one has to see that stuff if they don't want to.

[Nonsensei]

These guys want to fuck cartoon ponies. That's pretty weird.

Is it the worst thing going on in the world right now? Nah.

conclusion: who cares?