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The Brony Thread

Are you a Brony?

  • Yes

    Votes: 92 26.0%
  • No

    Votes: 118 33.3%
  • Brony?

    Votes: 144 40.7%

  • Total voters
    354

JonnyWhoopes

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too many bronies now

9632478.jpg
 

Toquinha1977

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TL;DR warning.

I had no idea what the brony phenomenon was up until today, when I found a link on Wired in which an artist is doing up some really awesome customized MLP resculpts and repaints.

ironman.jpg

my_little_bobafett.jpg


I found a link to another Wired article about the Brony phenomenon and then I remembered this thread and the article explained a lot.

I dunno, conventional wisdom tells me that if a man in his 30s is buying pink toys marketed towards girls under 8, he is asking to be put on the sex offender registry, but then, what do I know...I host cube meets and the bulk of the people coming out to them aren't even old enough to shave yet.

I already realize that the bulk of half-hour animated shows that have been broadcast in the past 20 years have a huge amount of crossover appeal, especially since the bulk of the jokes are actually quite adult themed, despite being intended towards kids Animaniacs had some really sophisticated humour in it, some of which would require a lot of really awkward explanations if the kids wanted to know why their parents were laughing harder than they were.

Sample scene:
Wakko steals a paperweight from Thaddeus Plotz's desk and swallows it.

Thaddeus: Give me back my paperweight!
Wakko: Sure, but you'll have to wait a while.
Yakko: (blows kiss towards audience) Gooooooood night everybody!

So, I decided to sample the first episode. Not grating, and it didn't make me want to claw my eyes out (very much unlike when I was 8 and was made to watch an 80's MLP cartoon during a classroom party, and then we were forced to write a thank you letter to the teacher who brought the video), but not really my cup of tea (and yes, I'm aware that it's supposed to get better with following episodes).

It did get the old cube brain churning, though. Anyone analyzing gender roles in society would have a field day with this show, as well as the whole Brony phenomenon. First of all, the setting takes place in a matriarchal society (ie: female dominated), where the male characters are either sidekicks (eg: Spike the dragon) or servants (eg: the horses that were driving the carriage). Not sure that's the type of world I'd like to live in.

I've been doing a bit of reading about what it means to grow up as a guy in today's society, as traditional gender roles have essentially been thrown into the blender. Women may crow endlessly about the glass ceiling (ie: the one that keeps their earning potential at 70% of their male counterparts), but we are seeing fewer men earn degrees in fields such as engineering, which is made up for with the increased number of female graduates. As well, we have other changes in society, like the extremely high rate of divorces, leading to fractured families and boys growing up without a male role model (ie: mom got sole custody, they only get to see dad on the weekends). So we have a nation of boys who are being raised by women who will raise their boys to be NOT like their fathers.

Hence, we see the tendency for boys to be raised with increasingly female values, as they have few positive male role models. Who here had a male teacher throughout their elementary school years? I know I didn't. Add this to the endless amount of pacification you see in the school system, such as zero tolerance policies for violence (ie: point a finger at someone and say "BANG" and get suspended for weapons offenses), and as a result, you have a generation of boys who don't get to do things like get dirty, learn to fight, and are forced to take ritalin so they can stay compliant. Hence, you have a generation of boys who are NOT growing up to be men, at least not in the traditional sense.

Without having sat through the rest of the 9 hour video, this is the only explanation I can really come up with. Is this kinda like that Star Trek: The Next Generation episode where Wesley Crusher returns to the Enterprise and finds everybody addicted to a video game?

Note that this is NOT me passing judgment on anyone. I'm firing up the second episode as soon as I finish typing.
 
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qqwref

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I dunno, conventional wisdom tells me that if a man in his 30s is buying pink toys marketed towards girls under 8, he is asking to be put on the sex offender registry, but then, what do I know...I host cube meets and the bulk of the people coming out to them aren't even old enough to shave yet.
I'd say that's a pretty traditionalistic/conservative view; also I don't think you understand what the sex offender registry is for.

I already realize that the bulk of half-hour animated shows that have been broadcast in the past 20 years have a huge amount of crossover appeal, especially since the bulk of the jokes are actually quite adult themed [...]Wakko: Sure, but you'll have to wait a while.
I wouldn't say that "crossover appeal" explains all (or even most) of what's going on. When I watch something like Animaniacs I get the feeling that it's specifically designed as a children's cartoon, but includes some things that will at least prevent any parents or older brothers who are watching along from being totally bored. But this show has a different feel entirely, of something that is designed to be well-put-together and entertaining, almost without trying to cater to a specific demographic.

80's MLP cartoon
I'm sorry ;_;
It's interesting to point out, though, that that was what MLP has always been for most people - something blatantly intended to sell plastic toys to young girls, and with no additional thought put into it. Although this show keeps some of the basic concepts, it's so thoroughly unrelated in other ways that it might as well be considered a different cultural phenomenon altogether. I know someone who just calls it FiM (Friendship is Magic), because it doesn't really feel like the old MLP at all.

the glass ceiling (ie: the one that keeps their earning potential at 70% of their male counterparts)
I've heard that an earning gap doesn't actually exist anymore (at least in America!) and that the gender salary differences are due to men being statistically more competitive and ambitious and more willing to take risks.

you have a generation of boys who don't get to do things like get dirty, learn to fight, and are forced to take ritalin so they can stay compliant. Hence, you have a generation of boys who are NOT growing up to be men, at least not in the traditional sense.
I don't really get the feeling that this is actually happening (also: how many kids do you know who are "forced to take ritalin"?). Instead of seeing lots of boys who don't do traditional guy things because they've been brought up to avoid them, I instead see lots of boys who have been told not to do traditional guy things, but want to do them, and thus end up having very little respect and trust for authority. So then you get lots of people doing more drugs and risky behavior than they normally would. If the rules are preventing you from doing the stuff you want to do, who needs rules, anyway?
 

Toquinha1977

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I'd say that's a pretty traditionalistic/conservative view; also I don't think you understand what the sex offender registry is for.

Maybe, maybe not. I would figure that it's designed to keep dangerous people off the streets, but it's a blunt instrument that can be misused or abused. Bitter ex-wife, wants sole custody of the kids? Coach the kids into fabricating stories of sexual abuse at the hands of their father. Got a neighbour you don't like very much? Hack into his WEP secured wireless network and download child pornography. Want to make sure that your 15-year old daughter is left alone by her 17-year old boyfriend? Like, forever? File statutory rape charges.

Admittedly, these are isolated incidents, and perhaps a bit of an irrational fear, given the amount that it's hyped up by the media when it does happen. But that's also one of the unconscious reason why if I'm buying "childish" things, I don't go to the local toy store.

I wouldn't say that "crossover appeal" explains all (or even most) of what's going on. When I watch something like Animaniacs I get the feeling that it's specifically designed as a children's cartoon, but includes some things that will at least prevent any parents or older brothers who are watching along from being totally bored. But this show has a different feel entirely, of something that is designed to be well-put-together and entertaining, almost without trying to cater to a specific demographic.

I'm sorry ;_;
It's interesting to point out, though, that that was what MLP has always been for most people - something blatantly intended to sell plastic toys to young girls, and with no additional thought put into it. Although this show keeps some of the basic concepts, it's so thoroughly unrelated in other ways that it might as well be considered a different cultural phenomenon altogether. I know someone who just calls it FiM (Friendship is Magic), because it doesn't really feel like the old MLP at all.

This seems to be the case with most 80s revivals, actually. For my formative years, it was all about G.I. Joe, TransFormers, and Masters of the Universe. On a whim, I decided to rewatch a few of them and in retrospect, the writing was absolute crap. Characterization was non-existent, dialogue was stilted, and the plots were continuously recycled. But really, nobody really cared back then...the kids didn't, because it was their toys come to life. The creators didn't, because they were being paid to make 30 minute toy commercials. I can actually sit through episodes of TransFormers: Animated and not only notfeel like my IQ points dropped, but appreciate the fan-service (ie: injokes) for the fans of the original. I watch old G1 episodes of TransFormers and the only thought going through my head is, "I watched this stuff?"

I don't really get the feeling that this is actually happening (also: how many kids do you know who are "forced to take ritalin"?). Instead of seeing lots of boys who don't do traditional guy things because they've been brought up to avoid them, I instead see lots of boys who have been told not to do traditional guy things, but want to do them, and thus end up having very little respect and trust for authority. So then you get lots of people doing more drugs and risky behavior than they normally would. If the rules are preventing you from doing the stuff you want to do, who needs rules, anyway?

Not a lot, and it has been a large number of years since I was within that age bracket (hint: my screen name doesn't just refer to when Star Wars: A New Hope came out), so I come from a different perspective, but what you say makes some sense, actually -- same thing could be said about the (North) American culture and attitudes towards drinking and alcohol, in which kids aren't exposed to it (unlike in Europe), and when they turn legal drinking age, they do all sorts of stupid stuff to make up for it.

There are times that I do get the feeling that there is a vested interest in keeping us in a perpetual state of adolescence by selling our childhoods back to us, making things like video games, toys, and cartoons more appealing for adults, which we gleefully consume with rabid abandon, and saying f--- it to the stuff that we're supposed to buy when we're "grown up". Heck, I'm as guilty as most...I dropped over $100 last month on Magic: The Gathering products...that's not even counting my puzzle cubes. But it's doing a pretty good job of keeping me distracted and rioting in the streets to protest the real problems in the world. Global warming? Housing crisis? F___ it. I'm still trying to nail my first sub15 average.
 
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JonnyWhoopes

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Explain the practical purpose of 2000 pictures.

Does there have to be a practical purpose to do something? Not everything we do must have purpose in the way you seem to interpret purpose. Sometimes people can do things just for the sake of doing things.

Also, I use mine for wallpapers, screensavers, and reaction images.

P.S. Don't be a parasprite.
 
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