It's not a hipster thing. We honestly like the show. What you should be saying is that you haven't been paying enough attention to bronies to know or care why they like MLP. EDIT:
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Obviously a changeling, we all know Dash would be the bottom.
It's not a hipster thing. We honestly like the show. What you should be saying is that you haven't been paying enough attention to bronies to know or care why they like MLP.
I guess I'm not brain damaged enough to understand why grown men and women enjoy programming written and presented for 6 year olds. Yes, I know it has pop culture references in it. Yes, I've even watched a couple of episodes.
Just like I can't really enjoy Transformers G1 or Voltron anymore, I can't see how a grown, mature person can get much enjoyment out of MLP. It's sort of sad to see a huge chunk of an upcoming generation eschew more intellectual fare in favor of stuff like this. It's a continuation of the extended childhood that began in the 1990s for people in their 20s and into their 30s. Failure to launch, all of that. 40 year olds crowing about how great Harry Potter and Hunger Games are.
Forgive me for being a bit of a curmudgeon about this, but COME ON.
I guess I'm not brain damaged enough to understand why grown men and women enjoy programming written and presented for 6 year olds.
6 year olds are more intelligent than you think they are.
I can't see how a grown, mature person can get much enjoyment out of MLP.
Then you have a lot to learn about human beings, and probably MLP as well.
No, I don't think that's it. I get a TON of enjoyment out of "Mr. Men" on Cartoon Network, for example. I watch it with my 2 and 13 year old daughters and crack up. MLP, I don't get. It's child-level writing for children.
I guess I'm not brain damaged enough to understand why grown men and women enjoy programming written and presented for 6 year olds. Yes, I know it has pop culture references in it. Yes, I've even watched a couple of episodes.
Have you seen some of the crap they pawn off of as "adult" programming these days? When I want to watch something intellectual, I can (and often do) watch PBS or the handful of "adult" programs on cable that still require some brain cells to appreciate. When I want just some fun entertainment, I turn to ponies and the like.
Look at the average "adult" programming lineup on a typical television channel. 90% of it is reality TV crap and the other 10% are police procedurals (yes, I know I may be exaggerating here somewhat, but you see my point). Even cable networks whose original charters were to provide high quality, intellectual programming are now pretty much just showing reality garbage (I'm looking at you, Bravo and A&E). History Channel now shows programs about aliens, pawn shops, and driving trucks on ice roads instead of anything about history. TLC, which was co-founded by NASA, is basically now the "freak show" channel, with programs about midgets, families with way too many kids, people with strange diseases, and who knows what else. SyFy used to show decent science fiction, but now it's basically B-movies and pro wrestling (though I admit I do like watching pro wrestling sometimes).
MLP at least has fun characters and witty plots, which is far more than can be said about the vast majority of "adult" programming on the TV wasteland these days.
I guess I'm not brain damaged enough to understand why grown men and women enjoy programming written and presented for 6 year olds. Yes, I know it has pop culture references in it. Yes, I've even watched a couple of episodes.
Have you seen some of the crap they pawn off of as "adult" programming these days? When I want to watch something intellectual, I can (and often do) watch PBS or the handful of programs on cable that still require some brain cells to appreciate. When I want just some fun entertainment, I turn to ponies and the like.
Look at the average "adult" programming lineup on a typical television channel. 90% of it is reality TV crap and the other 10% are police procedurals (yes, I know I may be exaggerating here somewhat, but you see my point). Even cable networks whose original charters were to provide high quality, intellectual programming are now pretty much just showing reality garbage (I'm looking at you, Bravo and A&E). History Channel now shows programs about aliens, pawn shops, and driving trucks on ice roads instead of anything about history. TLC, which was co-founded by NASA, is basically now the "freak show" channel, with programs about midgets, families with way too many kids, people with strange diseases, and who knows what else. SyFy used to show decent science fiction, but now it's basically B-movies and pro wrestling (though I admit I do like watching pro wrestling sometimes).
MLP at least has fun characters and witty plots, which is far more than can be said about the vast majority of "adult" programming on the TV wasteland these days.
I agree that most television is crap. I watch very little. Dr. Who, Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones. That's about it. Eureka and Veep are guilty pleasures.
Not everything has to be deep and have a message about the world as a whole. MLP is cute and sweet and can make me laugh and that's really all I want from it. I recall Rym saying "a man has three stages in life: 'I like Fist of the North Star,' 'I ironically like Fist of the North Star,' and 'I unironically like Fist of the North Star'" and I feel that the same principle applies to MLP. One shouldn't judge something by what it is not, but rather what it is and how well it is what it is. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is a cartoon made to sell toys and inspire happiness, and it does both very well.
I can't see how a grown, mature person can get much enjoyment out of MLP. It's sort of sad to see a huge chunk of an upcoming generation eschew more intellectual fare in favor of stuff like this.
Who says anything is eschewed? I'm 30 years old, wealthy, successful, well read, and enjoy My Little Pony right alongside 1Q84 and Xenophon. You're making a false dichotomy. Are "videogames" any less ""childish?"
It's a continuation of the extended childhood that began in the 1990s for people in their 20s and into their 30s. Failure to launch, all of that. 40 year olds crowing about how great Harry Potter and Hunger Games are.
Bullshit. This is a common and desperately narrow-minded argument. All of the complaints about "continuation of childhood" or "man-children" are just bitching from older people who have strangely specific view on what "adulthood" means. My generation and the generation after me are increasingly skipping/delaying things like marriage, children, and property ownership in exchange for a different lifestyle. We have different goals and different values.
Many older people for whatever reason feel threatened by a generation that decided it will do what it wants rather than follow prescribed paths, and in many of these cases I feel that this threat is primarily out of envy and regret.
There is no crisis here. There is no "extended" childhood. It's just a rapidly evolving culture. Pundits in ancient Greece complained of the same thing. Every archaic generation complains of it. It's nothing new.
I can't see how a grown, mature person can get much enjoyment out of MLP.
Then you have a lot to learn about human beings, and probably MLP as well.
No, I don't think that's it.
Your own comments directly contradict this.
I guess I'm not brain damaged enough to understand why grown men and women enjoy programming written and presented for 6 year olds.
I can't see how a grown, mature person can get much enjoyment out of MLP.
MLP, I don't get.
How can this be interpreted as anything other than proudly-proclaimed willful ignorance? Your own lack of understanding is a fact about you, not a fact about MLP nor the grown men and women who watch it.
I don't think it's positive evolution to have a culture that is increasingly refusing to accept responsibility for their lot in life (the baby boomers did it!), feels as though participating in community and government (outside of the internet) is a waste of time, relies on their parents well into their 30s financially and logistically...
Sure, retaining some child-like fascination with the world can be a positive thing. I agree. I'm sitting here typing this from my desk at work that is loaded with TMNT, Star Wars, Voltron, and Transformers toys. I get it.
Still, more and more, people are conflating a childlike sense of whimsy, which is a major positive, with a childlike sense of wanting to be taken care of, spoon fed, and not get your hands dirty and take active responsibility for the world around you. That's bad.
Well, muppet, if you're just going to focus on telling us we're stupid and immature for liking a children's television show that you personally don't enjoy, could you just stop posting here and let us enjoy talking about diminutive horses?
I think Mr. Men inspires a lot of happiness with much less marketing and focus on selling merchandise. On those metrics I'd call it superior.
As a kid I was never a fan of those books, so I didn't watch the show. For all I know, you are absolutely right, but the lack of community around it creates a void where incentive to watch it would be.
Well, muppet, if you're just going to focus on telling us we're stupid and immature for liking a children's television show that you personally don't enjoy, could you just stop posting here and let us enjoy talking about diminutive horses?
I was actually hoping for a comprehensive argument about what exactly the draw is. Lou did a really good job. Rym comes in second. Most of the rest of you just pretty much got butthurt and cried.
I don't think it's positive evolution to have a culture that is increasingly refusing to accept responsibility for their lot in life (the baby boomers did it!), feels as though participating in community and government (outside of the internet) is a waste of time, relies on their parents well into their 30s financially and logistically...
That's unrelated to MLP itself. Taste and lifestyle are unrelated.
Still, more and more, people are conflating a childlike sense of whimsy, which is a major positive, with a childlike sense of wanting to be taken care of, spoon fed, and not get your hands dirty and take active responsibility for the world around you. That's bad.
I'm sorry, but what data do you have to back up this claim? As a college student with a large group of intelligent, ambitious, politically and socially active friends, literally all of the anecdotal evidence I have at my disposal contradicts you.
Of course, my evidence is anecdotal rather than formally gathered, but there is quite a bit of it.
I don't think it's positive evolution to have a culture that is increasingly refusing to accept responsibility for their lot in life (the baby boomers did it!), feels as though participating in community and government (outside of the internet) is a waste of time, relies on their parents well into their 30s financially and logistically...
That's unrelated to MLP itself. Taste and lifestyle are unrelated.
I think that the communities that spring up around things like MLP often, almost always, conflate the two.
Well, muppet, if you're just going to focus on telling us we're stupid and immature for liking a children's television show that you personally don't enjoy, could you just stop posting here and let us enjoy talking about diminutive horses?
I was actually hoping for a comprehensive argument about what exactly the draw is. Lou did a really good job. Rym comes in second. Most of the rest of you just pretty much got butthurt and cried.
Why would I want to spend effort explaining something to someone who proudly proclaims their ignorance?
I don't think it's positive evolution to have a culture that is increasingly refusing to accept responsibility for their lot in life
Does not follow. What do you mean by "accept responsibility?" I have no responsibility to have children or to own a house.
feels as though participating in community and government (outside of the internet) is a waste of time,
Again, who says? The youth vote has been minimal for decades: you think this generation is any different? Many of us are extremely active in politics.
relies on their parents well into their 30s financially and logistically...
You seem to forget that we're in the middle of a deep recession. This sort of thing happens every time there is a profoundly bad economy. It's not particular to this generation.
Sure, retaining some child-like fascination with the world can be a positive thing. I agree. I'm sitting here typing this from my desk at work that is loaded with TMNT, Star Wars, Voltron, and Transformers toys. I get it.
You clearly don't. Your argument was that "adults" shouldn't be consuming media you personally believe is for "children."
Still, more and more, people are conflating a childlike sense of whimsy, which is a major positive, with a childlike sense of wanting to be taken care of, spoon fed, and not get your hands dirty and take active responsibility for the world around you. That's bad.
Again, what do you mean by that? What do you mean by "taking responsibility?"
I'm the Vice President of Product Management for a financial software company. For many years before that, I was the Senior Production Engineer at a trading firm, and before that a Software Engineer at IBM. I'm near the top of my field, take on numerous major side projects (GeekNights, Connecticon, to name two), am politically very engaged, studied and well read, and extremely physically fit.
Yet, I consider My Little Pony to be one of my favorite television shows.
I was actually hoping for a comprehensive argument about what exactly the draw is. Lou did a really good job. Rym comes in second. Most of the rest of you just pretty much got butthurt and cried.
I guess I'm not brain damaged enough to understand why grown men and women enjoy programming written and presented for 6 year olds. Yes, I know it has pop culture references in it. Yes, I've even watched a couple of episodes.
Just like I can't really enjoy Transformers G1 or Voltron anymore, I can't see how a grown, mature person can get much enjoyment out of MLP. It's sort of sad to see a huge chunk of an upcoming generation eschew more intellectual fare in favor of stuff like this. It's a continuation of the extended childhood that began in the 1990s for people in their 20s and into their 30s. Failure to launch, all of that. 40 year olds crowing about how great Harry Potter and Hunger Games are.
My emphases.
If you were trying to set up a conversation about why we like MLP, you sure did a great job of insulting us while you were at it.
EDIT: Also, you get giant red flaming Fuck You for the ableism inherent in the "brain-damaged" comment.
I concede to generalizing. Obviously not every MLP fan is equal. I still believe that as a community, this generation is extending and enhancing the infantilization of the first world. A shit economy is one thing. A generation of people who don't see why they need a full time job or what's wrong with mom calling them down for dinner at 32 is another. I see far more of the latter.
Anyway, I was ribbing. It's a pretty funny picture, externally. A bunch of grown men and women huddled around the TV watching My Little Pony. It's comical. Sorry, but it is.
Obviously, I came off as more mean-spirited than intended, but I think that may have to do more with the MLP community being used to defending themselves more than what I actually said. Maybe not. In either case, I apologize for offense.
I concede to generalizing. Obviously not every MLP fan is equal. I still believe that as a community, this generation is extending and enhancing the infantilization of the first world. A shit economy is one thing. A generation of people who don't see why they need a full time job or what's wrong with mom calling them down for dinner at 32 is another. I see far more of the latter.
Anecdotal. Confirmation bias. Sure, maybe.
Again, it's entirely bullshit. Who says anyone in these generations don't want full time jobs? Who says there an epidemic of kids who refuse to work and stay with their parents as sponges? Where do you "see" these people?
Anyway, I was ribbing. It's a pretty funny picture, externally. A bunch of grown men and women huddled around the TV watching My Little Pony. It's comical. Sorry, but it is.
Pony slash fiction, though, is just gross.
We, the FRCF, have never argued against either of these and have a long history of agreeing with them.
I concede to generalizing. Obviously not every MLP fan is equal. I still believe that as a community, this generation is extending and enhancing the infantilization of the first world. A shit economy is one thing. A generation of people who don't see why they need a full time job or what's wrong with mom calling them down for dinner at 32 is another. I see far more of the latter.
Anecdotal. Confirmation bias. Sure, maybe.
Again, it's entirely bullshit. Who says anyone in these generations don't want full time jobs? Who says there an epidemic of kids who refuse to work and stay with their parents as sponges? Where do you "see" these people?
Half my graduating class. My daughter's friends, who while thirteen and fourteen, already show signs of going in that direction (like the girl who wears candy and ears and a tail every day, all day). Most of reddit.
Comments
EDIT: Obviously a changeling, we all know Dash would be the bottom.
I'm working on some supercuts of certain things in the show that will allow for much more in-depth analysis in the next set up episodes as well!
Just like I can't really enjoy Transformers G1 or Voltron anymore, I can't see how a grown, mature person can get much enjoyment out of MLP. It's sort of sad to see a huge chunk of an upcoming generation eschew more intellectual fare in favor of stuff like this. It's a continuation of the extended childhood that began in the 1990s for people in their 20s and into their 30s. Failure to launch, all of that. 40 year olds crowing about how great Harry Potter and Hunger Games are.
Forgive me for being a bit of a curmudgeon about this, but COME ON.
Look at the average "adult" programming lineup on a typical television channel. 90% of it is reality TV crap and the other 10% are police procedurals (yes, I know I may be exaggerating here somewhat, but you see my point). Even cable networks whose original charters were to provide high quality, intellectual programming are now pretty much just showing reality garbage (I'm looking at you, Bravo and A&E). History Channel now shows programs about aliens, pawn shops, and driving trucks on ice roads instead of anything about history. TLC, which was co-founded by NASA, is basically now the "freak show" channel, with programs about midgets, families with way too many kids, people with strange diseases, and who knows what else. SyFy used to show decent science fiction, but now it's basically B-movies and pro wrestling (though I admit I do like watching pro wrestling sometimes).
MLP at least has fun characters and witty plots, which is far more than can be said about the vast majority of "adult" programming on the TV wasteland these days.
Many older people for whatever reason feel threatened by a generation that decided it will do what it wants rather than follow prescribed paths, and in many of these cases I feel that this threat is primarily out of envy and regret.
There is no crisis here. There is no "extended" childhood. It's just a rapidly evolving culture. Pundits in ancient Greece complained of the same thing. Every archaic generation complains of it. It's nothing new.
Sure, retaining some child-like fascination with the world can be a positive thing. I agree. I'm sitting here typing this from my desk at work that is loaded with TMNT, Star Wars, Voltron, and Transformers toys. I get it.
Still, more and more, people are conflating a childlike sense of whimsy, which is a major positive, with a childlike sense of wanting to be taken care of, spoon fed, and not get your hands dirty and take active responsibility for the world around you. That's bad.
Of course, my evidence is anecdotal rather than formally gathered, but there is quite a bit of it.
You're right, though. Two issues.
I'm the Vice President of Product Management for a financial software company. For many years before that, I was the Senior Production Engineer at a trading firm, and before that a Software Engineer at IBM. I'm near the top of my field, take on numerous major side projects (GeekNights, Connecticon, to name two), am politically very engaged, studied and well read, and extremely physically fit.
Yet, I consider My Little Pony to be one of my favorite television shows.
Explain how this can be.
If you were trying to set up a conversation about why we like MLP, you sure did a great job of insulting us while you were at it.
EDIT: Also, you get giant red flaming Fuck You for the ableism inherent in the "brain-damaged" comment.
Anecdotal. Confirmation bias. Sure, maybe.
Unless you've got data or you can explain a plausible causal mechanism, your arguments don't even get off the ground.
Anyway, I was ribbing. It's a pretty funny picture, externally. A bunch of grown men and women huddled around the TV watching My Little Pony. It's comical. Sorry, but it is.
Obviously, I came off as more mean-spirited than intended, but I think that may have to do more with the MLP community being used to defending themselves more than what I actually said. Maybe not. In either case, I apologize for offense.
Pony slash fiction, though, is just gross.