[ home ] [ site / arch ] [ pony / oat / chat ] [ rp / fan ]

/pony/ - Show Discussion

The place to discuss the show and its universe.
Name
?

This field is optional. You can choose any name you want, or you can post anonymously by leaving this field empty.

Tripcodes are a way to identify yourself between posts without having to register with the site. To use a tripcode, enter your name as ‹name›#‹key›.You can choose anything you want as the key—it is private and will never be shown to other posters or stored on the server. For example:

Rarity#bestpony → Rarity!.4PK7yxdII

If you want a tripcode containing specific words, you can download a program designed to search for tripcodes, such as Tripcode Explorer.

Email?

Entering an e-mail is optional.

There are also code words you can enter here which perform certain actions when you submit your post.

  • sage — lets you post without bumping a thread.
  • nonoko — uses the original post behavior to redirect to the board index.

These can be used at the same time as an e-mail address by typing ‹email›#‹action›.

You can also use Skype names in place of an e-mail. The notation is the same as a link to a username on skype itself, which is skype:‹username›

Subject
Comment
?
Giving emphasis
[b] Bold [/b] Ctrl + B
[i] Italic [/i] Ctrl + I
[u] Underlined [/u] Ctrl + U
[s] Strikethrough [/s] Ctrl + R
Hiding text
[?] Spoiler text [/?] Ctrl + S
[h] Hide block of text [/h] Ctrl + H
Special
[rcv] Royal Canterlot voice [/rcv] Ctrl + K
[shy] Fluttershy voice [/shy]
[cs] Comic Sans [/cs]
[tt] Monospaced [/tt]
[d20], [4d6] — Dice rolls
URLs and linking
Link to a post on the current board
>>1234
Link to another board
>>>/pony/
Link to a post on another board
>>>/pony/1234
Hypertext links
[url=https://www.ponychan.net/] Ponychan [/url]
File
Options
Password
?

This field is for editing and deletions.

Nother NonymousCountry code: blank.gif, country type: blank, valid: 36832917

So-- I watched the new movie. Like I said in another thread, it's an okay children's movie. But the magic has gone out of Equestria in G5: literally as part of the plot, and figuratively as a deficiency in the world and the story.What's the problem? I think the problem is that the mythic glow that pervaded Faust's pony world from S1E1 on isn't built into the fabric of the G5 world.Faust's long experience with articulating and trying to sell [i]Galaxy Girls[/i] had primed her for setting up a world based on roles and archetypes. The G4 Equestria was— originally, at least — a mythological kingdom ruled over by immortal superbeings who controlled the sun, moon, and stars: an unambiguously good and benevolent goddess of light and order and a somewhat ambivalent and scary goddess of darkness and the subconscious realm of dreams. Pony society was divided into the three primordial castes of Indo-European society and myth: the magic-wielding priest-shamans (Brahmans), the winged warriors, and the muddy peasants. The central characters, the Mane Six, were (like the Galaxy Girls) conceived as representatives of polar-opposite character types: feminine/masculine (Rarity/RD), extrovert/introvert (Pinkie/Twi), chaotic/ordered (ditto), spiritual/material (ditto), mind/body (Twi/RD), nature/culture (Fluttershy/Rarity), city/country (Rarity/AJ) -- and so on and on. It was no wonder that in the early days, when these marvelously conceived and balanced characters and their myth-haunted world first burst onto the internet, people were posting memes representing them as every set of mythic stereotypes and Jungian archetypes from the Seven Deadly Sins to the four Galenic humors (pic).G5 isn't like that. It's just America (or maybe three Americas) with talking horses. The unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies all have separate Bantustans, so they don't map onto different social roles. They all live on the ground in modern cities with electricity and LED signs: there's no myth-tinged Greco-Roman Cloudsdale in this Equestria. Their technology is boringly identical with our own. (Inexplicably, it doesn't depend on unicorn magic; somehow these hoofed animals are able to assemble microelectronics and punch the buttons on cell phones without any fingers.) The characters all look pretty much the same and speak with identical accents and dialects. They represent sitcom characters, not archetypes. The result is a world devoid of mythic force and fantasy.So that's the problem. Right out of the gate, these horses are running a different horserace, involving minimally differentiated characters in a world like our own, devoid of the numinous and with no central role for magic, or myth, or free fantasy. Can they pick things up and generate some magical voltage in the post-movie show episodes? We'll see.

Country code: blank.gif, country type: blank, valid: 36832921

What's missing is a sixth horse. There were only five mane characters, but each of them seemed to has an essence of the mane six in them. For example, Hitch. Animals love him. Follow him. Harass him. He doesn't know why. It has nothing to do with his character (a childhood friend and law officer) but it's happening. So I think Hitch has an essence of Fluttershy in him, which explains the animals. Zipp isn't just a princess, she loves flying. Studies it. Practices it, even when she can't. And she has a Wonderbolts poster in her practice room. Pipp is clearly channelling a little Rarity and despite having talent based in crafts and recycling, Izzy is just pure joy.But no Applejack. The only pony left was Sunny, and she's really quite clearly a Twilight proxy. So where's AJ?What's missing is a sixth horse. Not what you meant, I know, but that's what I came away wondering.Oh, bonus observation, I love all the different body sizes. No more cut and paste ponies.

EG!1DerpyVA.6Country code: blank.gif, country type: blank, valid: 36832922

I don’t know what to say. I think maybe movies like this aren’t supposed to get bogged down in prerequisite knowledge, especially if you’re looking for a clean break from the previous generation. It has to be a self sustaining platform that knows how much and how little to bring over from the past. G5 has to justify being an entirely new thing and not just simply another stage of G4. It’s kinda like World of Warcraft’s problem, (before all this shit happened in the past few months) which is if there’s ever going to be a WoW 2 it has to be radically different from WoW, otherwise why not just make it an expansion? G5 has kinda achieved that. It harkens back to G4, while being something completely different and independent. I have zero doubt that when the actual series comes along, then we’ll be bombarded with depth and world building. And if we aren’t, I’ll join the haters on the picket lines.

Country code: blank.gif, country type: blank, valid: 36832923

The only thing I missed was an explanation why the ponies had cutie marks without there being magic - and why they only had it on one flank instead of both.It's possible they are just tattoos at this point of time.

SVPCountry code: blank.gif, country type: blank, valid: 36832924

>>36832921Actually, scratch that. Hard worker, earth pony, dead parent, searching for the truth… Sunny is AJ, not Twilight. And they don’t need a new Twilight, because gen 4 already had three Twilights. Plus Twilight is probably still alive and on the moon or something.

Dulset Tarn!KelpieFM3QCountry code: blank.gif, country type: blank, valid: 36832929

This is some good stuff, thanks.

Nother NonymousCountry code: blank.gif, country type: blank, valid: 36832944

Well, the reviewers are eating it up. "I guess you can consider me a bronie now," writes a reviewer in Hawai'i, "because I loved “My Little Pony: A New Generation." Courtney Howard in [i]Variety[/i] writes that "with its resonant sentiments on conquering fear, obliterating bigotry and bravely facing adversity, the toon finds its strength and emotional draw...The entertaining and imagination-capturing adventures are not only enough to launch another beloved herd of hooved heroes; they should create a new generation of kiddie consumers in the process."I feel sort of like I did after watching [i]Frozen[/i] and making a yuck face, only to find out that 114% of viewers thought it was the pussy's PJs. I guess I'm missing something. Clue me in, folks!But no matter what you tell me, those smirking, heavy-lidded rubber faces with their [i]Shark Tale[/i] expressions are still gonna creep me out.

Nother NonymousCountry code: blank.gif, country type: blank, valid: 36832945

>>36832944But I have to admit I chuckled when Tennis Ball Pinkie Pie muttered out of the corner of her rubbery mouth, "Between you and me, that badge was creating an unhealthy power dynamic." Nice.

Country code: blank.gif, country type: blank, valid: 36832952

>>36832944Well gee Double N, I don't know what to say. I don't think I'd be able to convince you to enjoy it if you don't. All I can offer is to do what I do and just watch it without trying to look for flaws and just enjoy it. I just sit and watch and all the colors and songs and jokes and tears fill me with feels. I don't know that you're missing anything; maybe it just isn't your thing. Nothing pleases everyone. I hope you find something you enjoy as much as I enjoyed this.

Nother NonymousCountry code: blank.gif, country type: blank, valid: 36832953

>>36832952Absolutely! I'm glad you enjoy it. I enjoyed it too. Like I said, it's a nice children's movie. It's fun for the whole family. There are good things in it. I hope it goes on for years and gets better and better.But for me, it's worth trying to figure out why Lauren Faust's Equestria hit me -- and thousands of other grownups -- so much harder, at least during the first few seasons. I'm always trying to figure out what makes the best stuff so good. And sometimes you can learn things about the A-list by comparing it with the B-list.Did you like this [i]better[/i] than S1-2 or S1-3 of G4? If so, can you put your finger on what makes it even better for you?

Country code: blank.gif, country type: blank, valid: 36832954

>>36832953No, I liked Seasons 1-3 more of course, but I feel personally attached to those seasons because I feel like I was a part of the show growing into something greater, as a part of the new fanbase. I think the less modern setting was nicer too, but I can still appreciate that the new gen wanted to show advancement in the world, with broadcasts and a new form of internet. I wasn't keen on the idea at first, but now I like Pipp, and that is a part of her character. Sorry, I ramble. What am I supposed to be thinking about again?Oh, why gen 4 was better than gen 5? The bums. Seriously, that's a big part of it. And it was really bright too. The new guys look more subdued than the sharp pink and yellows of gen 4. I think both things make gen 4 more eyecatching, which might make someone give it that first watch and maybe stay. Fantasy was a better setting too. It had dragons and haunted forests. And Evil! This gen needs some real evil, not just misguided fear.There, that's what I think it is. Evil. I was a fan of Gen 1 too years ago, and it was dark as fuck at times. Big ass demon centaur capturing ponies in dungeons and getting beat by rainbows and shit! Whole valleys eaten by the Smooze sent by a coven of hags! These need some darkness to make the colors shine brighter.Fear and bums.

Jo!4Lazulit8.Country code: blank.gif, country type: blank, valid: 36832957

>>36832954Holy CanolliI think you just helped me figure out what I felt was missing. A clearly defined evil villain. Someone that is even irredeemable and dark to make the light shine brighter as you said. There needs to be more contrast, because even as a kids movie I'm realizing that what they're trying to teach in it might go right over most kids heads.

Nother NonymousCountry code: blank.gif, country type: blank, valid: 36832959

>>36832954See attached.

AnonymousCountry code: blank.gif, country type: blank, valid: 36832969

>>36832921Isn't Hitch a little bit AppleJack?He's got the animals following him around, like Fluttershy.But he seems like a pretty physical pony, dependable and ready to jump in and save anyone who needs saving. He also seems to be sufficiently responsible, I mean, except perhaps leaving Maretime sheriffless to chase Sunny.

Dulset Tarn!KelpieFM3QCountry code: blank.gif, country type: blank, valid: 36832972

>>36832957Villains are overrated. They're great for some things, but thinking of them as "necessary" causes a lot of problems.

Country code: blank.gif, country type: blank, valid: 36832979

>>36832969My theory was rooted in explaining why animals follow Hitch, so putting him with Flutters was my first move and I built from there.

Jo!4Lazulit8.Country code: blank.gif, country type: blank, valid: 36832981

>>36832972That's fair and you're totally right. I meant it more as in what I felt was missing personally. Maybe its just because I'm used to seeing clearly defined villains in kids movies that subconsciously I was expecting there to be one here. Thinking on it more though, a real villain might have drastically changed the movies plot. Defeating a singular villain wouldn't be enough to unite the pony races again, and to think that there is some big bad pulling the strings of pony racism would not be a good message. Focus on building up the villain might have also taken away from the Mane Casts development too.

CaltropCountry code: blank.gif, country type: blank, valid: 36833036

Whats missing is Fluttershy and im superglad to be done with worst pony.

AnonymousCountry code: blank.gif, country type: blank, valid: 36833568

>>36832917What's missing is art.People like to say all sorts of things about fim, but the fact remains it was in it's earliest form art. Genuine art. It was made to be enjoyed by everybody, not just children who like to look at colourful images moving around with funny noises.This is also what made it explode. Anyone who was there at the very beginning like I was remembers distinctly what it was like to have this cartoon come into being. Faust has never made a bad show, because Faust is actually making art when she makes shows. She puts a lot of time and effort into it. She did this with FIM and it shows readily. It also becomes apparent readily when FIM has it's bad moments in the later seasons (not that everything in them is bad) as it got further away from her. But FIM will hold up where g5 is not because it had a strong beginning that would shine through it, even in the later seasons where bad artistic choices were made at times. G5 is an artistic failure. It's a failure (currently) because it is designed to be mass sellable and as inoffensive as possible. I presume this is because of meddling by the toy company..Every part of G5 is designed to be familiar to the global west and places influenced by it, in order to sell to the widest variety of people possible.

AnonymousCountry code: blank.gif, country type: blank, valid: 36833569

>>36833568Why is there no indo-european style culture? Not familiar, won't sell. Why is there no mythological elements? Global western hegemony does not value myth or the subjective experience, won't sell.Why is there no interesting psychological and life questions being put in? Global west doesn't like to think about that, won't sell. Why is the pony casteism both there and not there, being diluted and focused on earth ponies? Unicorns may look too much like real life race issues in the global west! Can't have that, won't sell to the widest variety of people. Why are the characters incredibly bland and boring? Because sitcom characters are easy to imprint on, they sell to everybody because they can be anybody. Why are there smart phones? because the current population is obsessed with technology, it's immediately familiar. Also opens up a great avenue for selling toys and merch themed after it. If someone is wondering 'why is this popular' it's because the people watching it are dilettantes. And dilettantes make up the vocal majority of media consumers.The same kind who are only watching this show because of brand loyalty, and misplaced nostalgia. The same kind who will just as soon watch five marvel movies in one sitting, binge rick and morty while they let their baby watch youtube unsupervised. The same kind who cannot and will not focus on anything not the length of a tiktok video. The same kind who do not value creativity which is not homogenized and put into a rigid construct. The same kind which the global west has been incubating for years to be the majority demographic.

AnonymousCountry code: blank.gif, country type: blank, valid: 36833570

>>36833569Now, that all said, G5 has alot of potential. The movie was decently ok. Imalou was also a great choice to bring into the team. The whole reason for the focus on pony casteism, even as distorted and watered down as it is in g5, is because Imalou brought it in. Imalou is smart and remembers the stuff that made g4 interesting to fans.So, they need to let them actually utilize the ideas they try to bring in instead of telling them no. Or otherwise altering them. If they go with what imalou is actually suggesting for once, they'll have a show that has the best aspects of g4 while being it's own thing. Corporate needs to get out of the way and let the artists work.

Delete Post [ ]
Edit Post
[Return] [Catalog] [Top]
[ home ] [ site / arch ] [ pony / oat / chat ] [ rp / fan ]