So this movie wasn't on my list.
I was browsing the Netflix selection as I do in my free time and I came across a movie called Bronies. Now, if you don't know what a brony is, let me explain.
Are you aware of the show My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic? Well its a show about, what else? My Little Pony. And the show as marketed as a show for little girls. Make sense right?
I have met a brony. I mean he's a decent enough guy he just likes bright colored ponies in a show that was made for girls around the ages of 3-10.
Now I'm going to tread lightly in this review because I don't want to offend anybody too much. Here's my disclaimer.
I don't give a shit. If guys want to watch My Little Pony, go right ahead. I'm an advocate for people watching what they want regardless of their age, gender, race, whatever. I don't give a shit.
That doesn't mean I won't think its a little strange because I just don't understand it. And that's partly why I wanted to watch this documentary, because I wanted to get some understanding.
So what happens in this documentary?
One of them lives in the South and has been harassed for liking the show. Another one lives in Israel and creates music inspired by the show. Another one is from the United Kingdom and has Aspergers and feels the show allows him to understand concepts like friendship and emotions.
The movie also covers the origins of the television show and talks to the creator and some of the voice actors of the show and how they've reacted to the huge upheaval of bronies.
I think one thing we learned from those interviews is that this man.
IS GOD!
That's not really an exaggeration. John de Lancie, better known for his role as Q in Star Trek: The Next Generation, explains in the documentary that he did a special voice over for one of the villains in one of the seasons of My Little Pony, a guy named Discord. He says he did the voice over then forgot about it. A few months later his email was flooded with fan mail, but it wasn't from little girls, it was from grown men.
Since, the man has gone to Bronicon (the Comic-con for Bronies) and is freaking Jesus to these people.
Now I'll give the guy some credit, he does have a couple moments in the movie where he's really a bro. He responds to the email of a boy who's father is having doubts about him being a brony, he goes to bronicon and supports the fan base that has been supporting him. Just kind of a bro.
Which was another part of the documentary, an attempt to get rid of stereotypes of bronies being homosexuals or perverts for being interested in the show. Which kind of got a little annoying after a while. The entire movie portrayed bronies in comparison with homosexuals coming out of the closet.
ITS A FREAKING SHOW!
Like I've said before, I don't give a shit who watches this show or not.
But there comes a time when you have step back and think, am I doing all I can with my life? Or am I putting a little bit too much time into a show about colorful ponies?
After watching the documentary I found a couple of the first episodes just to see what the hell is so freaking wonderful about this show.
And my god.
Now this is just my opinion, different people get different things out of mediums like TV so I'm sure there's something magical about My Little Pony that I am just not getting.
But everything was magical, everything was about friendship, and laughter and freaking ponies I just wanted to punch something. The script is so bland that you'd think these ponies were farting rainbows and pooping butterflies... and sometimes they do!
The concepts are just so basic. Making friends makes us better people. We all have different strengths and as friends we bring out the best in people. I get that, it makes sense, its a great message to teach to little children. And I'm not just saying that about little girls, boys need to learn these concepts as well.
So why are high school and college boys drawn to this show?
Well the answers vary.
A lot of people answered that it wasn't so much about the show, rather the community that has been built out of it. Remember how I mentioned I know someone who is a brony? My freshman year of college this guy sat in his room for two days straight watching a My Little Pony marathon. But he watched it over an internet forum with a bunch of people he had never met in person. But they were all bronies and they were all friends.
That may sound kind of odd but its actually an interesting concept. The guy had some interpersonal issues and was incredibly introverted. Making friends over the internet was just easier for him and it made him feel accepted.
And that was something that was mentioned in the documentary.
I hate to stereotype but watch the documentary and look at the people that are balls deep into this phenomena and I started to think to myself, There's a demographic here.
I'm going to go out on a limb and say that a lot of these guys were often bullied in grade school, they felt like social outcasts, and many of them are introverts.
The movie went a little bit into the psychology of the phenomena but not nearly as much as I wanted them to. While there are bronies that are extroverts and are considered the "evangelic bronies" a lot of them are introverts trying to feel special and accepted.
And therefore the concepts are so tangible for them. It makes them feel good, carefree from a world that is very harsh.
In fact, a part of the movie was interviewing military members who were bronies. They said it was good for them to find an escape from the reality of their memories of deployment and of course since the military is only for the manliest of men, they feel like outcasts and are not able to fully express their love for the show.
The documentary reminded me of a fantastic documentary I saw a while back by a guy named Jackson Katz. The documentary is called Tough Guise and focused on the media portrayal of what is manly and acceptable as men. I may have already posted this on a previous post. Regardless, here's a clip from it.
And the documentary touches on that. A kid should not be threatened with a baseball bat just because he watched My Little Pony, because he's not fitting into what is expected of being a man.
And while that's all well and good, it does still beg the question of why grown men turn to and get so involved with a show like My Little Pony. There's a dad in this documentary that is only described as "conservative", that's his only description.
Apart of me was a little bothered by this representation of this father because I don't think its the idea that this guy is so conservative and believes in these gender roles, I think he's more concerned that his son is obsessing over a show about magic, and rainbows, and everything being smiles and joy. Cause that's not how the real world is.
I don't mean to diminish any personal struggles anybody has but the reality is, life is tough. Problems aren't going to be fixed by realizing that all you need is friends and magic.
And I'm not saying these people should stop watching the show, its good to have things to fall back on and escape from that reality and if that's My Little Pony, okay, but how far are you going to escape from this horrible thing called life that you find refuge and life lessons from something as simple as a show about ponies made for little girls?
Now you may be saying, Connor the documentary did say that there are different kinds of bronies, there are a lot of viewers that only watch the show moderately, probably a way to find escapes from that horrible thing called life but still have their life together.
Well, you are correct but the thing that just kind of makes me worry is a woman by the name of Purple Tinker. (No I don't know if that is her real name)
Now don't worry, I'm not going to berate this woman because I don't know who she is. She could be the nicest person in the world and in fact she does donate a giant ass My Little Pony poster to charity during the documentary.
The part that is so strange for me is how attached she was to that poster. So attached to My Little Pony, she founded the first Bronicon, a place where fans of the show can gather and share their enthusiasm for the show. She compares it to Star Trek conventions and comic book conventions. Granted, I think those people fall under the same category as bronies but its just insane how attached she gets for this convention. For that matter how attached these people were to their plush dolls, their collectables. How inspired some of them are that they make music dedicated to the show, laser light shows just focusing on My Little Pony. There's a relaxer, and then there's an obsession that just doesn't seem healthy.
Everybody wants to feel special, and maybe its the mentality of "Get control of your life" and "Accept the real world" that has fueled this phenomena. I'd like to say I have the answer to the way we can make life adaptable for everyone and the world can actually be one of sunshine and rainbows but I'm going to go out on another limb and guess that's never going to happen.
If you don't understand the phenomena of bronies, you're not going to understand it after watching this documentary. I would hope you're already a person who doesn't really give a shit about what people watch and just leave the bronies in peace. I think unless one day they all go postal or start a mass suicide cult, I don't think we have anything to worry about from the bronies.
Oh, one other thing I learned from watching this documentary.
Which was another part of the documentary, an attempt to get rid of stereotypes of bronies being homosexuals or perverts for being interested in the show. Which kind of got a little annoying after a while. The entire movie portrayed bronies in comparison with homosexuals coming out of the closet.
ITS A FREAKING SHOW!
But there comes a time when you have step back and think, am I doing all I can with my life? Or am I putting a little bit too much time into a show about colorful ponies?
After watching the documentary I found a couple of the first episodes just to see what the hell is so freaking wonderful about this show.
And my god.
Now this is just my opinion, different people get different things out of mediums like TV so I'm sure there's something magical about My Little Pony that I am just not getting.
But everything was magical, everything was about friendship, and laughter and freaking ponies I just wanted to punch something. The script is so bland that you'd think these ponies were farting rainbows and pooping butterflies... and sometimes they do!
So why are high school and college boys drawn to this show?
Well the answers vary.
A lot of people answered that it wasn't so much about the show, rather the community that has been built out of it. Remember how I mentioned I know someone who is a brony? My freshman year of college this guy sat in his room for two days straight watching a My Little Pony marathon. But he watched it over an internet forum with a bunch of people he had never met in person. But they were all bronies and they were all friends.
That may sound kind of odd but its actually an interesting concept. The guy had some interpersonal issues and was incredibly introverted. Making friends over the internet was just easier for him and it made him feel accepted.
And that was something that was mentioned in the documentary.
I'm going to go out on a limb and say that a lot of these guys were often bullied in grade school, they felt like social outcasts, and many of them are introverts.
The movie went a little bit into the psychology of the phenomena but not nearly as much as I wanted them to. While there are bronies that are extroverts and are considered the "evangelic bronies" a lot of them are introverts trying to feel special and accepted.
And therefore the concepts are so tangible for them. It makes them feel good, carefree from a world that is very harsh.
In fact, a part of the movie was interviewing military members who were bronies. They said it was good for them to find an escape from the reality of their memories of deployment and of course since the military is only for the manliest of men, they feel like outcasts and are not able to fully express their love for the show.
The documentary reminded me of a fantastic documentary I saw a while back by a guy named Jackson Katz. The documentary is called Tough Guise and focused on the media portrayal of what is manly and acceptable as men. I may have already posted this on a previous post. Regardless, here's a clip from it.
And the documentary touches on that. A kid should not be threatened with a baseball bat just because he watched My Little Pony, because he's not fitting into what is expected of being a man.
And while that's all well and good, it does still beg the question of why grown men turn to and get so involved with a show like My Little Pony. There's a dad in this documentary that is only described as "conservative", that's his only description.
Apart of me was a little bothered by this representation of this father because I don't think its the idea that this guy is so conservative and believes in these gender roles, I think he's more concerned that his son is obsessing over a show about magic, and rainbows, and everything being smiles and joy. Cause that's not how the real world is.
And I'm not saying these people should stop watching the show, its good to have things to fall back on and escape from that reality and if that's My Little Pony, okay, but how far are you going to escape from this horrible thing called life that you find refuge and life lessons from something as simple as a show about ponies made for little girls?
Now you may be saying, Connor the documentary did say that there are different kinds of bronies, there are a lot of viewers that only watch the show moderately, probably a way to find escapes from that horrible thing called life but still have their life together.
Well, you are correct but the thing that just kind of makes me worry is a woman by the name of Purple Tinker. (No I don't know if that is her real name)
The part that is so strange for me is how attached she was to that poster. So attached to My Little Pony, she founded the first Bronicon, a place where fans of the show can gather and share their enthusiasm for the show. She compares it to Star Trek conventions and comic book conventions. Granted, I think those people fall under the same category as bronies but its just insane how attached she gets for this convention. For that matter how attached these people were to their plush dolls, their collectables. How inspired some of them are that they make music dedicated to the show, laser light shows just focusing on My Little Pony. There's a relaxer, and then there's an obsession that just doesn't seem healthy.
Everybody wants to feel special, and maybe its the mentality of "Get control of your life" and "Accept the real world" that has fueled this phenomena. I'd like to say I have the answer to the way we can make life adaptable for everyone and the world can actually be one of sunshine and rainbows but I'm going to go out on another limb and guess that's never going to happen.
If you don't understand the phenomena of bronies, you're not going to understand it after watching this documentary. I would hope you're already a person who doesn't really give a shit about what people watch and just leave the bronies in peace. I think unless one day they all go postal or start a mass suicide cult, I don't think we have anything to worry about from the bronies.
Oh, one other thing I learned from watching this documentary.
Tara Strong is a very attractive woman.
So that's my take on Bronies: The Extremely Unexpected Adult Fans of My Little Pony. I feel like I need to go watch the Expendables or something incredibly violent from all the research I've done for this post.
So have you seen the documentary? Have you seen the show? Am I totally off base? If I am let me know, I'd like to hear opinions and thoughts.
I'll leave you with this. This may be a little bit condescending, but when I was watching the first few episodes of My Little Pony in order to sound at least a little credible, all I could think of was this. Remember this annoying little piece of shit video?
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