Yellow Diamond

Gender roles are one of the more complex and, indeed, nastier aspects of modern American society---throughout the world, even. The message to "man up and being a brony" is something of an oxymoron since a fair number of observers will engage in preconceived notions about masculinity. What is typically associated with masculine? Not a show of the ilk of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. At the most basic level, its asthetic appeal is not typically masculine; the show is intended for young girls. So when some outside of the fandom see bronies, they see antitype of the masculine man: sensitive, self-reflective, and willing to express themselves emotionally. In a society that values men as strong, stoic, and constantly competitive, the traits associated with bronies make our interests taboo. Although being persecuted for your race/ethnicity, sexual orientation/identity, or religion are arguably more "serious" than being made fun of for watching MLP, being socially ostracized is not to be shrugged off as merely inconvenient or, at worst, insignificant. I'm sure some bronies obsess over perceived and/or realized persectuion. I'm certain some of them have legitimate problems while others more readily engage in histrionics. I do believe, however, there is a pervasive negative, uninformed opinion of bronies which does need to be addressed. The BronyCon Documentary is a positive effort, one designed to show the best of bronies rather than to tear down critics. It is, in the most classic sense of the term, an apologia, a defense of the brony fandom. As is the case in political discourse, if you say nothing about yourself, your critics will be certain to define you. Therefore, I wouldn't classify the documentary project as prompted by a sense of narcissism---especially when one of its main contributors (John de Lancie) was not even properly a brony when he was moved to engage in the documentary. What the brony community really has as its strength is that fact that it is a community at heart. There are fandoms and then there are communities. Bronies regularly connect with one another, converse with one another, share with one another, and support one another. That self-support system should not be confused with the occasional brony or bronies lamenting falsely about being persecuted.

Trixie is probably near Ponyville, given that Gabby Gums reported on her (of course, Celestia was also reported on). At the very least she is prominent enough to be a worthwhile target of gossip. I guess Trixie fans can feel some sense of solace that she is worthy of the Ponyville equivalent to the National Enquirer.

This would only be further proof that Fluttershy is indeed the Incredible Hulk of MLP. Even if she becomes a dragon by accident, that's all the better: so did Bruce Banner. If she rages and transforms into a dragon, we can all die happy. Or at least I can.

When we get the release date, I wonder if they'll reveal immediately whether or not it is a two-parter? I'm sure they'll start teasing us with all sorts of clips, just as they recently did at Comic Con, but generally Studio B plays it pretty close to the vest.

A reference pose isn't much to go by, I'm afraid. It's not even clear at the moment what Scootaloo is doing in that frame.

They have film reels ("Hurricane Fluttershy"). It wouldn't be too much of a leap to expect some form of television fed from a tape. Transmitting radio signals may be another issue, however.

It's a promotional image, so I highly doubt it's dropping any major hints about season three. If that were the case, we should expect the return of Night Mare Moon and Queen Chrysalis. Now that would be something.

Because a thread dedicated to this very topic existed, the two threads have been merged. Please use the seach function if you are not certain whether or not a topic is already being discussed.

When you watch and enjoy the show, and have a willingness to identify with it on some level (whether personally or publically), then I think you have joined the herd.

The score of 7.9 (8.0 rounded) seems about right: MLP is an excellent show---but far from perfect. Its score probably jumped due in large part to the season finale which is arguably the best episode(s) of the entire series. Since then, it probably returned to where it normally ranges. Besides, IMDB is open to the public, so the rating system isn't exactly free of silliness---from both critics and fans alike.

It would be awesome to hold BronyCon in a convention center which looks like it could double for the headquarters of an intelligence agency.

I remember Lauren tweeting during BronyCon that "this must be how it feels to be a rock star." I had the distinct sense that the entire convention left an enormous impression on them. Truth be told, I suspect BronyCon will soon need to find a larger venue. The Meadowlands Expo Center was cramped when placed at maximum capacity. They may have to begin looking to other places in the general tri-state area. I doubt that they will be too far removed from NYC, though.

I'm not trying to be a philosopher or some sort of Socratic smartass, leading you around in circles for my amusement. It is simply too much of a logical leap to treat the absence of evidence as definitive. If you just prefer to only see ponies matched with ponies, that's fine. I understand your opinion; but it's another matter entirely to make a broad claim about what is considered "natural" by the standards of Equestrian society when there is nothing to demonstrate.

I can see the difference between a mammal and a dragon; but if one really wants to dive into the semantics of "natural" vs. "unnatural" relationships, a cat and a dog mating wouldn't be conceived of as natural. Furthermore, that was not the central point of my post: I wanted to highlight that the absence of evidence is not necessarily sufficient evidence. Such tends to be one of the primary flaws of inductive reasoning.

You're asking me to prove a negative: that which is not objectionable in Equestria. Although there have been no explicit examples of mixed breeds (e.g., donkeys and ponies), there is no explicit objection to the concept, either. The burden of proof rests with proving it as considered objectionable rather than it not being rejected. Beyond this point we begin to engage in pure speculation; however, since Spike has yet to be chastised for liking Rarity, it is tenuous to assume cross-species relationships are wholly and outright rejected in Equestria. We simply have no grounds on which to make the presumption other than the absence of such relationships.

Do you mean the first incarnation? Well that's a different story. Of course that would be preferable; but as it stands, Lauren was inspired by the previous generations. For all of their faults, there is no FiM without G1, G2, and G3.

I like how Lauren admitted that she wanted the show---or at least, the title---to be about "magic" while Hasbro wanted it to be about "friendship." So she split the difference and called it "Friendship is Magic." The Word of Faust has spoken.