Zerbu

Almost all live action adaptions of cartoons are awful and cringe-worthy, but these are some of the worst.

Good point! Perhaps Flurry Heart's alicorn status is the major topic of the premier.

Where did you hear that? Was it from an official source, or just some random rumour?

http://www.equestriadaily.com/2016/01/my-little-pony-season-6-in-spring.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter Yes, she's an alicorn... I don't have any strong opinions one way or another on that, but I know there's going to be a huge backlash. I find it interesting how, since a horse's pregnancy lasts 11-12 in real life, this would mean there's a very big time skip, but then again, these are magical horses.

I CALLED IT! And it looks like I was right!

Are you referring to the gender equality issue or something else? Also, what else do you think the show is losing?

It was suggested that being like a "lady" is a requirement of the Sisterhooves Social, which stretches it beyond just being a personality archetype. There was nothing to suggest that Rainbow Dash was exempt from the requirement.

I guess it depends on how it's used. A lot of the time it's just two people of opposite genders having a laugh. It does acknowledge that gender stereotypes exist, but it's different from actually supporting them. They could have explored the whole crossdressing (or just being feminine) thing a bit more rather than just use it as a reason for Big Mac to feel weird and have his performance hindered. Agreed! MLP was always the type of show to go against gender stereotypes like that. It was suggested that this attitude doesn't exist in Equestria, but that line shows otherwise. "A Dog and Pony Show" also used "lady", but it was implied that they were referring to a special "type" of mare.

They're saying that they're not going to treat the person differently because of their gender. That's actually the opposite of sexism. Just like how certain dresses don't fit certain women's body types, the same would be true of men. It's possible to for a man to be "feminine" and break stereotypes, even going as far as wearing a dress, but there's still such a thing as looking ridiculous. That being said, I do think this episode missed an opportunity. I agree that it would probably ruin the plot, but they could have cut out the "we knew all along" line and it would have still worked. That way, the judges would have a reason not to have just told Big Mac all along.

While I'm happy that anyone can compete, I can't help but be reminded of Dragon Quest, which had the atrocious moral of "if you're not a stereotype, you're really part of a different demographic" with interchangeably sexist and racist implications. At least Big Mac didn't agree to permanently change his title though. The whole embarrassment of the dress gag could have been avoided if the judges had just told Big Mac they knew he was a stallion, and explained the rules, or if they didn't have any other ideas, they should have dropped the "we knew all along" line.

Now that the episode has been shown, I'm pretty disappointed in how they handled the dress thing. Big Mac's outfit was still treated as a massive joke. The "not ladylike" remark also sounded a bit sexist (though I guess it could be given leeway since it was applied gender neutrally). Also, if they knew all along that Big Mac was a stallion, why didn't they just say so to begin with and explain the rules? Despite its problems, it was still a very fun and unpredictable episode to watch.

I'd like to remind everyone that this scene was probably picked out by the marketing team to attract attention and boost viewers. It likely doesn't represent the views of the episode or the creators and writers who made it. There could be more to that scene than what's shown, or it could be leading up to a deeper moral.

I mostly agree, except going against the gender roles assigned by society is a different thing from being transgender. That being said, I do agree that the joke was both cringe-worthy and out of place in a show like MLP, but I'm reserving judgement until I actually see the whole episode. I've seen preview clips for other shows before that poorly reflect the moral of the episode, so this could be one of those.

It doesn't seem like anyone else has posted this, so here it is: a new preview clip from Brotherhooves Social. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8i8VhX4TSE I'm both curious and nervous to see how they handle this. Even though MLP:FiM has always went against gender stereotypes, they've never really openly mentioned them except in Ticket Master and even then, it was limited to personality traits. Hopefully it's done properly and in a way that fits in with the environment they're in.

How could they include a scene about baking without Pinkie Pie or the Cakes? But anyway, it was a great episode. Although, much like Wonderbolts Academy, the ending was a bit extreme on the background pony.

Great episode, and exactly what season 5 needed. I was wary of the fact that all the episodes we had until now either revolved around Twilight's status as a princess or how it related to the others, focused on a character other than the Mane Six or involved no interaction with background characters. I was worried that the Mane Five being promoted to work alongside Twilight, it would cause negatively effect slice of life episodes in the way I described. Thankfully, this episode addressed my fears. Twilight's status did play a role, but it wasn't the main focus and didn't effect how Rarity or the others were treated.

This is a bit of a controversial topic, but I feel it's something worth discussing... You probably know by now that breaking gender stereotypes and going against gender roles was an intention of MLP:FiM. This is why I find the three pony races (Unicorns, Pegasi and Earth Ponies) to be interesting. Doesn't that kind contradict the message of going against the roles assigned to you based on your biology? The different pony races having different roles based on their biology is very different to gender roles that are assigned in real life. It's generally assumed that ponies are happy with their roles, but... isn't that the same mentality some people take towards gender roles to try and defend them? You could argue that it's different given the fact pony race roles can't be changed because of biological differences, but all that really says is that biology is unfair, not that the ponies are always happy with it. Anyway, this doesn't make me enjoy the show less or anything. I just thought it was interesting.

Honestly, I really don't understand why so many bronies are so desperate to see the characters permanently outgrow their flaws. Without flaws, the characters would be boring, and the episodes would be uninteresting as a result.

If MLP:FiM was a typical comedy cartoon, then it would be funny, but it isn't. It's supposed to be teaching lessons about friendship. When a character is abused, used as comic relief and played for laughs the way Spike is, it goes against the message.

A lot of bronies seem to forget the fact that MLP:FiM is just a compilation of drawings and audio clips produced in a studio. The characters don't have complex thought processes, they aren't living their lives when they're not on screen, and the world doesn't actually exist what the show staff have created. There's absolutely nothing wrong with having headcanons, but there's a place for them. A headcanon doesn't change the show or how it will be perceived by the general public, so serious discussions are not the place.

Equestria Girls (especially the first movie) is an example of how Spike should be portrayed. The writers should really learn from that.