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Impact Reviewers Have On the Perception of MLP


LZRD WZRD

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This may sound a little strange coming from a "critic" such as myself, but I've been wondering if the opinion's of various reviewers perhaps have a negative impact on people's views of episodes.

 

I can't tell you how many times I've gotten into arguments over the "plot holes" in A Canterlot Wedding and all of the people either directly cite Antony C's and Tommy Oliver's review of the episode or use arguments that are word for word what they say (sorry, I know I should have exact quotes or screenshots or something. If this turns into anything I suppose I can go searching for these).

 

Another instance I commonly see is people complaining about Putting Your Hoof Down and having arguments that sound very much like MrEnter's

 

(Some of you might know I'm not a Tommy Oliver fan so I've included an example from MrEnter, my favorite reviewer so nobody can mistake this for a hate thread)

 

Now of course, I'm not trying to say that if you feel this way about these episodes that you're parroting critics who you may have never even heard of! However, some people certainly are and all too often I see people use reviews thinking they are absolutely rebutting the opposing viewpoint. I'll admit it, I am very influenced by reviews to the point where sometimes my view of an episode is completely warped (often times for worse).

 

So anyway, the topic of discussion is basically do you think that reviewers perhaps have too much "power" over people's opinions of MLP episodes? At least in my case I'll say yes. In terms of people who watch them, my guess is yes.

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As a person from the reviewer/analysis community, allow me to respond with a quote of what I'd said in another thread:

 

 

I would like to point out that the analysis community isn't omnipotent, and [most of us] don't do videos just to push what we thought of MLP onto others. At the end of the day, we are analyzing a piece of media and interpreting it subjectively. The only objective things we have is what MLP has given us. We present analytical arguments to get people to think about the content they are watching, but it's up to the viewer whether or not they take what we say into consideration the next time they view a piece of MLP content. We do this not to be the utmost authority on MLP (not that I think you were implying that), but because it's fun to look deeper into the things we enjoy and learn why we like/dislike something. If we weren't really just having fun, the majority of us wouldn't be putting so much time into making videos :).

 

So yeah, what you do with our analysis is totally up to you, we can't make you think one way or the other, just offer a different perspective.

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I would say it has in my case, even turning me one into a critic myself. However, I do believe that the best opinion for each individual should be reserved to what fits to their taste. Sure I and others may explain in detail for why we like or dislike something, but we are expressing what we believe is good or bad through what we find it as such. It maybe an informed opinion backed with sound evidence to support our beliefs, but we are limited for what we know or find to be good or bad and our just one person usually. A person, such as what Shimmer5000 did today bringing up a great point about Fluttershy and her assertiveness, can find a unique view and convince a whole slew people to think up a flaw alot more differently then what a critic has shown. It's thought provoking discussions like those I enjoy.

 

This is why I strongly encourage people to not take one person's opinion as the end all be all of an episode and instead look up multiple reviews to find what they like and didn't like or even watch it yourself for who knows, you may end up liking or find something that a critic may not have noticed that can make an episode better or worse.

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It depends on the individual, there is no dening that there are large groups of people that can be intilectually influenced via strongly worded or intelligent sounding reviews. But it really depends on the individual how the review or the social status of the reviewer may effect their opinion on the media in question. There are most certainly individuals who may be easily swayed by a coherent opinion that appears more logical and grounded than their own, but the impact the review or reviwer has is largly up to social dynamics and the behaviours of the individual that views said review.

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Really there aren't many original things in life, and opinions on MLP episodes really can't be all that original either. Either you like an episode or you hate an episode, and even if there was no influence from the analysis community there would still be common majority and minority opinions on episodes, plot elements, or characters.

 

The analysis community's purpose is to help us understand why MLP is so successful and what they did right that they, their fans, and other shows should do in the future to keep that standard of quality going.

 

It's also in the way they present it and the complexity of their theories. If these reviewers present it in a way that appeals to their audience and explains clearly the points that back up their argument, it's pretty easy to latch on to their statements as fact, or at least a valuable opinion that's worth latching on to. This can backfire, too, if it's not done cautiously. Case in point: Digibro on Twilight's Kingdom. His overt negativity and jadedness actually turned off a lot of his fans and made them defend the episode even more than they did before.

 

It's natural human behavior to follow something that sounds appealing, even opinions. If someone sounds or acts intelligent in the perception of the viewer, then that viewer is definitely going to approve of the method of their arguments, and inevitably, some of their opinions. It's all in the presentation. :D

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I feel like, especially this season, people are becoming more and more reliant on MLP reviewers and analysts than is really necessary. I get that some people want to have their opinion heard or they enjoy analyzing/reviewing things, but a lot of people act like they are the be-all-end-all in terms of how we should look at an episode, and I get the feeling analysts/reviewers are clinging to this mindset. It just defeats the purpose of enjoying the show for yourself, especially since there are many times where analysts/reviewers dive into needless bitching

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  • 1 month later...

This may sound a little strange coming from a "critic" such as myself, but I've been wondering if the opinion's of various reviewers perhaps have a negative impact on people's views of episodes.

 

I can't tell you how many times I've gotten into arguments over the "plot holes" in A Canterlot Wedding and all of the people either directly cite Antony C's and Tommy Oliver's review of the episode or use arguments that are word for word what they say (sorry, I know I should have exact quotes or screenshots or something. If this turns into anything I suppose I can go searching for these).

 

Another instance I commonly see is people complaining about Putting Your Hoof Down and having arguments that sound very much like MrEnter's

 

(Some of you might know I'm not a Tommy Oliver fan so I've included an example from MrEnter, my favorite reviewer so nobody can mistake this for a hate thread)

 

Now of course, I'm not trying to say that if you feel this way about these episodes that you're parroting critics who you may have never even heard of! However, some people certainly are and all too often I see people use reviews thinking they are absolutely rebutting the opposing viewpoint. I'll admit it, I am very influenced by reviews to the point where sometimes my view of an episode is completely warped (often times for worse).

 

So anyway, the topic of discussion is basically do you think that reviewers perhaps have too much "power" over people's opinions of MLP episodes? At least in my case I'll say yes. In terms of people who watch them, my guess is yes.

 

 

I'm gonna say that people do let reviewers cloud their opinions too much, but I will also say that this hardly can be blamed on the reviewers(not insinuating you did, just noting it anyway).

 

With that said, I've not watched Tommy and Antony's ACW review in a long time, but I remember my only problem with it being Antony forcing his christian belief into the episode and then being angry when it didn't work out the way he wanted(pretty much the only thing I've ever really been annoyed with in his reviews, unlike Tommy Oliver's.).

 

I've said before in threads that ACW is a horribly written (double)episode, one of the worst on the show- but it's also a brilliantly choreographed action romp(Part 2, that is. Really don't like Part 1), meaning that while I find the story atrocious, it's still fun to watch.

 

I also agreed with David Ker back when he was essentially the first person to really put out a negative review(which made him anathema in the MLP community for a while. Wanted to insult a fan? Call him a David Ker).

 

http://animationfixation.blogspot.se/2012/05/warningthis-analysis-contains-spoilers.html

 

Note: Dunno if he was the first with a negative review, but his review was up less than a month after the episode.

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I'm gonna say that people do let reviewers cloud their opinions too much, but I will also say that this hardly can be blamed on the reviewers(not insinuating you did, just noting it anyway).

 

With that said, I've not watched Tommy and Antony's ACW review in a long time, but I remember my only problem with it being Antony forcing his christian belief into the episode and then being angry when it didn't work out the way he wanted(pretty much the only thing I've ever really been annoyed with in his reviews, unlike Tommy Oliver's.).

 

I've said before in threads that ACW is a horribly written (double)episode, one of the worst on the show- but it's also a brilliantly choreographed action romp(Part 2, that is. Really don't like Part 1), meaning that while I find the story atrocious, it's still fun to watch.

 

I also agreed with David Ker back when he was essentially the first person to really put out a negative review(which made him anathema in the MLP community for a while. Wanted to insult a fan? Call him a David Ker).

 

http://animationfixation.blogspot.se/2012/05/warningthis-analysis-contains-spoilers.html

 

Note: Dunno if he was the first with a negative review, but his review was up less than a month after the episode.

 

About David Ker, what's he up to as of this moment as I know alot of people didn't like him for his negative review for ACW, which I agree with as it is an overrated episode that doesn't deserve to be mentioned among the series's best.

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About David Ker, what's he up to as of this moment as I know alot of people didn't like him for his negative review for ACW, which I agree with as it is an overrated episode that doesn't deserve to be mentioned among the series's best.

 

Probably still working retail in Australia, as mentioned in his last review(Frozen, January 2014).

 

 

Frozen has been out for about a month now, as you can tell from the poster above, but it is a fairly recent release in Australia.  When combined with my job in retail and the release of The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug (unsurprisingly, I like dragons) resulted in my being delayed in seeing this movie.  That's a right shame, because it is, in all honesty, a very entertaining film

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Probably still working retail in Australia, as mentioned in his last review(Frozen, January 2014).

 

 

Frozen has been out for about a month now, as you can tell from the poster above, but it is a fairly recent release in Australia.  When combined with my job in retail and the release of The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug (unsurprisingly, I like dragons) resulted in my being delayed in seeing this movie.  That's a right shame, because it is, in all honesty, a very entertaining film

 

Ah thank you very much for the info, RWB.

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I tend to be a critic of this show myself and upon reading YouTube comments of debates on the episodes, I note that when people argue about an episode, the just parrot what the other person said. The most notable examples are of Antony C. and Tommy Oliver's review of A Canterlot Wedding or Mr. Enter's review of Putting your Hoof Down. It's like people can't come up with their own opinions on an episode so they rely on these reviewers to give it for them. It's okay to disagree with your favorite critic. You're not a bad guy for disagreeing with them, no matter how elitist they may come off as. I think the problem is that they way some of these critics tear apart an episode makes it sound like anyone who enjoyed the episode is a bad person for enjoying it. No you're not. You just have different taste than what they enjoy which isn't a bad thing. Bottom line, it's okay to use review to influence how you view an episode, but not a good idea to just copy whatever they say when reviewing an episode.

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I mostly find it weird that these people are minor internet celebrities among bronies just because they made a video to go with their dumb opinions instead of just making a forum or blog post.

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I have never in my days watched any of those reviews on MLP.

I'm not sure why, I'd just prefer to watch it without thinking about all that stuff.

Though sometimes it's nice to see a deeper meaning to the episodes, I guess it would make you appreciate the show more and view that episode in a new light.

Edited by The Crimson Cross
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I see this almost like I see the theism x atheism discussion. I don't think that anyone has the power to change other people's minds. All they can do is point facts about something or their points of view and people either agree or don't.

 

Specially with something as simple as a cartoon. I can say all day long why I hate the last episode but if my concerns are of no importance to people, they'll just ignore me, and if I make someone see something that they didn't see before and agree with me, then it was not the fact that I said something that changed his mind about the episode, but the fact that there is something in that episode that the person didn't like but hadn't noticed yet.

 

So no... Reviewers don't have the power to influence people's opinions. It's the episode's "fault".

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I tend to be a critic of this show myself and upon reading YouTube comments of debates on the episodes, I note that when people argue about an episode, the just parrot what the other person said. The most notable examples are of Antony C. and Tommy Oliver's review of A Canterlot Wedding or Mr. Enter's review of Putting your Hoof Down. It's like people can't come up with their own opinions on an episode so they rely on these reviewers to give it for them. It's okay to disagree with your favorite critic. You're not a bad guy for disagreeing with them, no matter how elitist they may come off as. I think the problem is that they way some of these critics tear apart an episode makes it sound like anyone who enjoyed the episode is a bad person for enjoying it. No you're not. You just have different taste than what they enjoy which isn't a bad thing. Bottom line, it's okay to use review to influence how you view an episode, but not a good idea to just copy whatever they say when reviewing an episode.

 

This.

 

Even if I agree with them on these, there are times I won't agree.

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There are lots of reviwers who have influenced my perception of MLP, for example, thanks to Digibro Rarity became my favorite character, but that doesn't mean i can't come up with my own opinions or disagree with the reviewers i like (I disagree with Digibro's negativity on "Twilight's Kingdom", for example).

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I also feel, the more flawed and jaded the review itself is, the more people are easy to defend it. Take Digibro's Twilight's Kingdom review for example. You see a lot more people defending the episode in the comments and a lot more people hating him after season 4 in general due the nature of his reviews getting much more jaded and nitpicky. He kind of turned into Byter in that case, but that's a whole different story.

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There are lots of reviwers who have influenced my perception of MLP, for example, thanks to Digibro Rarity became my favorite character, but that doesn't mean i can't come up with my own opinions or disagree with the reviewers i like (I disagree with Digibro's negativity on "Twilight's Kingdom", for example).

Rarity is tied with Fluttershy for me.

 

Things cannot be more tied. It is impossible.

 

But I liked Twi's Kingdom. Here's me ranking all of the 2 parters in order:

 

1. Princess Twilight Sparkle

2. A Canterlot Wedding/Return of Harmony (CANNOT DECIDE)

4. Twilight's Kingdom (The megaponies were stupid imo, but the song is one of the best)

5. THe Crystal Empire

6. Friendship is Magic

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(edited)

AND WHO GIVES A FLYING FEATHER ABOUT ACW's PLOTHOLES

It doesn't even have plot holes. Which is partly why I made this thread in the first place, since people like Antony and Tommy, who were trying their hardest to be the Mr. Plinkett of MLP, have largely been responsible for establishing that nonsense as the accepted criticism of the episode

Edited by LZRD WZRD
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It doesn't even have plot holes. Which is partly why I made this thread in the first place, since people like Antony and Tommy, who were trying their hardest to be the Mr. Plinkett of MLP, have largely been responsible for establishing that nonsense as the accepted criticism of the episode

There arent

 

ohhh

 

wellp havent seen it since so yeah

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(edited)

There arent

 

ohhh

 

wellp havent seen it since so yeah

There are certain things that aren't necessarily explained completely, but the idea that these are due to faulty logic in the story is simple-minded. Antony for example acted like Chrysalis' plan made no sense, when in fact it makes total sense. I made a blog post on this a few months ago that completely deconstructs his criticism of this point Edited by LZRD WZRD
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There are certain things that aren't necessarily explained completely, but the idea that these are due to faulty logic in the story is simple-minded. Antony for example acted like Chrysalis' plan made no sense, when in fact it makes total sense. I made a blog post on this a few months ago that completely deconstructs his criticism of this point

This is very much how academic discussion takes place in any field really. In the terms of Chrysalis' plan for example, Antony puts forth his stance on it and a large number of people accept because he puts forth his argument in a well thought out manner, that is not to say the argument is not faulty however; recently however Firebrand put forth his argument that Chrysalis' plan is a work of tactical brilliance, and he in turn argues it very well. So the majority of people are going to side with either the former or the latter, which is how these sorts of things work and likely in several months you might have someone putting forth a third, well argued theory, that gets featured on EQ Daily.

The responsible "MLP Scholar" ( if no one has used that term before... I am soooo putting that I invented that term on my profile page :P ), like any other, is to weigh the arguments that have been presented against the work in question and determine to what degree are the arguments correct or incorrect based upon the evidence. The benefit of this seemingly maddening circle, is that I will likely pick up a bunch of things I never noticed before, even from the individual I disagreed with; as I will either completely disagree and thus formulate for myself a response, which makes me take notice of a great deal I wouldn't have paid much attention to, or disagree in part, thus getting the benefit of option "A" there, as well as learning something from the said position.

 

Or the TL;DR version: If there is any "negative impact" upon the perception of MLP, that is solely the fault of the individual who does not take the effort to reason through the analysts conclusion about something. Granted no one completely reasons through every argument they hear at the start, myself included, but if your going to watch analysts, you probably should start doing so as best you can.

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I very much endorse people not parroting reviewers when talking about an episode. Form an opinion first after one or two watches, than check out what others have to say. And don't feel the need to feel strongly about an episode one way or the other for the sake of feeling strongly.

 

However, I don't think reviewers are negatively impacting people's opinions of the show. If the show continues to be something worth liking, it will be liked, no matter what a few people say.

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I tend to not watch MLP analysis videos or reviews at all. The way I see it, the impact can be similar to video game reviews if others let it be so. Sometimes a game review will make someone actually enjoy a game less than others if the score wasn't too good or not as good as they thought it would be. That's why it is best for others to formulate their own opinions but they can use the reviews as a basis to start from. If that makes sense. Video games are a bit different as those are pricey and attention to reviews can be crucial for some with low budget, not so much the case with FiM. Reviews can also give people something to compare their own opinions too and see how they differ or see how they are similar, but again, it still is best for one to have their own opinion when approaching things like that. I don't even know if I am making any sense here.

 

Also, I do find the extreme popularity of some 'analysts' in the Brony community to be a bit...baffling.

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