My Little Pony, America, and the Communist Manifesto

[EquestriaGuy 1,074]

Buck me, how many of these ridiculous threads do we need to have across the various pony sites? It's not an allegory on the Cold War, or any economic system, or anything applicable to the real world. It's not even Jonestown. Starlight's idea of equality was a lowest common denominator, so as to subjugate them under her. It's really as simple as that. Communism offers mutual support, this offered mutual suppression.

[Firedog 321]

I think this episodes was an anti communism episode. They definitely make it clear the village is communist, then they talk about how everybody is equal. But in the end the leader ends up being more equal than the others as animal farm puts it. And they show that the ponies with fake smiles weren't really happy with communism. So yea, it seems like an anti communism message to me. It's pretty clear if you have read any books or done any research on what communism is. Their is also a refrence to the book animal farm when she gets caught with her cutie mark

[Zoraxe 546]

I think this episodes was an anti communism episode. They definitely make it clear the village is communist, then they talk about how everybody is equal. But in the end the leader ends up being more equal than the others as animal farm puts it. And they show that the ponies with fake smiles weren't really happy with communism. So yea, it seems like an anti communism message to me. It's pretty clear if you have read any books or done any research on what communism is. Their is also a refrence to the book animal farm when she gets caught with her cutie mark

 

The author of Animal Farm, George Orwell, was a Democratic Socialist who was against Stalinism. He was opposed to totalitarianism, not communism.

 

Look at North Korea. Sometimes there's hardly a difference.

 

North Korea stopped pretending to be communist many years ago, when they stripped all mentions of communism from their ideology.

 

NK is pretty much straight up Fascist really.

Edited April 6, 2015 by Zoraxe

[Firedog 321]

The author of Animal Farm, George Orwell, was a Democratic Socialist who was against Stalinism. He was opposed to totalitarianism, not communism.

 

 

North Korea stopped pretending to be communist many years ago, when they stripped all mentions of communism from their ideology.

 

NK is pretty much straight up Fascist really.

Not calling you wrong but could you back up those statements with some facts because it sounds kinda like your just stating opinions. Because the book animal farm was an allegory and the story elements represent the communist revolution in Russia. Many of the characters were also represented as communist leaders in the book. Again, not saying your wrong, I would just like to know some sources to what your saying because the book appeared quiet opposed to communism to me. 

[Zoraxe 546]

Not calling you wrong but could you back up those statements with some facts because it sounds kinda like your just stating opinions. Because the book animal farm was an allegory and the story elements represent the communist revolution in Russia. Many of the characters were also represented as communist leaders in the book. Again, not saying your wrong, I would just like to know some sources to what your saying because the book appeared quiet opposed to communism to me. 

 

After looking it up, yeah. George Orwell was anti-communist, but he was still a democratic socialist. Not that it matters here because this episode has nothing to do with communism.

[The Coffee Pony 1,390]

 

This fandom sometimes...

 

Guys it's not that deep. There's no political message about Capitalism being good and Communism being bad. I mean yeah there are a lot of allusions to communism but at the same time you can say this episode is about the extremes of any ideology that preaches equality and there are a ton of those. Utopias, Cults, Third Wave Feminism, Extreme Social Justice Activism (think tumblr), Egalitarianism, whatever else you can think of.

 

Again, the episode is NOT about Capitalism>Communism (If this were the case, they'd have to go more in depth about that with economics and all that and describe the benefits of capitalism, which they didn't even mention).

 

I'd say this episode is saying that equality does not mean that you should hold back your talents in order to be equal with others.

Edited April 6, 2015 by The Coffee Pony

[Xenomorphic 362]

Communism is Best -ism That is 100% true

[Winona the Dog 1,984]

It's things like these that make me honestly wonder wtf is with the brony community... It's candy colored equines people I think you're reading too deep into this, like bottomless hole deep...

Hahaha that's my reaction when I see a huge wall of text.

 

I mean I think it's great people are drawing out the symbolism within the show and even drawing a few parallels but when they star going full on Egghead Twilight mode it gets a bit ridonkulous.

 

It's a bit funny really. Starlight just has a cult who bases their morals on a lifestyle similar to that of communism. End of story

[Firedog 321]

 

This fandom sometimes...

 

Guys it's not that deep. There's no political message about Capitalism being good and Communism being bad. I mean yeah there are a lot of allusions to communism but at the same time you can say this episode is about the extremes of any ideology that preaches equality and there are a ton of those. Utopias, Cults, Third Wave Feminism, Extreme Social Justice Activism (think tumblr), Egalitarianism, whatever else you can think of.

 

Again, the episode is NOT about Capitalism>Communism (If this were the case, they'd have to go more in depth about that with economics and all that and describe the benefits of capitalism, which they didn't even mention).

 

I'd say this episode is saying that equality does not mean that you should hold back your talents in order to be equal with others.

I don't think its really a stretch to connect the episode to communism.  Doesn't take much, I think even someone who isn't a brony could watch the episode and see the connection. so saying were going too deep isn't really true. Saying they would go into economics if this was about capitalism and communism isn't really true, the targeted demographic is kids after all. I'm pretty certain kids would get bored. I think its more symbolism though than a direct connection to the plot of the episode. I think ultimately though were both right, it is about communism and about equality does not mean that you should hold back your talents in order to be equal with others like you said. I think its just a hybrid of symbolism and at the same time a more simple story kids can understand

[Splendormane 203]

Most people arn't gonna see Communism there are gonna see the mane 6 solving a friendship problem.

 

and i bet when people say shows are about government or religion or whatever i think they are just over thinking about it

i bet the show producers don't even realize it half the time.

 

and the satan part i don't actual understand

[Zoraxe 546]

Its superficially connected to communism, but that's about it. I mean, all those houses that look exactly the same in a row reminds me as much of the Soviet housing blocks as the american suburbs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_2lGkEU4Xs

 

But yeah, you can say the equal village could be representations of lots of things. You could say this a satire of Communism, or conservatism, or liberalism, or religion/humanism, or japan, etc. But its really none of those things.

Edited April 6, 2015 by Zoraxe

[The Second Opinion 270]

I do think they were going more for confomity in general (a word the brainwashing speaker even throws around a lot) than communism specifically. And despite the various connections that fans are eager to make, I think that approach was the smarter one, because communism, at this point, is pretty much a punching bag villain of fantasy and sci fi. Pretty much everyone who's going to see it already knows how to hit it, and none of them will actually be facing it at any point. 

Conformity is a much more basic and applicable subject that can be used to explore the main characters' personalities. Fluttershy, for example, is extremely averse to conflict, so she likes the idea of a setting in which everyone pretty much agrees. Rainbow Dash, on the other hand, is proud of what makes her stand out, so it's one of those times where she actually gets to be the moralizer and call the flaws in this from the get go.

Edited April 6, 2015 by The Second Opinion

[thewookie5 11]

As someone who loves history, especially the WWII era, this episode was awesome!

 

I see plenty of the people above want to dismiss the idea that it takes shots at Communism, or even represents Communism at all; but it does a very accurate interpretation of Communism in social terms.

 

Why some of you may claim it only references cults is because in some ways the idea of Communism on a social level was a bit of a cult.  

 

Why do I say this, well for starters just look at the village; it appears quaint but is extremely uniform without any expression and from afar looks like a military prison without a fence. The whole song not only gives the vibe of a military march and the lyrics scream of propaganda. Not to mention the marching part, which along with the continuous showing and displaying of the = sign, gives a really Soviet/Nazi film image. 

 

The whole loudspeaker propaganda/brainwashing thing is a common trope of dictatorships take these lines for example,

 

In sameness, there is peace. Exceptionalism is a lie.  (This one especially yells Communism) 

 Free yourself from your cutie mark. Choose equality as your special talent.

Difference is frustration.

To excel is to fail.

Be your best by never being your best.

Conformity will set you free.

Accept your limitations, and happiness will follow.

 

The fact the first thing upon Fluttershy's "conversion" being to rat out dissenters is very Soviet Union-esc in how they actually inspired children to report on their own parents. And Double Diamond's role practically is that of the NKVD/KGB trying to root out any dissent in the ranks.

 

Obviously there's cult-like behavior as well, but what I'm trying to get at is that Communism in the social sense is very much like a cult where the idea is to indoctrinate and suppress individuality.

 

[Steve Piranha 29,502]

Its superficially connected to communism, but that's about it. I mean, all those houses that look exactly the same in a row reminds me as much of the Soviet housing blocks as the american suburbs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_2lGkEU4Xs

 

But yeah, you can say the equal village could be representations of lots of things. You could say this a satire of Communism, or conservatism, or liberalism, or religion/humanism, or japan, etc. But its really none of those things.

You might also include many school systems, where individualism is reprimated, and that happens in American schools too 

[56DegreePone 1]

First of all, as a person greatly interested in politics and ideologies, I loved these episodes. Heck, this might be my favorite season premiere ever! That, and reason #2: Starlight Glimmer - best FiM villain.
 
Secondly, I must be honest: during the time I watched the premiere, I have been getting my mind wrapped around (and literally screamed) communist terms all throughout. (I did pay attention to the episodes, though). However, I realized later on that tagging Starlight Glimmer's village as 'communist', or Starlight herself, is somewhat misleading.
 
True, the concept of "all ponies being equal" is a part of the ideals of communism, but that's as far as we can go. A more accurate tag for Starlight and her ideals is of egalitarianism instead, and this notion is not limited to communism only, nor even in left-wing politics. Communism applies this notion of equality in both social (power-based) and economic (wealth-based) aspects, and we really can't tell if Starlight's village agrees with strictly both - the economic aspect can't be deduced too well. So we can conclude that Starlight bore an egalitarian society, but not necessarily a communist one.
 

 

That is, at least for now. Starlight vanished at the end of the second half, so there's an extremely high chance of her returning within this season. That, and her line in the first half should give us a hint:

"When the rest of Equestria sees that a princess gave up her cutie mark to join us, they'll finally understand what we're trying to accomplish."

Thus, there's still a possibility to extend the conclusion, once we see what her real motives turn out to be.

 

 

 
And now that I think about it, Starlight's motives of achieving egalitarianism might've put her in direct opposition to (pre-reform) Sunset Shimmer: Sunset wanted to be the "special" pony, while Starlight wanted equality, with no "special" pony wheresoever.

[Twilight Frost 271]

I just hope that the episode doesn't get banned or anything.

 

An mlp episode getting....BANNED?!

 

Is that even possible?

 

[Zenith 669]

I can't believe some people took that trollpost of mine seriously.

 

[Montag 3]

I can't believe some people took that trollpost of mine seriously.

Is that what you were thinking then, or is that what you're saying now?

[Zoraxe 546]

I can't believe some people took that trollpost of mine seriously.

 

Who are you? Oh wait... the OP.

 

Sorry, this discussion became about communism and we forgot about you, there was something about Satan in your post? That was weird.

[Sobana 100]

I had no idea this show was a subtle reference to Satan. I must of missed that part.

[Jeric 46,890]

I can't believe some people took that trollpost of mine seriously.

 

 

 

:okiedokielokie:

 

As the initial post isn't made as an attempt to create serious discussion but rather was made for the sake of personal amusement by initiating a response from members, I'll lock this.