"In Our Town"

[Dark Qiviut 22,160]

Currently, The Cutie Map is the best two-parter of the entire show. It has the best pacing; a great moral; great use of primary, secondary, and background characters; and well-executed very dark themes. But one thing about this two-parter that really sticks out the most, and also helps make it so great, is how creepy this episode truly is. There's a lot of really well-done disturbing audio and imagery; part of it has to do with Starlight Glimmer's attitude and control over her village.

 

The overall essence of her control is from one of the songs is this season's first half: In Our Town.

 

 

In a thread I opened a few months ago, I highlighted and asked the audience about what part(s) of The Cutie Map that creeped them out the most. For me, one of them was this song. To echo what I wrote there, it's incredibly optimistic, and the catchy tune has a lot to do with it. But pay attention to the portrayal of the Equalists and their smiles. Everything feels controlled, and Starlight is the glue that keeps them under control. One mare had her locks unwound, and when Starlight wound them back up, she smiled very nervously.

 

Secondly, the marching is very synchronized. Everything is done to the tune, and it looks perfect. The marches were not an added element, but an actual component to the songs, and for good reason: The song was inspired by World War II propaganda music, and many of the musical arrangements and messages you see and hear come from countries heavily influenced by this genre, like Nazi Germany.

 

But you can really pinpoint Glimmer's tyranny from this meter (and easily the most unsettling line of the entire show): "You can't have a nightmare if you never dream." To quote my analysis of this section of the two-parter:

 

What makes it scary is how there's truth into this line. The idea that dreams are describes as an inherent nightmare; in order to have a true good night's sleep, how about giving up the ability to dream? It's a scary question to ask, but how the song's written and delivered creates a mirage of how this may be one of the best ideas out there. The line offers serious implications over how you can tackle this internal conflict.

 

But there's a lot more to it. Starlight Glimmer is a dictator and easily the most diabolical villain of the show. Yes, there are other nasty villains like Sombra and Tirek, but they never dove into psychological evil. While they lusted for total domination of Equestria, Glimmer intended to break you down mentally. She weakens you by stealing your original mark and replacing it with an equal sign that will completely control your personality. Then she locks you up and brainwashes you. That one lyric is Starlight's philosophy.
 

---

 

Now I have some questions:

1. What were your initial impressions of In Our Town? Have they changed in any way? If so, did these impressions change for the better or worse, and why?
2. What details in the song stick out the most? They can be the visuals (animation, character expressions, choreography), audio, lyrical, or whichever.
3. Ingram revealed on Twitter that WWII propaganda music inspired him to create this song. What's your response to it?
4. Pretend you were out and about — in a restaurant, in transit, or in a park. Suddenly, someone told you or somebody else, "You can't have a nightmare if you never dream." What would your reaction be?

[Mikepokemon9 67]

I never looked at it like that and when they lock up the mane 6 you could link it to a encampment camp in a way being locked with no escape :s scary (I'm not much into theories behind episodes I just enjoy em)

[LZRD WZRD 1,929]

For me it's a really cool song that establishes the atmosphere and tone (and whatever other smart-sounding words you can think of).

 

It's reasonably catchy, but it's really not the kind of song I go to MLP for. If I want a dogmatic/patriotic anthem, I'll listen to real ones sung by mustachioed soldiers as they fight, pillage, and conquer.

 

 

Now dats cool

 

But yeah, the song serves its purpose well. Something that'll scare the kiddies

[Cleverclover 1,525]

 

 

She weakens you by stealing your original mark and replacing it with an equal sign that will completely control your personality. Then she locks you up and brainwashes you. That one lyric is Starlight's philosophy.

 

The thing is, though, there's absolutely no indication that what Starlight did to the mane six, she did to the rest of her townspeople. I honestly think that most if not all of them gave up their cutie marks out of their own free will. The only reason she stole the mane six's cutie marks was because she viewed them as a potential threat to her way of life, and also because she was too desperate to possess the cutie mark of a princess in order to further spread her ideologies across Equestria. 

 

However, I will admit that she probably would not allow them to leave if they suddenly chose to abandon her way of life, and that was most likely the primary purpose of her conforming room. 

 

I don't know what it is, but for some reason, I don't want to see Starlight as inherently evil. She's definitely misguided, but I really believe that her intention was to create a better life (or at least what she perceived as a better life). 

[Wind Chaser 4,767]

"In Our Town" was very effectively executed, as far as portraying the forced and deceptive happiness that the town's citizens had to put out. The visual metaphor of characters marching in perfect lockstep as they sing praises of repressive regimes has been ingrained deeply in Western pop culture since World War II's notorious anti-fascist propaganda to characterize the idea of tyranny, and has been done many times over in many different kinds of media.

 

The pure fact that My Little Pony, of all shows, chooses to combine the metaphor of enforced conformity and dictators with common kids' show messages of "being yourself" and "following your passions/dreams", is such an unlikely combination that everyone involved had seemingly nowhere to go but up, and the research and inspiration Ingram put into this song shows that.

 

The lyrical content of the song, especially the "nightmare" line, is something I can deeply connect to, as it reflects the attitude of the town, hiding their disappointment, envy, and ignorance from the outside world under their feigned images of happiness. The lack of backstory given on Starlight Glimmer, combined with the exposition on this song alone, moves me to identify with this character and fill in the blanks. Maybe she was outdone by somepony else in her life and ran off to found this town as a way of compensating for her insecurities or all she felt she couldn't achieve? Maybe she encourages other ponies not to dream because she doesn't want them to be disappointed. Maybe she created this town's ideology on the pure motivation that enforcing uniformity in personality and talent will ensure that jealousy and needless competition are not issues in the lives of her chosen ponies.

 

For the song's melody and composition, there could not have been a single better or more fitting source for inspiration for it than propaganda and military songs, referencing the anecdotes in history that pretty much invented these tropes. I myself have been fascinated with some examples of this kind of music for years, and I will be the first to tell you how effective such songs as the ones from the Nazi regime are. The general upbeat, staccato, hopeful tone of these songs really portrays the romance of ideology and country and the honor, struggle, and sacrifice necessary to uphold it. It is the mesmerizing work of geniuses, even if what it does uphold is evil, and is very eye-opening to someone who had never heard them before. Though Ingram likely wouldn't be able to put it in these words, he had a full understanding of their emotional impact and significance. It's hard to express through words, but when you feel it, you know it.

 

The song itself is very effective in not only expressing the views of the town very effectively, but also establishing emotional connections to these characters, overarching themes, and the cultural savvy that produced the episode's appeal. It was fine-tuned and worked as desired.

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 40,223]

I have to agree, this song and the entire atmosphere behind it was rather surprising in how eerie it all was. It was like the ponies of this town were being given hope by being filled with absolute fear and the imagery during the song reflects that so well. Hope by way of fear, genius.

[Phosphorous 135]

1. It stood out as communist from the beginning. The main tenet of communism is equality. In extremely communist regimes, there is a bar to how high you can rise, and a net for how low you can fall.

It was quite disturbing the way the ponies looked at Starlight when they were "grinning". Also, when any would try to be different, an allegory for deviating from the desired ideology, Starlight would force them to obey to her command.

It has a simple melody and structure, that can be very easily learnt and repeated. Such structure is ideal for the purpose of being memorizable. The tempo is regular and constant, which at loud, can aid synchronizing the ponies steps. Such is ideal for anthems.

Well, I have never had a dream in three years. I just listen to the wind chiming, clock ticking, awake people typing or talking, and consciously think about the things that I do when I am awake. I have never had a nightmare in this time, so I can approve of that statement. But if you take "dream" as mean goals and wishes, even if you have no desires to acheive or whatnot, you can still suffer. Even more so. The energy that comes from one's 'dreams' is what gives one the motivation to ignore the daily bad things of life. 

[MLPFanatic34 3,234]

Such a great song and a fantastic start to Season 5, this song is truly fantastic!

[BirdsBooksBrownies 37]

Going back and reading up on this episode, I'm a little surprised that Starlight didn't ban horns or wings cuz "equality". 

[ExplosionMare 18,007]

1. I felt a lot like Fluttershy when I first heard the song. Even though I knew the lyrics were unsettling, I still wanted to dance along to the beat and smile along with the rest of the villagers. I find dystopian future themes like this to be very fascinating, so the song immediately drew me in. I have pretty much the same impression of it now, I don’t think anything has changed.

2. The details that stuck out the most were “We only separate by name” and the choreography at the end where the ponies circle around the Mane 6 before becoming an equal sign. The lyric stuck out to me because despite how hard Starlight tries to keep everyone the same, it’s impossible. She’s allowing the villagers to keep their original names. They also have inevitable differences such as gender, race, and mane and coat colors, so if you really think about it, the villagers are still different from one another. As for the choreography, I found it haunting that the villagers circled the Mane 6 like vultures before displaying their famous symbol proudly. They were just as relentless as Starlight in trying to convert the Mane 6.

3. I find that to be very interesting in clever. Makes me wonder if Starlight ever studied any war books.

4. I’d be like “True, but that only applies to when you’re asleep. You can’t escape nightmares or dreams in the waking world, when you’re either having the best time of your life or the worst.”

[Props Valroa 25,967]

I loved this song! Best song in the series. 

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,809]

As soon as I saw the smiles of the ponies in the town, I knew something was messed up. FiM showed the method of how cult leaders hide their true intent behind a cheerful song, but I was able to see right through. My heart ached when the Mane 6 were locked up. It really showed just how much their talents meant so much to them, and to lose them just like that was a heartbreak. It was at that moment I thought "Somepony please save that crazy Starlight Glimmer from her own mind."