Is the Background Pony Hype Silly?

[Shipping_Trash 38]

Everybody treats the background ponies as if they're canon, and they sometimes take spotlight away from other ponies, regarding the Applejack episode where the roles of attention were swiched. They're possibly the most overrated things in the fandom, all they do is speak, stand, have a facial expression, stand next to each other, and bam! Attention. What do you think?

[ThatAnonymousPony 133]

I kind of agree. I have background ponies that I like a little bit, mostly because I like their character design, but I don't get why people are like "Yes. This background character with no personality or substance. Yes, they are my favourite character." I mean, there are so many characters that actually do stuff that deserve more attention. It's okay to draw a background pony, or say you like them, but how can you love them so much when they have no personality? I kinda agree that they're overrated.

[-Octavia- 1,176]

On the contrary, they make for a wonderful canvas. It's what they are not that makes them so appealing, for, much like the lesson Applebloom learned when she first met the other two Crusaders, there is so much room for potential. Thus many an imagination has roamed, shaping these ponies that supposedly lack personality into some of the best characters in fanfiction (in my opinion, of course).

Edited March 28, 2016 by -Octavia-

[Luminance 2,186]

It's funny how the fandom transformed one background pony into an icon.

[Justin_Case001 4,881]

Oh....perhaps they are over-hyped.  Everything is, really.  Hype is always kind of annoying, imo.  But I really love the background characters.  I love the potential for development, and I like meeting new characters.  I think an ensemble cast works well on this show, and it honestly wouldn't bother me a bit if they had spotlight episodes developing lesser known ponies.

[Randimaxis 8,652]

Is it silly?  Perhaps a bit, yes... but that doesn't take any of the fun away from it, does it?

 

It doesn't bother me much; Hell, it was HYPER-HYPE that killed [name of VERY POPULAR fandom shall remain anonymous, to keep from becoming a Flame target] for me - I hate the HELL out of it now, and I'm aware that I haven't even really given it a chance; I couldn't stomach it after everyone else had shoved it in my face so often.

 

But I don't see a lot of HYPER-HYPE here; mostly just fans that are stoked for a certain charrie or two.  They might talk your ear off about it, but that'd be about it.

 

Not like fans of [omitted for same reason]; THOSE folks'll keep going and going until you want to strangle them with their own [reference to fandom censored]...

 

So, silly?  Yes.  Very silly.  And wonderful in its own way.  

[Daring_Do 552]

Is it silly?  Perhaps a bit, yes... but that doesn't take any of the fun away from it, does it?

 

It doesn't bother me much; Hell, it was HYPER-HYPE that killed [name of VERY POPULAR fandom shall remain anonymous, to keep from becoming a Flame target] for me - I hate the HELL out of it now, and I'm aware that I haven't even really given it a chance; I couldn't stomach it after everyone else had shoved it in my face so often.

 

But I don't see a lot of HYPER-HYPE here; mostly just fans that are stoked for a certain charrie or two.  They might talk your ear off about it, but that'd be about it.

 

Not like fans of [omitted for same reason]; THOSE folks'll keep going and going until you want to strangle them with their own [reference to fandom censored]...

 

So, silly?  Yes.  Very silly.  And wonderful in its own way.  

Can you pm me? I'm curious if it's a fandom I belong to.

[Randimaxis 8,652]

@@Daring_Do, that depends... will you Flame me if it is? 

[Tao 7,579]

I like the backgrounds myself but at times I think in how fans have  framed them at times is a bit over done and used at times and in not always the best light sadly.  Sort of like Derpy's eyes and making seem a bit slow and dumb in some ways is a bit sad for me,  I think she has a lot more going on and etc for her given if she is a single mother and working a job.   Just fans like their backgrounds due to they they can give them those "traits" and kinda make them well, their own in the fandom.

[Dark Qiviut 22,379]

Not silly at all. Part of the reason why background ponies have such widespread appeal is what they do and what they look like. Background characters aren't simply slotted in the background; they do something. When they do something in the background, they make the universe feel alive and catch people's attention. Derpy's fame began when bronies saw her cross-eyed and scrunching her face, Lyra slumping like a human, Octavia playing the cello and looking really sharp, Button Mash smashing buttons, and so on. If the characters were doing nothing at all or nothing out of the ordinary, you get a boring world.

[ManaMinori 4,145]

How are bg ponie not canon? They appear in show canon, movie canon, comic canon, book canon....they're canon

[AlbaTross 1,586]

We watch a little girl's show about a world ruled by colourful anthropomorphic horses. There's no such thing as a silly fascination unless the pot wants to call the kettle black. I think people like background ponies because they're mysterious, and are blank slates in many ways. This is a fandom that loves headcanons, and in terms of character headcanons, main characters have defined personalities, motivations and plenty of character development, which leaves considerably less space to fill in fan theories. I mean, sure, it doesn't stop fans from doing so, but background ponies lend themselves considerably better to that sort of thing as we know so little about them, and Slice of Life was probably intentionally written to give us just enough about the characters to inspire more headcanon while leaving it just as open for said headcanons.

 

Theory #2 that I've been kicking around, which is not completely unrelated, is that fans just like to over analyze about every little detail of the series, including the lives of ponies we briefly see in the background. Yeah, these two theories go hand in hand, as this tendency to over analyze is a potential basis for a lot of headcanon. I've observed a fascination over things like Equestria's unstated political and economic system, what kinds of side hobbies some of the characters might have, and even things like where ponies poop. A fascination with that one mare in the background that never speaks (except maybe in Slice of Life), and has very little presence or even purpose other than to help make Ponyville look like it's populated by ponies other than the mane six, doesn't surprise me in the least.

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 41,349]

There is nothing wrong with people loving the background ponies like they do. It is like a big meal. You may have that one big part of it that takes most of the main attention, but the meal itself would be incomplete without everything else. Same applies here. The background ponies are special in the way that the fandom can interpret them however they want, and those ponies will be there, in the background ,to remind us of that. 

 

It is pretty crazy that Slice of Life actually sums this topic up pretty well. 

[Wind Chaser 4,768]

I would say it is silly to a point how much people obsess over characters that get so little attention and importance, especially with so little established personality, but the diversity of the background ponies, the blank slates they start as, and the way people run with them really shows how alive the world feels and how creative the fandom is.

 

If you really want to be different, go for a background character that few others have expanded on. Shady Daze is my favorite.

 

[Lonk Chase 255]

Yes.

 

Just, yes.

They aren't going to play any key role in the story, so what's the point in being hyped over them?

 

*cough cough* Derpy *cough cough*

[Brony Mata 134]

I think the background characters are obsessed over by fans a lot because its one of those "bandwagon" things. I was never that interested into the background characters, I think it is because I don't like not cannon shipping and a huge part of the background characters is the fact that the fans are free to decide what their lives are like. Too many people did the one thing that I don't like about characters... and shipped them...

 

 

 

for the lols

I actually like how they made her obsessed with human tho...

 

 

 

Doctor Whooves hype isn't silly. Doctor Who is... seemingly quite easy to obsess over - even when human...

 

Derpy... the fans made her like muffins... don't like her ship... LOVE seeing the fans rage at how they changed her voice.

 

Vinyl is my favorite character, but I seem to like a lot of mute characters so whateves. Her hype isn't silly, I only wear her glasses every time I leave my house.

 

Also. Button Mash. C&D. liek if u cri vry tiem

[cmarston1 5,959]

When background props that are only there to fill out crowd shots and not have actual personalities or character motivations overshadow the actual main characters in their own focus episodes, I think it is safe to to say that yes it is silly.

[PacificGreen 1,163]

Yeah, it is silly, but what kind of fandom isn't silly? Silliness is what makes it fun.

 

In particular, I think the reason why I and so many others love background ponies is because they're blank slates- in a world as rich as Equestria, there's so much potential for fanfics and backstories for everyone, even if there's not much potential for them in the show proper. As Mayor Mare said in SoL, it's not just the main characters that make life interesting, but the side characters as well. And I like to think that every pony has a story to tell.

 

At the same time, I think some ponies get a little too much love, to the point of it being flat-out crazy, while others barely get noticed. Kinda a downer, but that's life.

[Midnight Oil 5]

I prefer writing my own OCs rather than using background ponies.

I don't really have an issue with people favoring and building up the background characters. The only thing that I can think of regarding this that somewhat bothers me is some of the quirks the fans have given some of the characters. For example, i'm not a fan of the idea that Lyra Heartstrings is obsessed with humans.

Why?

[ChikaChan 7,323]

But I want Holly Dash to talk in one of the episodes D:

Edited March 31, 2016 by Princess-Moonlight

[Traker 6]

There pretty good in getting inspiration on OC'S and basing character design on them

[Discord 247]

Absolutely... COMPLETELY silly.

 

Now, if there was some... oh, I don't know... CHAOS hype - THAT, I could certainly get behind!

[Midnight Oil 5]

I suppose you could consider me one of the few fans of MLP who find her fan-given qualities to be... annoying. I personally don't find her "obsession" to be charming. I just see it as something that's more ridiculous than anything else.

Doesn't bother me. It doesn't fit with my head canon but I just let it slide. The 'Lyra is obsessed with hands' stuff gets a bit irritating sometimes though.