Should other species be intentionally made to look bad?

[ManaMinori 4,149]

 

Dragons were portrayed to be greedy, violent so-and-so's. Griffons were portrayed to be greedy, jerky so-and-so's. Yaks were portrayed to be hot tempered, rampaging so-and-so's. Granted, there are several instances where the mane 6 and background ponies come off as stupid, ill-intentioned so-and-so's also, but they're nothing as bad as the other species that are painted in a far more negative light.

 

My though is- should there be an episode where the ponies get called to a friendship problem of some species that is good and doesn't really need the assistance, but who help the ponies with a friendship problem they weren't even aware that they had until it's pointed out to them? Should such concepts be introduced in future episodes, to show that ponies aren't the holy grail, and still have room to grow and learn, while also giving more positive aspects to other species?

[Steve Piranha 29,496]

I don't think entire species should be made just for the sake of being looked in a bad light. In the case of dragons and griffons though, it fits with real life mythology, so that makes sense. Yaks though, I've read they are an allegory of our self-entitled side of the fandom, and it makes sense if you ask me

[Widdershins 9,964]

Hmm, well, that's the rub though.

   Ponykind is the de facto dominant culture of so-and-so's in this world. They build castles, have snotty high society circles, have they're own printed word, magazines, newspapers and even hi-rise cities. You can't really have a more civilized culture because, after all, ponies are the focus of this show. So, really, every other race kind of has to be more tribal & wild.

   Though I do get your point. We've "seen" dragon culture, (which really, only amounted to a few loose gatherings) without leaving some huge change. We went to... The Smoky Mountains, think it was, where we found those two isolated tribes of inbr-*cough* country ponies who, while they were told to get along, were still left to their own devices & way of life.

   It's something we do, respect their ways of life enough to let them still make their own choices but show them the proper way, but I feel its something that ought be dwelt on more.

 

   Say, the ponies go to an isolated yak village to teach them about friendship & are rebuffed because, well, they're an isolated village. They live so far north that they can't grow crops and have to fight for every scratch of food they can find. They still treasure their own tribe members, they just don't have the time to risk gallivanting about with friendship like spoiled city ponies do. They have to be hostile because visiting ponies means a drain on their already strained resources.

 

   Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, Bruh.

[Megas 28,146]

I really doubt other species are made to look bad on purpose and I'm sure the writers know that. Hell they made two episodes just to address that for griffins and dragons(at least in Griffonstone's case, explain that they've fallen on hard times)

[Johnny1226 14,674]

the buffaloes didn't seem to look all that bad when compared to the ponys, I'm sure there are other successful species in the Mlp universe besides ponies we just have yet to meet them

[cmarston1 5,964]

I don't think that other species are intentionally meant to look bad, besides diamond dogs.

[Goat-kun 2,531]

Little do they know jerk quirks can be a positive thing, however, making them weak because of that is the wrong direction. It's like turning Klingons into space hobos cause "Muh Federation". It forces the viewer to take the appropriate side, limiting worldbuilding and shifting the dialogue from fantasy to social discourse in the process. This is the worst possible time to waste ink on this bullshit. Five-Legged Shrew cometh.

[sweetolebob18 728]

For humans, racial variants are less important than individual differences.  That is, if you have 2 people & you are trying to guess which one is smarter, it doesn't help to know their race.  (George Washington Carver was smarter than I'll ever be.  Hey, the dude invented peanut butter.  What have I ever done?)

 

However, in EQ, it very well could be that Ponies are smarter than other races.  Still, Ember &  Gabby show that not all members of their races are bad 

[Thrond 3,271]

Ponies don't strictly need to be taught by another species, but cooperating with a species which they don't need to help would be nice, and even just helping an a group which already exists instead of arriving to impart Pony values on a lesser race would be a major improvement. At best, ponies sharibg their values had uncomfortable implications, and at worst, it makes the worldbuilding unconvincing. "The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone" expects you to believe that griffons lived in squalor for who knows how long without ever trying to make friends. It's ridiculous.

 

Although I admired how the yaks were portrayed. They were too aggressive, sure, but they clearly interpreted dishonesty as a grave insult, and the show doesn't act like their culture is inferior. I think that's one of the better ways the show has felt with non-ponies.