Would you still watch the show if there was no fandom?

[Sir.Flutter Hooves 2,953]

Hello and bro hoof to all!

 

Inspired by the Equestria Daily post: http://www.equestriadaily.com/2013/04/discussion-if-fandom-didnt-exist-would.html

 

 

Would you still enjoy My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic if there was no fandom to go along with the great show? If there was no fanfiction, no fanart, not fanmusic ! Would you still watch the show?

 

I would. I don't need other people to like what I like. It's not up to them, it's up to me (but I still love the fandom! )

 

Tell me in the comments below!

 

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[Flutterdasher 115]

Absolutely , I love several books, shows etc that don't have a noticeable fan base. As you said I don't need other people to like it for me to like it. I like what I like, although it is fun to have fandoms and other people to talk to about it, it isn't necessary.

[Key Gear 6,663]

Would you still enjoy My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic if there was no fandom to go along with the great show? If there was no fanfiction, no fanart, not fanmusic ! Would you still watch the show?

Of course, I would. I started watching the show and kept watching the show many months prior to when I found out that there was a fandom attached to it. In fact, the only reason that I discovered that there was a fandom attached to it was because I was so excited about this show that I wanted to talk to others about it. In fact, I wanted to make vectors of the show's art before I even realized that this was already a hugely popular activity.

 

Really, the show and the community go hoof in hoof. You can't have one without the other. If you had the fandom without the show, then you would get a *lot* of fan produced episodes. The show would live on. If you had the show without the fandom, then you would get a *lot* of folks looking around for others to talk to about the show. The show creates the community through its inherent qualities - art style, production values, world, etc. The community will maintain the feel of the show far into the future.

 

Hello and bro hoof to all!

Brohoof to you, as well!

[Tual 152]

Indubitably! I loved the show even before I knew there was a fandom. ^-^ But it's hard to say what would happen. I'd still end up making fan-art for it and such. ^-^; So...Um. I'm confused. .u.; 

[Lo23 32]

Most definitely. The show is great on its own and would still have its fans if the brony community didn't sprout up. But I still see the show being all the more great with having such an awesome fanbase behind it.

[Scootalove 10,689]

Of course I would. Usually, the childhood shows that I watched did not have a fanbase and they became very popular. My Little Pony can do the same, and well without the fandom we wouldn't really have all of these amazing pony creations.

[duidamasterXD 9,627]

Eeyup. I didn't find out that there was a massive fandom until I was already a decent chunk of the way through the series. I view it as a bonus certainly, as I have people to talk to about MLP, but I certainly would watch the show without it.

Edited April 11, 2013 by DashForever

[Red Diamond 549]

If there wasn't a fanbase to begin with, I wouldn't have got into the series. But if the fandom ended, then I would still watch it.

[Blue Moon 6,341]

Yes, I would still continue to watch it. I watched the show before I entered the fandom anyways. But wouldn't there be a fandom if I was a fan of the show? Yes, it would be a small fandom of 1 person, but it would still be a fandom.

[mycarhasaMoustache 449]

Yes I would still be a fan of the show. I enjoy the fandom it passes the time between seasons but if there was no fandom I would just put it to the back of my mind until the next season aired.

Edited April 12, 2013 by mycarhasaMoustache

[Mr Dash 1,820]

If the fanbase did not exist, I most likely would not have found out about MLP. I would not have found out about bronies and become curious as to what a brony was. I would not have looked it up, and I would have not gotten curious as to why so many guys like MLP. Therefore I would not have given the show a chance. Most likely I would have never known that a new MLP show on. I didn't even know there were several generations to MLP until I started researching bronies and MLP. I just thought it was that 80's cartoon meant to sell toys. So yeah, if the fandom didn't exist, I most likely would have never come across FiM, and I most likely wouldn't have checked it out if I did come across it randomly.

 

Now that I am in the fandom, I will remain here for as long a I can. So thank you bronies for existing, without you I would have never discovered such a fantastic show and a fantastic community.

[Dr. Eggnog 203]

Well, I found the show on Youtube without knowing about the fandom and fell in love with it.  However, without the fandom it wouldn't be nearly as prominent on Youtube, so I might not have ever seen it.

[Jokuc 8,173]

Of course I would! I love the show just as much as this big fandom! The show makes me happy when I watch it, so why wouldn't I continue watching it?

 

 

 

Of course I would

 

Of course, I would.

Just noticed this now.. Maybe I should have used some other words to start my post with

[Алексей 110]

As has been said before, if the fanbase never existed, I probably wouldn't have found out about the show in the first place, and probably wouldn't have had the curiosity to watch the show myself.

 

However, if the fanbase just decided to disappear one day, I would continue to watch the show. I enjoy it and there is nothing else I watch, so...

Edited April 12, 2013 by Андрей

[Thunderchild 875]

Yeah-as others have already said it's kind of a chicken and egg thing. If the fanbase disappeared tomorrow I would still enjoy the show-however I was only made aware of the show by the fanbase and the various memes that sprang up around it.

[Freewave 1,145]

Not really i don't think. I wouldn't have turned to it in the first place, i might watch it with my kids and think "this is pretty good for a cartoon" but i wouldnt have created music or spent endless hours within it if there wasn't a scene. I would have loved to have been there at the start vs at the end of 2011 but even that is getting involved a LOT sooner than a lot of people.

[Balloon Garden 20]

I think I would. I love the show, even though I like the fan art and music, too.  

(and also, I've only been in the fandom for a couple of hours XD)

[Derpular 90]

Yes, I would definitely still watch it. I loved the show before I was part of the fandom. Once I came to be a part of it, it made being a fan a whole lot more fun, but still, like I said, I love the show itself as well as the fandom.

[Dr. Nefarious 195]

Let's be honest here. 70% of you guys wouldn't be interested in the show at all if there wasn't a fandom for it. Because if there wasn't a fandom you probably never would have watched it in the first place. Because you'd think it was ''weird''. But since there is a massive group of people that like it you actually went and watched it.

[Fluttershy_babe 53]

Yup! But also the fandom and pony art, e.t.c.. is a very important part in the brony community. But yes, I would still watch MLP no matter what! :3

[Just some guy 1,070]

I probably wouldn't have watched it in the first place without the brony community existing.I'd wager that the majority of us only watched MLP out of curiosity as to why grown men would watch this show at first.If it weren't for us,MLP would've remained as "that one show with ponies for little girls".

[Rainbow Derp 24]

Yeah if the fandom never existed I definitely would have never watched it.  It was because of the fandom, and my friends that I got into the show, so I wouldn't watch it.   But if the fandom were to disappear randomly over night I would keep on watching it for sure, if I stopped I'd probably go through withdrawals due to the lack of pony. 

[SasQ 1,376]

When I was a kid, my parents has been borrowing video tapes with different cartoons. There was not much choice, so we watched everything, from Bugs Bunny & Duffy Duck, Disney cartoons, Transformers, Voltron, "Care Bears" from Nelvana, some weird Japanese cartoons, and of course previous generations of "My Little Pony". I liked these cartoons, but I hadn't any special affection to MLP: it was just one more cartoon, quite OK to watch, but nothing that special to stay in my mind for longer.

 

First time I heard of "Friendship is Magic", it was when I was doing a research on Internet memes. I found MLP:FiM as one of them, described as some another strange Internet phenomenon where people are pasting pony pictures with weird messages written on them. So I was curious, and I did some more research, and ultimately I watched several episodes, and another, and another... and I started to like it much.

 

So my answer is: yes and no.

 

Yes, because I like the show no matter the fandom surrounding it. And I'd watch it even if I were to be the only person on this planet to watch it, because I chose what to watch according to my own preferences, not other people influences. There are several other shows I watch despite there's not much people around me watching it, like "NUMB3RS", "Touch", "Fringe" (which I enjoy much and recommend to y'all ;-) ). So I'll be watching MLP:FiM as long, as there will be something to watch, and as long as it will stay to be a good show (unfortunately, in the last episode from Season 3, there are some signs that it may return to being the old "Princess Promenade"-like crap again, like in previous generations, which I hope will not become true).

 

No, because I wouldn't know about "MLP:FiM" at all if there weren't the fandom in the first place, because it were these rumors and hype around the show and the fandom which attracted my attention to it. It might be the greatest show on the planet, but I wouldn't be aware it exists at all, unless I'd stumble upon it in some other way.

 

And there is also another factor which doesn't qualify either as "yes" or "no", but still it's very important: the creativity of the fandom. This is a great addition to the whole picture which inspires me a lot and positively motivates, and it gives me a hope that this world still can be rescued from being doomed. And I'm happy to see you all, because this assures me that even if the show will degrade someday or stop being produced, there will still be fandom to hang out with and continue the good influence on the world.

[Mister G 101]

Probably. Yes, this show is good and well-written, but without the brony musicians, bloggers and artists, I would probably never get hooked on MLP:FiM

[Betez 1,734]

Honestly, I wouldn't even know about the show if it wasn't for the fandom. But unless I just happened to stumble upon the show, and began to like it, I'd never even know it existed.

 

So no, I wouldn't like the show.