How can the writers "fix" their Rarity problem?

[Forlong 1,726]

You know the problem I'm talking about.  The writers have far to often depicted Rarity as greedy and self-centered.  Almost never expressing generosity.  This needs to be fixed, but how can they do it?

[repsol rave 2,963]

oh wow, i just noticed this wasn't a fanfiction based question

please disregard the comment i made before.

 

but i don't think the writers need to change a whole lot on their rarity. the constant conflict between generosity and fashionist makes it interesting

Edited August 7, 2013 by repsol rave

[Zygen 6,066]

I never really had this issue for the most part, and honestly i think that conflict kinda makes her character more interesting, its like shes constantly conflicted by her generosity, and her need to be famed and valued in high society.

 

I suppose there are sometimes she jumps a little far out of character, but even then those haven't really ever managed to bother me.

 

Maybe with more Rarity episodes coming out in S4 they will have more chances to show Rarity's generous side.

[Moon Rat 4,773]

Honestly, I don't think the writers need to fix anything with Rarity. I say keep her the way she is. Her clash between her fashion side and her element of generosity kinda make her one of the funnier characters in the series without her having to try too hard

[MichaelxXxTrixie 433]

They don't need to fix her character at-all, she is fine as she is. In the end when she accomplishes her goal to be in high society and be the "Pony everypony should know" the writers will make her true self of generosity show in the end.

[. eris . 1,661]

They don't need to fix her. I think you're looking at her from a viewpoint that the large majority of bronies share - they focus on the bad and ignore the good. She's actually one of the most well-rounded, complicated, and conflicted of the Mane Six, for the very nature of her being. She's a fashionista, prone to pettiness and selfishess, but she's also the Element of Generosity. She's shown several times that she'll give the proverbial shirt off her back to anyone who asks.

 

I do agree that some things slant Rarity in a bad light (Sonic Rainboom being my least favorite episode, for the completely OOC character portrayal of Rarity.) But what's done is done, and I really don't think the writers have a "problem" with Rarity. It would be nice to show more scenes of her being generous, but I like her the way she is.

[Twiliscael 3,962]

 

They don't need to change a thing about Rarity. The fact that she can be both mega-generous and mega-greedy makes for some of the best humor in the show, and adds a nice element to her character. Plus, she's stayed the most consistent out of all the main characters throughout all 3 seasons.

[Orablanco Account 3,708]

RARITY CHARACTER DEFENSE MODE, ENGAGE.

 

Are you implying that there's something that needs to be improved with her character? That we need to upset the balance of positive and negative qualities within her personality even though that's what makes her so great? Are you trying to say that because her soul isn't a shining bastion of generosity 24/7 she isn't generous despite the fact that would be absolutely boring and that the rest of the Mane Six are just as flawed in that area? Is the main idea of that post suppose to be that Rarity has not had any decent episodes up to this point even though one can make the argument that of all the Mane ponies, her solo episodes have the best track record?

 

 

 

You know the problem I'm talking about.

 

 

NO I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THERE WAS A PROBLEM.

Edited August 7, 2013 by CITRUS KING46

[Nerdy Luigi 2,065]

It is NOT a problemor flaw at all. They actually show her as quite loyal and generous. There are way too many examples of this to list, but it ISN'T a problem at ALL.

 

And plus, a partial (and hardly noticeable) greed only shows due to her richness and hate of dirtiness. 

[Megas 28,135]

Other than show a little more generosity, I don't think there's anything the writers need to fix, she's probably one of the most well written characters in the show

 

If there's anyone that needs fixing, it's Applejack(and even then, I think they just need to take her out of her comfort zone)

Edited August 7, 2013 by Godot

[Freewave 1,145]

Wow so much defensiveness. I guess you'd have to ask Sweetie Belle how generous it was for her to come along camping since she had to pull that massive cart.  I'll agree it would be nice to have an episode highlight both sides of her again as S3 gave her less of a spotlight then Applejack got.

[Jokuc 8,174]

There are many comments where people things the opposite as OP, I see. I think that you are actually right about Rarity not showing enough how she is the element of generosity. It's shown just a few times in earlier seasons but I personally think that they do need to show that more. Not necessarily by very obvious things such as cutting her tail off for a random sea creature, but maybe some smaller things. Maybe buying something or sharing something for/with her friends.

 

Even though I do agree that it could be shown more, I do not really mind the way she is right now. I think the personality she have shown this far is what suits her best. If Rarity suddenly wanted to do things for her friends all the time (other than making dresses) or maybe buying something yummy for her sister, I would wonder what has happened to her.

 

But we will see what happens in season 4.

 

pssssst! I heard Rarity will get her own episode in season four.

Edited August 7, 2013 by Jokuc

[Party Cannon 876]

I understand what you're saying about her moments that seriously lack generosity. However, I don't see anything to fix. It would be a boring show if the characters were constantly the epitome of their element. Some of my favorite episodes are when they crack or stray away from their element (i.e. Pinkie in Party of One and Twilight in Lesson Zero).

 

I feel this scene from Full Metal Jacket explains this phenomenon. "The Duality of Man" concept is something that ever since I saw this movie has been part of my life outlook.

 

 

 

 

Obviously there are varying instances of when Rarity is not very generous to say the least, one in particular being how she in Just For Sidekicks gave Spike the smallest gem out of all the mane six to watch Opal.

Edited August 7, 2013 by Party Cannon

[Scootalove 10,692]

I think the writers could show Rarity's generosity a little more, and probably do anything else to her that could make her better. I don't really have anything else to say on that.

[. eris . 1,661]

Wow so much defensiveness. I guess you'd have to ask Sweetie Belle how generous it was for her to come along camping since she had to pull that massive cart.   

 

Sweetie Belle did manipulate Rarity into coming along on the camping trip, even though Rarity expressed many times she didn't want to go. Plus, Rarity was more than willing to spend time with Sweetie Belle once Scootaloo took over pulling. *shrug* They're sisters, it's what they do. Personally, I think the relationship between Sweetie Belle and Rarity is one of the most accurate and realistic on the show. Sisters can be horrid to one another, especially younger sisters to older sisters.

 

/end rant/ xDD

[They call me Loyalty 1,954]

Rarity is a well developed character regarding generosity. Being in part greedy make her more believeble and complex, adding layers to a character in which would be the opposite of her especial talent, making her acts of generosity much more worthy due the struggle to fight her own greediness.

A character needs it's flaws to struggle with. The constant balance between both sides make her feel real and alive. She is black and white at the same time, not only white or black, both instead. This greatly changes the course of her resolution against a problem to deal with. She is not predictable, so she's interesting.

That's my problem with characters that only are black or white. Like Celestia (White) or King Sombra (Black) They are predictable for me, they are not intriguing for me. They don't seem to be alive under a realistic perspective due their lack of black and white at the same time.

Again, Rarity is perfect the way she is.

Apologies for my english.

Edited August 7, 2013 by They call me Loyalty

[Salacberry 90]

I think that Rarity is fine as a character already, and the fact that she doesn't always live up to her element makes her more complex, interesting and realistic, which is a good thing. 

[crazitaco 596]

Wait, what? What on earth are you talking about, Darling? Best pony needs no fixing.

Rarity is not greedy, its just that she really REALLY loves pretty things. Ever noticed that she doesn't act "greedy" about every and any object she gets? Notice how she has never mentioned wanting an object solely because its price? She doesn't even seem to care about money or wealth itself. She just likes things because of the way they look, and i guess you could consider it her one true weakness. Everyone has that one thing that they really desire and would do anything for, and for Rarity that is fashionable things.

 

I think the Rarity's truest display of generosity was in Art of the Dress, and not from the fact that she was making free dresses for her friends (like i said, she doesn't care about money), but rather that she had to repress her desire to make the dresses beautiful in her own eyes so she could make it beautiful in her friend's eyes instead. That's really hard thing for an artist like Rarity to do, because she basically had to go against every fiber of her being to create something she considered ugly. And all because she wanted her friends to be 100% satisfied with the dresses.

 

Anyway, i'm kinda glad that Rarity isn't always randomly giving stuff away for free, because generosity loses its meaning once it becomes an easy, automatic thought-process. I'm not saying it would be a bad thing if she did act more generous more often, but I personally see it as a non-issue.

Edited August 7, 2013 by crazitaco

[Winona the Dog 1,984]

I don't know why everyone is complaining about Rarity being greedy and selfish at some points of the series.

 

Yeah it's not like the rest of the mane 6 go against thier elements at all.....Generosity possibly being the hardest to represent, Rarity fits the bill perfectly and doesn't need to change. As a matter of fact, it's quite humorous just as when Fluttershy goes into rage mode.

 

There has been many times Rarity has been super generous.

[Shanks 10,817]

They do a good job of displaying Rarity's positive traits in the episodes that feature her but they do sometimes play up her shallow,vain and petty side in episodes where she is a supporting character for laughs and it mostly falls flat. Rainbow Dash's flaws are just as apparent as Rarity's and she is my 2nd favorite pony so I don't believe that a character being flawed makes them bad. And Rarity's shallow, vain and selfish sides are important aspects of her character but it seems a lot of times that the writers aren't sure what the do with her. Rarity is a good character and her and Applejack probably have the most untapped potential of the mane 6 but still. 

[TailsIsNotAlone 3,696]

The only Rarity problem here is that she isn't getting any episodes to develop her nicer, more genuine side. It can easily be solved by writing more episodes about Rarity. 

Edited August 8, 2013 by TailsIsNotAlone

[hawkflame 3,315]

Wow so much defensiveness. I guess you'd have to ask Sweetie Belle how generous it was for her to come along camping since she had to pull that massive cart.

 

Well you have to consider that Rarity was being asked to do something she absolutely *despises*.  But she went along anyway, for her sister. 

 

In fact, Rarity's the most likely to go outside of her own personal comfort zone for the sake of others.  She busted her butt making horrible looking dresses because it was what her friends wanted, she went through the entire obstacle course at the Sisterhooves Social to save her relationship with Sweetie Belle, she went camping with Sweetie Belle even though she *hates* roughing it, and she bit her lip when it came to her jealousy over Fluttershy's success as a model because she wanted to be a supportive friend.  If that's not some sort of generosity in spirit, I don't know what is. 

 

She's also the most perceptive of other ponies feelings too- something I hope the writers develop or show a little bit more. 

[Forlong 1,726]

Apparently I have to give a lesson in writing composition.  Allow me to show the word in the title so many of you seem to be missing:

 

How can the writers "fix" THEIR Rarity problem?

 

I thought I made it quite clear that the writers are wherein the problem lies.  For contrast, look at the comics.  The Rarity issue of the micro-series and Nightmare Rarity arc do an excellent job with Rarity as a character.

[Whatevs 377]

I think the problem here is that there is a lot of middle ground between people's positions.

 

Let's start with pro-rarity: She actually has shown her generosity a lot, a lot more than she is often given credit for. And possibly a lot more than anyone else has shown their respective element. She has the distinct advantage of being a fairly original character whereas the other 5 are fairly stock, and has better episodes as a result (which is generally accepted among the fandom circles I frequent)

 

As for con-Rarity: There is an issue where the writers have her stray from the element for dumb reasons far too often.

And this is a genuine problem. 

But at the same time it's not a problem that is endemic to her character, especially since it's something that only really got bad in S2 (specifically the latter half) and got worse in S3.

And most of these instances are attempts at levity that only arise because Rarity is good at injecting levity into situations and can improve an episode with sparing use of her.

 

It's a simple problem to fix, just stop having her do things that are selfish (even if they aren't supposed to be taken seriously) when she's supposed to be magnanimous (and is, if not for what I'm prescribing to stop).

 

However I find it curious how Dash during S2 was blamed on the writers, and I've seen every other bizarre choice taken with characters blamed on the writers (such as Pinkie Pie's lolrandom humor being dumber in S3, or Flash Sentry). So why would such needless portrayals of a character that is supposed to be the opposite of such things be the fault of the character rather than the writer?

Particularly when the reason the writers do it is because they can get away with it, and get more of a response when they have Rarity be over the top.