Has the fanbase become too critical?

[DiscordAnarchy 770]

Going over many of the reviews ponies have posted over the episodes; do you believe that they have forgotten that - despite the several nods to the brony fandom - that this is still a show aimmed towards children between 5-12 years old? I am seeing people upset if their pony of choice shows interest in other male characters, the whole Flash Sentry issue was blown way out of proportion, people making non-issues over background characters and so on...

 

has anynegapony else noticed this?

[XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 777]

But of course, the magnitude of some "fans" blowing up over such small things is always going to be present in any fandom. 

 

Honestly, I can't help but feel as though it's just one or two people who want to cause a ruckus and they always somehow gain a following of those who are gullible. It could also be just be a select few with big microphones among the crowd, when reality things like Flash Sentry VS CheeseXPinkie aren't even a big deal. 

Edited February 8, 2014 by Accellerant

[Grumpy Enchantress 586]

No, you can't tell me one second that the show is way better than any other little girls show and the writers are great at writing for girls without treating them like idiots and the next second defend an awful decision they made (that was most likely forced by Hasbro) where they write horrible and treat the demographic like idiots. Kids shows are just as open for criticism as anything else and I wouldn't want people to ignore problems. Fortunately, this works the other way and when an episode is AMAZING like the last 3 have all been, they can get well deserved praise for it!!! 

[repsol rave 2,963]

well, if anything, bronies are incredibly good at overreacting to stuff

i honestly don't think too much of it. many people like being critical, so i just let them.

[Scootalove 10,689]

Blowing things out of proportions is something that the fandom can do, if they want to be critical I say let them. There are critical people out there, but that's what they love to do. But, they are not too critical.

Edited February 8, 2014 by Scootalove

[~Sole~ 852]

I think there are a lot of times where reviewers will often overthink an episode or get way too picky about characters scenes or their actions. But not really to the point of being ridiculous.

[ghostfacekiller39 23,860]

This whole schpeil has been played out countless times here.

 

Honestly, this is how it is with EVERY fandom. You have people who enjoy analyzing and discussing this sort of thing, like me; then you have other people, like you, I'm guessing, who just want to sit back and enjoy the ride; which is fine.

 

But, there is no correct way to watch a TV show, and providing criticism against people providing criticism is sorta redundant.

 

In any case, this is how some people enjoy the show, even if it may not make perfect sense to you. As long as they're not being harmful to those around them (which discussion and debate over the show itself generally isn't.) then there should be no qualms about the way people are doing things, even if they may differ from the way you yourself may do things.

Edited February 8, 2014 by ghostfacekiller39

[Something Floaty 1,334]

Wow, what a critical post.

 

Haha, just kidding. Yeah, I sort of understand what you mean. I haven't been on this site long, but I was reading through some of the discussion threads for the individual episodes from seasons 1 to 3, and it definitely seems like there is more criticism being leveled at the show during the fourth season compared to the previous ones. However, I don't think that speaks to a negativity within brony fandom, I think that speaks to fandom in general. TV show fandom follows three simple rules: One: Lots of fans hate change. Two: Successful TV shows change as they progress. Three: Universal satisfaction is impossible. I myself have gone through this with several shows. For instance, I used to love Bones, but I barely care about it at all anymore because I hate the direction the show has taken. Personally, I think it started going downhill when Booth and Brennan got into their relationship. Not that the relationship itself was a bad idea, but it completely overwhelmed the forensic and investigative entertainment aspect of the show. As far as MLP, I don't think anything of the sort has happened, but regardless, as a show continues to premiere new episodes, the amount of criticism will increase because characters will evolve, storylines will change or fall by the wayside, and new things will be introduced. By season 6 or 7 people will be complaining about things not being as good as they were back in season 4. It's a neverending cycle, but as long as the core ideals of the show remain the same, and there is no evidence that they won't, we will all still watch and find things to love about it. 

Edited February 8, 2014 by Something Floaty

[duidamasterXD 9,627]

Not in the least. If you look at the polls for how people felt about individual episodes, the reaction is always overwhelmingly positive. On an individual basis, if someone doesn't like something about an episode, they may as well say so. So long as they're not being jerks about it, there's nothing wrong with anyone voicing an opinion about an episode or something that happened.

 

The fandom seems to be known for overreacting, but I feel that applies both positively and negatively. Overall I wouldn't say that people are anything close to "too critical".

[sippie 16]

@@ghostfacekiller39,

 

I must say, gfk makes sense.

 

Indeed some viewers are being too critical. Just enjoy instead of watching the whole episode frame by frame.

[DiscordAnarchy 770]

Wow, what a critical post.

 

Don't be critical about my critical post about critical reviews!!!!! :3

[Mywas 687]

My critical views on the show(prepare to be amazing) :

 

 

 

 

 

Lolponies

[IHasTwi 31]

No, you can't tell me one second that the show is way better than any other little girls show and the writers are great at writing for girls without treating them like idiots and the next second defend an awful decision they made (that was most likely forced by Hasbro) where they write horrible and treat the demographic like idiots. Kids shows are just as open for criticism as anything else and I wouldn't want people to ignore problems. Fortunately, this works the other way and when an episode is AMAZING like the last 3 have all been, they can get well deserved praise for it!!! 

Agreed. You can't let a show's demographic limit the viewers oppurtunities on providing input to the show. The fans are what keep the show survive! If the writers want the show to keep on going then they'll have to hear some criticism in order to make their show better.  That's how showbiz works, after all!  Edited February 9, 2014 by Artemis
Removed quote from a deleted post

[~Silver Essence~ 2,625]

Every fandom will have it's moments like these.

 

It's not rare, and it's about normal for any fandom to find and nitpick about stuff that shouldn't be that much of a big deal to begin with.

 

For the brony fandom, one can argue that they have a lot of problems to make them infamous, and in a way, kinda, but they just overreact for the most part.

 

For me however, despite the problems and negativity, I remain strong and supportive on any type of situation.

[MLP Moth 224]

Don't be critical about my critical post about critical reviews!!!!! :3

You can never be critical about a critical post being too critical on a critical thread about critical reviews about MLP.............criticalception.

 

The fandom does go overboard about things more often then we should.

Edited February 8, 2014 by MLP Moth

[Admiral Regulus 2,769]

Doesn't being a fan of something mean overanalyzing it and recognizing its faults, as well as its strengths?

 

It's not criticism that bothers me. I appreciate criticism within the fandom—it gives me something to think about, and adds an aditional layer of appreciation and understanding to the scenes, events, and characters. It's only when people just hate things for no specific reason that it starts to bother me.

[Inactive01 5,299]

I believe so. There are just far too many criticisms being directed at the producers over menial things. The more the criticism, the more likely many of the are unwarranted. If there was an equivocal criticism about one thing, then that is something to be considered. For example, Flash Sentry.

[TrunksXV 33]

Every fandom has people who will find things they like and dislike about any given show. There have been a few stinker episodes in the series and the fans will point out the things they like and don't like. So what if the writers bring in characters like Cheese Sandwitch? Just the fact that the character is voiced by Weird Al, is reason enough that fans on mass won't put Pinkie with him. I do enjoy the pairings where the fans have decided which of Mane Six should get together with. Just go look at DA and view the shipping art and I'd say hey if the majority of fans agree that this is who this pony should end up with, than that's fine with me.

 

But what's great is that we can also use our imaginations and write our own stories about this world. The online world has made it possible for fans to come together to discuss, learn and make friendships with others who are also fans. That's what fandoms are all about.

[DryGuy84 (Inactive) 927]

Well people become more critical as they expect more, but overall I'd say no. You got plenty of people who are super-critical about every line, and you have plenty that are just happy MLP is continuing. Judging by the tallies of the newer episodes compared to the older ones, I'd say nothing has changed for either party, which is good.

[Creamy Arty 6,252]

Granted, there are some people out there who over-analyze the episodes to the point that they're looking for a level of depth that simply isn't there because it was never intended to be so, and routinely disappoint themselves because of it. And there are those who consistently don't like anything that's done because they really don't even know what they want. However, I believe these people aren't in the majority. People are quicker to announce displeasure than satisfaction.

 

You also have those who are resistant to change. Some prefer an episodic model to a continuous story arc. Sometimes they equate character growth and development as deviating from the core philosophy of the show. None of these things are necessarily bad, but the show isn't exactly what it was when we first discovered it, so a few people panic, claim the shark has been jumped, etc. In other words, alarmists.

 

 

Criticism is fine. Even I don't care for certain episodes and think the writers really missed the mark, and find myself truly disappointed. Of the 78 episodes we've had so far, I don't even need an entire hand to count them. Good ratio, right? Nothing wrong with saying a bad decision was made though, and they certainly happen from time to time. I think most of the fans are similar to myself in that they try to take ponies at face value and enjoy them for the cuteness and escapism they provide. Polls (as mentioned by someone earlier in the thread) and the ongoing success of the series attest to that more than anything.