If you had told me at the beginning of this year that I would be writing this, I would have given you a very odd look and went back to reassembling my computer, because I was replacing a motherboard at the time.
This article is after a page break, because it's a lot longer than I thought it was going to be. The tags do not lie this time.
I joined the fandom, as much as anypony can say that they 'joined' the adorable squishy mass that is ponies, around the middle of January on 4chan's /co/ board. I was using this very name, even- despite, of course, the fact that tripcodes were generally frowned upon. This was before we had separate chans, like Ponychan, so /co/ was basically the only place to go for ponies. Equestria Daily was in its infancy, and the Pony General thread locator was considered top-of-the-line in pony organization. How far we've come really is a sight to behold. This blog garners 200,000 hits a day.
One of the most striking things about my time on that board was the amount of original content being produced every single day. Back then, of course, fiction wasn't as common, but you more often than not had very talented artists doing sketches and paintings of these marshmallow ponies and posting them for everypony to see. On-model, humanized, crossovers with other cartoons and video games; you name it, and it had been drawn. Sometimes artists would come in and just draw whatever ponies asked them to. This practice still continues today, of course. It was the main reason I stuck around on the board as long as I did.
It wasn't really the fact that talented artists existed on the board that was so enthralling. After all, this was the comics and cartoons board. You're bound to attract some decent artists to such a place. It wasn't even the fact that a cartoon was generating so much art; much more well-known and 'serious' cartoons and comics got original art from fans all the time. It was commonplace.
It wasn't either of those things that stuck out. It was the idea that it was My Little Pony of all things that was generating such content that had staying power in everyones mind. And in mine.
It was barely two or three weeks of lurking around in these threads that I decided to write something that I hadn't written in a very long time- fan fiction. I had written stories for other universes before, and had even started a novel of my own, but those projects all sort of fell by the wayside after a time. I just wasn't motivated to finish them for whatever reason I could make up in my mind. For some reason, these ponies had made me care about writing again. You could say I was inspired by the sheer creative juices flowing out of the fandom as a whole. I wrote a small (only slightly longer than this article) vignette about Trixie, copied it into an image, as was the common practice at the time, and posted it on the board. I think maybe two ponies commented on it. It most certainly wouldn't have made it onto the blog today. I didn't care. I had contributed, and it felt great.
Fast-forward to today. The blog gets so much original content in a single day that it made those early months look like a drought. Videos, music, fiction, and most certainly art. And then there's the things that no one expected- amazingly detailed custom recolors of the (admittedly) cheap official plastic toys, hand-coded games, and glassware, to name but a few. All in the name of ponies.
Let me say that one more time. All in the name of little multi-colored marshmallow ponies.
I'm sure what I'm about to ask you all is a question you've asked yourself many times. I ask it of myself every time I really stop and think about what I do every day for the blog. What is it about these little ponies that inspires such creativity in people that they normally wouldn't have had any inclination to express? My story is far from unique; even in the 300-word and speedfic events, I couldn't tell you how many times I read the words, "this is my first fan fiction." It still comes as a surprise to me when I read that and find a story that's really excellent. Ponies inspired that person to write something worth reading. The same goes for art. I've seen ponies admit that they had never considered drawing things before these equines came along. Each and every one of them had gotten past whatever artificial stigma exists around the brand (or ignored it entirely), found something inspiring about it, and used it in a positive way to express themselves.
I've been in a few fandoms, and I'll be honest: I've never seen anything like this. It's wonderful, and I'm glad to be a part of it.
So, let me close this article with a question: what is it about these ponies that you think inspires us to do these things in their name? I'd like to hear your thoughts on the matter.
230 comments:
@Anonymous Because: Twilight Sparkle.
ReplyDelete:D
Oh great, blogger ate my wall of text. Oh well, summary time.
ReplyDeleteI sorta agree with Dave Mustang: the show really is overblown. We've already had loads of people point out that several shows of equal if not better quality that never snowballed into this sort of craze. Personally, I think it's the shock factor of Ponies being awesome, and the current rise of the internet that caused the trend to spread so rapidly. However, the fanbase itself is what really makes the fandom, and in particular I agree that it's this sense of incredible creativity that confounds us and compels us to create and consume more pony. Indeed, you can watch the whole season, find some of the fandom stuff, and then when you rewatch the season all of a sudden all sorts of things gain new meaning. It's like reading Animal Farm at varying ages: one time it's a story about talking animals, the next it's a scathing commentary on Communist culture.
However, there's also some more literal appeal in the creative spectrum. Due to the incredibly simplified art style, drawing a pony vector is REALLY easy, especially compared to drawing things like humans. The characters themselves are so incredibly varied that you can literally take them in any direction and it'll work. David Ingram and William Anderson are so good with the music that it compels others to follow suit. Even the storyboards - while inherently generic - produce so many ideas to create variety. While I do agree that the show as a whole is overrated, the little details all over the place are something that I really haven't ever seen in media as a whole before. That much of the little stuff really makes good, well, great.
It is in my firm belief, that we Bronies are now the GREATEST subculture in this modern day and age, and will be for longest time in the foreseeable future....even after MLP finally dies down, I'm willing to bet that the subculture we created will be UN-MATCHED for YEARS to come.
ReplyDeleteI love the community and what it represents and does with all my heart.
A great big Bro-hoof to all. May we live long, and prosper...
I'm another pony who had never even touched a pencil before seeing this show and getting involved with this fanbase. Now I draw everyday and it's quickly become my favourite hobby, yet all I draw are ponies.
ReplyDeleteBeyond the normal stuff we've all discussed a lot about the quality of the show, there's some less-obvious factors at work here. The way the mane cast are young adults instead of children makes them more relatable to everyone. To kids, they're positive female role models, something that television in general and cartoons in particular lack. To adults, they remind us of ourselves, and possess qualities that we can admire, such as working hard, keeping one's promises, and helping your friends; and those who aren't your friends, for that matter.
ReplyDeleteIt's also a major change of pace from the vast majority of entertainment out there. The ponies generally try a peaceful approach to things, but are practical enough to know that it doesn't always work and that sometimes you simply cannot solve your problems with words. At the same time, violence is never undertaken except as a last resort, and even then it's never the solution. But they also don't tolerate being "walked over", as Fluttershy overcame her fear of dragons when her friends were threatened. This is in contrast to a seemingly endless number of kids series where the protaganists get harrassed or even assaulted by some bully and never actually fight back.
Why did Charlie Brown never tell off Lucy? Why didn't Doug ever punch that stupid green bully? Why in the hell did the Rugrats never get revenge on Angelica? And so on and so forth. The ponies aren't stupid like that, and this makes them more human then most humans in animation. Rainbow Dash told off Gilda when she saw how much of a bitch she was being. EVERYONE showed up Trixie in one way or another; Twilight technically didn't directly, but you can bet if somepony was hurt by her showmanship that she woulda taken action right then and there. And so on.
Long story short, these characters and it's setting are optimistic, and they aren't perfect, but they try and better themselves.
And that is inspiring.
As stated before (I think) the reason this show garners so much fan interaction is because of its sheer openness. Don't get me wrong, shows like Boondocks, Arrested Development, Dexter, etc are great, maybe even superior. However, there is not really anything a fan can add to these series. They're pretty much their own closed environments with no real room for expansion or even improvement. And thus, while greatly loved and admired, we can never truly be a part of those shows' creative process or even the expansion of those shows' universes. Thus, you have a world that actually gets better because of fan interaction, not despite it.
ReplyDeleteGiven how much Cereal uses "marshmellow" in this article, I can only assume he was very hungry when he wrote this article. =P
ReplyDeleteF***ing ponies, how do they work?
ReplyDeleteI think I have an idea about that.
First off, as anyone in the fandom may realize, this show is made with love, tons and tons of it. From the new concept, to the art, the music, the characters, everything is simply divine, and that's surely a lot of good reasons, but it sure isn't enough to justify THIS.
Another thing that could be credited for the show is its pure innocence of its execution, in so many ways. It is sweet and cute, without being overly diabetic and air-headed. It is funny, without relying on twisted, excessive forms of humor, like overworked irony, and instead going for original jokes, heartfelt homages, and spontaneous character interaction.
Admittedly, many other works have required more effort to get done, and some others may be funnier, or cuter, and still they haven't spawned such an enormous, ever-expanding movement of love and tolerance, so what's up with those ponies?
It's because of the thing I deem as the most important part...
It's the message inside the show, of love, respect, dedication, self-validation, acceptance, and everything in-between, that permeates every minute of the cartoon, and that manages to actually get through, that delivers, being both excellently written in, and stated again for/with clarity at the end of each episode.
Those messages are easy to be assimilate, because they are well inserted in every episode, because they are very important and true, and because they are very, very positive; and that's terribly important: when you have positive values as reference points, it drives out the passion and willpower in people, without scrambling them with feelings of failure, depression, frustration.
When you reference a work expressing any sort of negativity as a message, you can't help but feel that way when you try to get inspiration from it, since you're actually trying to get in touch with its inner workings. In MLP, instead, you find only goodness, and precious lessons inside (OK, I'll admit, FiM is not perfect either, but it comes pretty darn close in that regard, closer than any other cartoon, or show, or book, I've ever even heard of), and so, whatever the media, whatever the endeavor, one feels good and validated while doing it. because one can't help but feel love at the sight of love, and this drives the author forward.
And then, of course, there's the community. Witnessing as your drive for love and the original innocence in each of us is shared among so many motivated, caring, respectful, and productive people does wonders to one's morale and motivation, as pretty much expected. And after seeing how much the others are inspired by the show itself, and how much it is liberating, and actually good for one's psyche, to be a creative part of such a movement, at that point the desire of creating positive content for positive people becomes almost an unstoppable drive.
After that, throw in the feedback mechanisms of blog spotlights, comments and criticisms, and collective challenges, and you have one hell of a creative content churning machine.
TL;DR: The show we are referencing from oozes love, in the true, caring sense of the word, in all ways and from all angles, and obviously talking about, taking inspiration, and producing content about love feels a lot better than otherwise, and this is mainly explainable with empathy. The community then acts as a support and validation to one's right efforts.
It's like being a kid again.
ReplyDeleteThe magic of friendship.
Being able to do what you like, despite what people say about it, only to have them join in later.
The fact is... also I really don't know, if somepony would have told me that, one day, I would love ponies, I would have laught, but Now I'm here, watching mnimum 30 poni images per day, drawing also sometimes, really, i'm the kind of person that is strong in his fixations, but this is just...special. I LOVE it, I don't know why, but i'M happy that I love it.
ReplyDeleteIt is impressive how they've done that, it was ponies that got me into using Inkscape, making real vectored images, and now I'm making a font for the fandom, thanks to these new skills.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how this happens, it's probable that the amount of effort the creators put into the show rubs off, but I think it's also a loop between the fans too, the sheer amount of talent going into everything makes people want to add their own works to the mix.
The style of these marshmellows might also be a factor, as the style is very simple (for animation reasons) it helps people ease their way into making art. And perhaps the well written scripts for the show helps inspire those whom feel a closer connection to writing.
I dunno, but its very impressive how this has happened.
I will just say that I think the simplest answer to this is that, due to it's overall design, the universe of this show has just ended up offering such a massive fancy sandbox with which to play in. The pony characters themselves are just so nicely crafted both visually and from a literary perspective that it becomes instinctively addictive to watch and play with them in this vast sandbox.
ReplyDeleteIt's magic, nothing else. ^^
ReplyDeleteOkay serious, I do what I do in the name of pony because I want to be a part of something big, something that inspires people, makes them laught, happy, whatever. It's great to be a part of something so wonderful.
Not even the community itself, also the show is worth of my respect, because it wants to teach moral. And which show tday tries this in such a offense and clear way? I have none in mind and that would already be enought to be worth of doing things in te name of pony.
I explored this idea briefly a month ago on my deviantArt journal: http://foxofwar.deviantart.com/journal/41272775/
ReplyDeleteI still don't know just why these ponies are so fun to draw. But one thing that I mentioned and has since grown a lot with me: the utterly amazing crossover potential. You can cross ANYTHING with ponies and it comes out pretty awesome - or better. As of this writing, I have ponified something like quarter of the Disney animated canon, quite a few songs(including the whole Aquarium album of AQUA), some of MtG, and have quite a few ideas rolling in my head still. And that is not even mentioning the quotes and references I love doing. Stand-up comedy, movies of virtually every spectrum, music like no mañana,
Another thing is probably the use of colors: with ponies I can really go WILD with the colors, realism be damned. And god am I loving every living moment of it.
And, well: the fandom itself. If it weren't for the utterly awesome readings that are the fanfics this fandom creates, and the myriad of other fan works and arts, I wouldn't be riding so high on inspiration all the time. I have never before had such a long streak of "need to draw, want to draw, want to draw NOW" until ponies happened few months back.
I think ProBono is correct: this fandom pretty much has reached the point where it will roll on by the sheer inertia of it existing. See also: flippin' 200k pageviews a day. The pony groups in dA post so much stuff every day it's insane.
I'm not sure if ponies are stoppable force when it comes to creating stuff anymore. Not sure if I mind either.
I stopped and read all the comments. And...
ReplyDeleteI love each and every single one of you. You are what make the community so awesome. That make this group of people who like multicolored equines the best community ever,
We march on, hand in hand, and we are ready to teach the world some better morals than the ones they're used to.
The friendship will not be delayed, much less stopped.
We are bronies. We are legion.
For me, I think what really helps all these talents come out is the pure love in this community. We don't feel like we're going to be immediately rejected or sneered at by one another, so shy first-timers are more encouraged to try their hand at something new. And for those that have a talent that they keep hidden, they're motivated to share it.
ReplyDeleteAlso, maybe it's our own collective, subconscious search for our own special talents that makes us so prolific. We're all searching for our own cutie marks.
I'm currently practicing to become a contributing fan artist. (My DA account is dop4min3rgic if you care to track progress). The thing that inspires me about these ponies is how much time and care is put into making them spring to life on-screen. for me i suppose its a matter of "well if they can put this sort of care into work and make people love it, why can't I?" That doesn't seem to be exactly right, but it's as close as I can think of
ReplyDeleteI really wish I knew. Your article struck a chord with me- I have several other projects that I'm working on for fiction, but I woke up one day with an idea for a fanfic, and I thought, "Yeah, okay, this should be a fun little way to get some practice." Two days later, I've written close to 10,000 words and I'm totally ignoring my "main" projects.
ReplyDeleteWhatever the cause is, it's wonderful and it's given me yet another reason to love ponies and the fandom it's brought together.
I guess what really inspires the fandom (in my opinion) is how real the characters feel. The mane 6 aren't ridiculous girl stereotypes, or anime super heroes (heroines?) with the power to level entire cities with a sneeze (that is unless Pinkie Pie is just holding is holding out on us or something). Strip away the tails, fur, and magic, And you would get a group of real girls, with real lives and relationships. Sure Twilight can do incredible magic, sure Pinkie defies all laws of physics just being Pinkie. They all still feel happiness, insecurity, and various other emotions just like you or me. You can easily imagine hanging out or being with girls like these: Bookish, artistic, competitive, shy, or just plain crazy in a good way, Each pony is her own person, and that is why so many people love these adorable little ponies!
ReplyDeleteBecause Rainbow Dash.
ReplyDeleteI want to put in that out of the many communities in the internet world, I believe MLP FIM has created one of the most loving and innocent(ish) ones yet. Sure, we have stories like Cupcakes and Fallout Equestria (still a true work of genius!) and unfortunately rule 34, but that doesn't change the fact that a lot of us ARE learning to be more tolerant of others, and caring. Why, I had been talking to a troll, and instead of being angry and lashing out (as he would have wanted) I found it all very amusing, and kept myself civil and polite even in the face of obscenity. MLP FIM has inspired me to realize that there are bigger things, that is is OKAY to be kind, and that friendship IS magic. It makes me want to try harder at making bonds with people, a talent I lack in.
ReplyDeleteAlso I've been a big fan of many many things, yet I've never really felt compelled enough to draw fanart. I prefer creating my own ideas instead of resorting to attempted drawings of other people's characters. A very boring thought to me. Instead I've found myself drawing those little ponies... and loving it! I've also never been interested in fanfic because of the fact that I thought it was boring that people seemed to need to use already made characters and couldn't create their own. This has opened my eyes!
And I simply want to include that one of the main reasons I love this fandom so much is simply:
I have FUN! I ENJOY it. It leaves me with a warm and fuzzy feeling most things lack. And because of this simple fact, I keep coming back for more!
I hope everyone is inspired by these ponies to actually love and tolerate. Not claim to do so, but live it and show it through our actions. We're big enough not to let anypony get under our skin. We CAN show that we can and will be respected. Friendship is magic, right?
@NotAGoodUsername360
ReplyDeletePonies are the ultimate drug.
Simple:
ReplyDeleteIn the name of the moo-
...I mean, Celestia,..
Yes, sis. I told them to worship you.
No, I didn't try to side-rail your propaganda.
I really haven't contributed anything yet, just a ponies around the world submission, but I do have a few things planned/in progress. What pulled me in was the community. The massive amount of content is an amazing inspiration. You see something, either on the show or in the other fan content, and all of a sudden think of some way to put your own twist on it. On a related note, the realization that ponies work in any medium is quite liberating.
ReplyDeleteWhat actually has led me to follow through on it has been the acceptance of the community. The love & tolerance is such a nice change from everywhere else in life, and I feel that unless you do something obviously offensive the tone is more of a constructive criticism than anything else. For those of us with low confidence/out of practice, that means a lot.
TL:DR great starting content + helpful & tolerant community = more great content
/signature
Easy. The ponies start the creative outlets flowing by simply being the most endearing and adorable character designs, more or less, in ALL HISTORY, and garner more and more and more following that trend as the ponies as an intellectual property become more and more and more popular and spread throughout the internet. People get on board wanting to make artwork about these cute things. Then people actually watch the show, realize it's amazing, and want to write fanfiction befitting something so good and full of amazing story potential of all types. Then, it just keeps rolling from there, the popularity never ceases booming day by day, people make videos, from music videos to spoofs to just high quality rips of every possible little scene, more and more people see it, more people get in on it, and it just grows and grows.
ReplyDeleteI could not possibly be more happy or proud of being a part of this.
I honestly have drawn more Pony-related things in my Journal than I ever have any other genre. It's mainly because of how much Joy I garner from the show. I finally have something I can put a little faith into, and it's paying off. I love music, and look, I'm constantly downloading more and more music by the DAY. I also love pictures. And oh hey, more pictures EVERY SINGLE DAY. my 8 gig Memory stick on my psp is 80% Pony now. I even Nicknamed my PSP to PSPony. I'm being forced to save some money to buy a larger memory stick. I mean, 8 gigs worth of pony probably isn't much compared to much anyone else, but Hey, It's my personal, portable little world That I can keep all to myself and my Bronies.
ReplyDeleteAnd this comment will probably be skipped over due a TL;DR factor, but hey, it felt good to write it.
We owe it all to the community, which we owe a lot to Sethisto. When your audience is known to be loving and tolerating, it's a lot easier to build up the guts and determination to create something.
ReplyDelete@caerdwyn
ReplyDeleteI should point out that the Internet is not totally steeped in cynicism.
The dark heart of the internet is the same community that protested Scientology and tracked/(s) down people who post videos of animal cruelty on youtube.
MLP:FIM is just another one of these things. Just as with Chanology there was a fracture in the community on 4chan and in other places, but now this new sub-community has solidified.
I can't believe that Sergeant Sprinkles wasn't watching the first handful of episodes on youtube with unbridled glee along with the rest of us this past winter. The fandom wasn't big enough then for a random anon to spend the time writing a shock novel of that length for the lulz, as it were. He wrote Cupcakes in January (has it been that long?), fingering Pinkie as the crazy one months before "Party of One".
The fact that it induces such revulsion and horror in those who read it is further proof that those individuals are personally invested in the characters. And the author as well! How else could he capture and express raw terror (in-character no less!) without a personal, non-cynical connection?
I read it. It kept me up a few nights. And I love that clever bastard for writing it. I haven't watched a scary movie in over a year that hit me in the gut like that. In the fanon, we can capture a wider range of emotions in text and art than is permissible on a children's cartoon.
And that's just fine! That's one of the reasons why I think the community is as strong and vibrant as it is.
The very same community that has a reputation for being cynical is also the very same community that is very industrious, loyal, and tenancious. This is something to consider.
@pr0ntab I agree, however... methinks there is a stark difference with being solely cynical, to being cynical, industrious, loyal, AND tenacious.
ReplyDeleteCynical is still just one part of the whole bag.
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ReplyDelete