My pal confessed to me this week that they’re not “obsessed”, but completely in love, with the current incarnation of “My Little Pony”.
He’s in his mid-to-late thirties, almost a total loner, and he’s a “Brony”. That’s a bro, who’s into the Ponies.
My first instinct on hearing this was that it’s only a matter of time before he’s dressing as a colourful horse and yiffing in the park with other bronies. It’s better not to Google that.
On the other hand, is it like a parent saying “my daughter likes playing with tanks, she must be a lesbian”? If people like doing something, it doesn’t hurt anybody, then what’s the problem?
Animation hasn’t been solely for children for over 20 years. Look at the Simpsons, or South Park.
My pal identifies most with Fluttershy. It’s a female, but she’s a shy and timid pegasus pony, who loves animals. She can be quite assertive when her friends are in danger.
My friend is also pretty shy and timid, exceptionally bad at expressing his emotions. At first glance, having a female role model might seem confusing, but think of this:
Growing up in the 1970s and ’80s, I wasn’t surrounded by male role models on television. It was the days of A-Team and Knight Rider, for goodness sake. But for the sparsity of male role models, there were even less for females. Who the hell did a girl watch on TV and say “yes, I’d like to grow up to be like her”? Jem and her holograms? Maybe girls did look at the males and say “yeah, I could be intelligent and resourceful like MacGuyver, just with far better hair!”
Maybe this is a growing experience for my pal. He can see Fluttershy being kind to animals, and he can learn to relate to creatures himself. When you read all the stories about psychotics who starve and beat and murder puppies, seals and yes, horses, then having a cartoon role model who teaches you to respect those who can feel pain is a pretty good thing.
I took part in a University of Auckland study in 1991 when I was a student there, that looked at the type of television children watched, and how much violence they were exposed to. As a result, it was “discovered” that TV directed at boys had a huge amount of violent acts in it. I know that violence and sex “sells”, but can’t help that noting that females are less violent than males. That’s not only because of the TV they see, but because the shows for females have characters dealing with issues while avoiding aggression.
I’ve seen the first two episodes of the latest My Little Pony series, and it’s really not for me. I just didn’t like the writing. But, in the words of my pal who’s a great fan, it doesn’t involve tentacle rape like some other shows, so that has to be a good thing.
Plus, it’s so difficult finding new friends.
Your Common Sense Apple A Week 