Transformations and Ponies

Our daughter has recently developed an affinity for My Little Pony. Which was sort of cool the first thousand times she watched it. Now, I tend to experience some neurosis whenever I hear the theme, but…such is parenthood.

I’ve met a lot of people who are into the My Little Pony culture, or Brony culture, as the case may be. It’s really interesting to hear them talk about this show that they love, a sort of specialized genre of geek…and I’m all about anything that’s geek (going through a bit of culture shock about the lack of it in the South, but that’s another post).
Whenever our daughter shows interest in watching something, Karen and I do our research. We’re very choosy about her screen time, and there’s a high bar of standards that something must pass to end up on her to-watch list (five programs have made it so far). So, we did our research into My Little Pony, also, because, while it’s been really cool to listen to people I’ve known discuss the show and it’s fan culture…there’s still those standards.
So, to the Interwebs we went.
I’m far from an expert, and I defer to anyone who is, but it’s really interesting to watch how the characters that comprise My Little Pony have changed in the years since they first released. In fact, the show as it exists today is quite different than it was at it’s debut, as is the toy line. The version that our daughter enjoys is not the most recent, which has a more anime flavor to it’s appearance and is still a bit frightening for a toddler, but rather a previous version with softer, friendlier ponies and very little-girl-friendly story lines about special wishes and dancing in the clouds. I love hearing her imagination run wild and watching her spin new tales based upon what she’s seen.

When I watched the first Transformers movie, I had a bit of an issue with Barricade, the Decepticon who assumes the guise of a police cruiser. My issue was that he hadn’t existed prior to this film incarnation. It’s no secret that I’m a purist, but my issue with Barricade was a knee-jerk reaction that I quickly released. I don’t hold the Transformers to the same standards that I do many other science fiction characters. The reason is that there was no canonical literature at their inception. They were a toy line first, and their literary and film history spun off of that. Many incarnations of the Transformers have existed (some less intriguing than others), and the evolution happens much more fluidly because all of the literature is adaptive. The same is true for My Little Pony. Partly due to licensing issues with the original copyright holders, and partly due to the natural fluidity as the creators allow conceptualized characters, rather than fully realized characters, to develop in front of us, the process in much less finalized. And, for perhaps exactly that reason, the process doesn’t really annoy purist geeks such as myself.

The process actually smacks quite a bit of improvisational theatre to me. I never really excelled at that particular discipline (I liked to be well-rehearsed), but I certainly appreciated it. And, while I don’t have the history with My Little Pony to appreciate it’s characters’ development, I’m sure that, as our daughter gets older, I will have.

I just hope that I can get that theme song out of my head…

Photo Attribution (in order): 

Joriel Jiminez under Creative Commons
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And, while I don&#8217;t have the history with My Little Pony to appreciate it&#8217;s characters&#8217; development, I&#8217;m sure that, as our daughter gets older, I will have.</p>\n<p>I just hope that I can get that theme song out of my head&#8230;</p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: xx-small;\">Photo Attribution (in order):\u00a0</span></p>\n<div><span style=\"font-size: xx-small;\"><a href=\"http://rjrgmc28/\" target=\"_blank\">rjrgmc28</a>\u00a0under <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/\" target=\"_blank\">Creative Commons</a></span></div>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: xx-small;\"><a href=\"https://www.flickr.com/photos/joriel/\" target=\"_blank\">Joriel Jiminez</a>\u00a0under <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/\" target=\"_blank\">Creative Commons</a></span></p>\n</div>\n<div class=\"attribution\"><small></small></div>\n\t\t\t</div><!-- .entry-content -->\n\n\t<footer class=\"entry-meta\">\n\t\t<span class=\"post-date\"><a href=\"https://www.unobtrusivelucidity.com/2014/09/transformations-and-ponies/\" title=\"12:"], "copyright__copyright__copyright": ["eeks such as myself.\n\nThe process actually smacks quite a bit of improvisational theatre to me. I never really excelled at that particular discipline (I liked to be well-rehearsed), but I certainly appreciated it. And, while I don\u2019t have the history with My Little Pony to appreciate it\u2019s characters\u2019 development, I\u2019m sure that, as our daughter gets older, I will have.\n\nI just hope that I can get that theme song out of my head\u2026\n\nPhoto Attribution (in order):\u00a0\n\nJoriel Jiminez\u00a0under Creative Commons", "eeks such as myself.\n\nThe process actually smacks quite a bit of improvisational theatre to me. I never really excelled at that particular discipline (I liked to be well-rehearsed), but I certainly appreciated it. And, while I don\u2019t have the history with My Little Pony to appreciate it\u2019s characters\u2019 development, I\u2019m sure that, as our daughter gets older, I will have.\n\nI just hope that I can get that theme song out of my head\u2026\n\nPhoto Attribution (in order):\u00a0\n\nJoriel Jiminez\u00a0under Creative Commons", "eeks such as myself.\n\nThe process actually smacks quite a bit of improvisational theatre to me. I never really excelled at that particular discipline (I liked to be well-rehearsed), but I certainly appreciated it. And, while I don\u2019t have the history with My Little Pony to appreciate it\u2019s characters\u2019 development, I\u2019m sure that, as our daughter gets older, I will have.\n\nI just hope that I can get that theme song out of my head\u2026\n\nPhoto Attribution (in order):\u00a0\n\nJoriel Jiminez\u00a0under Creative Commons", "eeks such as myself.\n\nThe process actually smacks quite a bit of improvisational theatre to me. I never really excelled at that particular discipline (I liked to be well-rehearsed), but I certainly appreciated it. And, while I don\u2019t have the history with My Little Pony to appreciate it\u2019s characters\u2019 development, I\u2019m sure that, as our daughter gets older, I will have.\n\nI just hope that I can get that theme song out of my head\u2026\n\nPhoto Attribution (in order):\u00a0\n\nJoriel Jiminez\u00a0under Creative Commons", "eeks such as myself.\n\nThe process actually smacks quite a bit of improvisational theatre to me. I never really excelled at that particular discipline (I liked to be well-rehearsed), but I certainly appreciated it. And, while I don\u2019t have the history with My Little Pony to appreciate it\u2019s characters\u2019 development, I\u2019m sure that, as our daughter gets older, I will have.\n\nI just hope that I can get that theme song out of my head\u2026\n\nPhoto Attribution (in order):\u00a0\n\nJoriel Jiminez\u00a0under Creative Commons"]}