Well, I'm now officially saying it: I'm a pegasister. (I know that some people say we're all bronies because it's a unisex term, but I like pegasister. ;)) That is, I'm one of the women who is well outside the target age demographic who watches and enjoys "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic"--I'm not quite one of the ones who watches the episodes and points things out in great detail, while creating intricate fan art/fanfiction/etc....
But yeah, I decided to try it; see what all the fuss was about. To be honest, I wasn't really expecting much. I mean, I knew it wouldn't be terrible--otherwise, why would so many people like it? But I wasn't expecting anything really good. I've been watching girl-aimed shows and movies all my life, even when I actually was the target demographic, and it's always been the same result: individual elements were pretty cool, but overall, there was either too much or too little. Too little thought put into it; too much pink, dresses, and fashion--or, on the other side, too strong a message that YOU'RE A GIRL YOU CAN DO ANYTHING! (Poor boys.) There was something about those shows and movies, though, that made me keep trying; something really interesting, but that would fall flat on its face once you realized the creators thought "pink + princess = perfect for girls!". I've been looking for that something to be done right since I was about 8.
Well, I just found it. MLP: FiM (I'm just calling it FiM from here on out) is a very well-done show, with simple-but-lovely animation, a well-constructed world with plenty of detail, and--most importantly--writing that is charming and sweet, but also clever, and (amazingly!), it doesn't dumb/water itself down for its demographic--it recognizes that the kids may not pick up on everything, but they'll pick out the important stuff. There are a lot of boys' and adult shows that can't do this!
But what stands out, for me, is how they handle the girly stuff. They don't treat it like an embarrassing obligation, nor do they assume girls will automatically like it for the sparkles. They have a system of magic that makes sense and is (fairly) detailed--but, at the same time, the imagination can still run around freely! They include things such as unicorns, princesses, and pretty dresses--as part of the world. Yeah, they certainly get more emphasis at some times than others, but they're not the main focus--the main focus is the characters. And... that leads into another tangent/rant!
This is coming from the 20-year-old who has seen it all before, not the 8-year-old who finally found a show aimed at "her" that she liked. The one who is really sick of seeing writers trying to determine what a girl is--and I'm not just talking about the ones who write dresses and Prince Charming into everything. I also mean the ones who need to "affirm" that you're a girl; you don't need the stereotypes, you're better than the boys, you can do anything! Guess what? That lasts about three seconds in the real world. (About the first one--okay, you need to know which stereotypes we're talking about....) I'm actually really sick of the girls who are better than the boys because the creators are afraid of making a well-rounded female character who has flaws. I'm sick of being told it's wrong to like fairy tales and princesses because I'm "subjecting myself to society's standards". And I'm sick of being told that traditional, lady-like qualities--manners/politeness, sensitivity to others' feelings, etc.--is snobbish and weak.
This show does not do that. (For that last sentence, they had a sentence that did the exact OPPOSITE--being ladylike doesn't make you weak, if you do it WELL.) Rather than telling the audience how to be a girl, they teach by example--they have a set of characters that cover some of the basic "girl" archetypes... and they leave it at that. They flesh out the characters, making six (seven, counting Spike) characters that you actually care about--not to mention all the recurring ones. You know how they made an awesome girls' show? By not obsessing over the fact that it's for girls. They've had adventures to save the world of Equestria, and they've had fashion shows; they've had episodes developing the magical nature of the world, and they've had episodes depicting typical children's lessons. They do what works and what's fun.
By the way, I should acknowledge by this point--the show isn't perfect. The writing's normally pretty good about showing rather than telling, but they're certainly guilty of the other. There aren't as many "adventure" episodes as I would like, and a lot of them focus on inter-friendship drama--albeit usually pretty tastefully, and (usually) not in a heavy-handed way. And yes, it's a world of ponies, and you're just intended to assume they can somehow bake muffins and build houses without hands--but hey, we assumed the same thing about VeggieTales!
Okay, this has gone on long enough, but there's one more comment I want to make about the show: the fandom. Specifically, the male fandom. I know some people find the bronies kind of annoying, and others think watching FiM is somehow a knock on their masculinity. To the first: depends on the brony. The ones who try to insert adult content in this lovely and innocent show--that drives me crazy, but I hate it when they do that to other shows, too. The ones who just like it despite being boys? Um, more on that in a minute.
About the whole "it's not manly" thing--I've got a question. Why is it okay for a girl to watch a boyish show, but not vice-versa? Why is it okay for me to watch Transformers, but not for my brother to watch My Little Pony (until this show)? Yes, this show focuses on female characters and stuff associated with girls--but it does it well! It creates an imaginative world with well-developed characters, and a sense of innocence that just feels really lovely. (I keep using that word....) I suppose the problem here is that I'm a girl, of course I'd like it; but I really can't see why a guy can't like it, too. Just like how I enjoy a good fight scene, set in a world of giant robots or superheroes with highly detailed abilities who can take on the bad guys!
...Okay, no longer making sense. I'm signing off now. :P
