Today we have Cosmic Space Frog, your average brony who has decided to analyze the hell out of everything FiM, with some psychological undertones to back it up.
Here are a few of his articles so far!
Overall Analysis
Rainbow Dash Analysis
Pinkie Pie Analysis
Applejack Analysis (New!)
43 comments:
How very... analytical...
ReplyDeleteI disagree. pinkie pie isn't random. she just doesnt verbalize the connections she makes. pinkie pie clearly has asbergers symdrom
ReplyDelete"Hob-Cloppery"
ReplyDeleteBorrowing this.
This is absolutely perfect. I can start converting people to bronies now. As soon as they give me a confused look, I can just point them to this, and they can learn why this show is just so appealing to everyone.
ReplyDeleteI swear, I WILL have at least 20% of the people at my high school watching this show before the end of the year if it's the last thing I do!!
very well said,
ReplyDeleteI too experinced the "okay...I'll watch one episode to see what its about" thing and ended up watching ten episodes straight. as a 26 year old brony i can say it's good to see these thoughts put into word
brohoof to the writer of this
I appreciate his take on Pinkie Keen
ReplyDeleteI quit reading the instant I knew this was going to obsess over what their sexualities are. This is why I've grownt to hate Rainbow Dash, the fandom needs to step off the whole "she a dyke" thing and find something else to talk about.
ReplyDelete@Ron
ReplyDeleteHe only briefly talked about Rainbow Dash's sexuality before moving on to more important aspects of her personality.
~Scratch
@8:19 Anonymous:
ReplyDeleteBrohoof for the Dynabrony Allegiance of Senior High (D.A.S.H.)!
~Display Name
This is the best thing I have read yet on this show. It's insightful and persuasive. The Space Frog's sour skepticism at the beginning is disarming, and it greases the skids for the inexorable descent into the Herd.
ReplyDeleteBy Celestia's beard, I just finished reading the first article, and this is probably the funniest review of this show I have ever read.
ReplyDeleteI'm not even saying that in a bad way, but he managed to work so much humor into something that still delivered a serious message. The only thing I had in my head when I finished was "Oh dear Luna why do I feel the urge to make a Powerpoint Presentation out of this and save it for a class sometime".
Truely an excellent read, especially considering how close other explanations have come to getting the true meaning and ended up falling just short.
~Display Name
At first I wasn't so sure, but then I read further and found that it was quite the good read. I often have non-brony friends ask me, "So what's so good about the show?" Now I've got the perfect article to link those curious souls.
ReplyDeleteReading the entry regarding Rainbow Dash, I felt that the writer didn't mention the element of loyalty associated to her equally (focusing more on her personality instead), unlike Pinkie Pie with her element of laughter. Good try though.
ReplyDelete@Anonymous
ReplyDeleteI disagree. As an aspie myself and having been in special ed for virtually all my years in public school, the academically-obsessed, society-shunning Twilight has aspergers. Pinkie is more ADHD.
But I still love them both.
I think he may be on to something with Pinkie Pie's character. In Pinkie Pie's defense, I think she does has a personality and inner logic, but it's not as clearly defined or utilized in the same sense as those of the other characters. Pinkie Pie's personality is also distinct from the others in that she's the only one who lacks a clear character flaw. The closest she comes to a flaw is that she sometimes has trouble expressing herself to her friends, but that's almost as much their fault as it is hers. But I digress. Like the blogger says, the role she plays in the story is more like a force of nature steering the plot than a personality that clashes with her fellow cast.
ReplyDeleteThough Pinkie did learn not judge others based on appearance in Bridle Gossip. She was convinced Zecora was evil.
ReplyDelete"In fact there seems to be only one pony who RD has not yet openly mocked and ridiculed with any real intent. Only one pony that has really resonated closely with her and earned her true respect.
ReplyDeleteApplejack."
On this part, though, I'm not sure I agree. There is most definitely a unique interaction between Rainbow Dash and Applejack's personalities, but I'm not sure it's the cozy BFF relationship the blogger is making it out to be.
Their stubborn and competitive natures make them prone to clash, and their personalities differ markedly in other areas. Applejack is diligent; Rainbow Dash is easy-going. AJ tends to be pragmatic, while RD is prone to flights of fancy. AJ puts effort into being warm and polite, but RD frequently lets her brash and boastful nature get the best of her. AJ is nurturing and supportive, while RD can be aloof and egotistical. Et cetera.
Point being, Rainbow Dash's brash and independent nature is frequently at odds with Applejack's down-to-earth and familial nature.
Personally, I always thought Pinkie Pie synced well with Rainbow Dash.
I disagree with his analysis of Pinky. It seems like a reasonable opinion of her, but I'd like to counter his view with my opinions on Pinky's personality within the episode Gryphon the Brush Off.
ReplyDeleteThe episode seemed to portray Pinky as longing to connect with someone on a more personal level. This can be seen with how Pinky is telling Twilight all about Rainbow Dash. Females generally bond through communication, which is what Pinky was attempting. Her attempt wasn't going anywhere, so she ended up going after Dash instead.
I feel that the fact that Pinky was obsessing over Dash to Twilight was nothing more than a plot device, and Dash's appearance be thought of as nothing more than coincidence. I feel that any pony's appearance could have drawn Pinky away from Twilight, but they just happened to choose Dash.
Now Dash obviously has boyish personality traits, and males connect through common hobbies. I feel it is for that reason, Pinky's attempts to connect with Dash was with the shared hobby of pranking. This worked and a personal bond between Dash and Pinkie started to form. I believe this is the first and only personal bond between Pinkie and any other pony. (This is an attempt at explaining Interpersonal Relationships, and not love.)
Pinky and Dash's strengthening friendship was new, and Dash suddenly paying more attention to Gilda then Pinky created a fear of their relationship breaking. That's called jealousy, not to be confused with envy, which spike did.
Pinky's jealousy was brought to light by Twilight. Pinky initially refused to accept it, but did later. This sudden change of opinion created a sense of self doubt in her. This feeling of self doubt didn't leave her even after Gilda made it painfully obvious that she's a horrible gryphon.
At this point in time, Pinky felt she had to do something and took matters in her own hands. What we are lead to believe is that Pinky was trying to get Gilda to expose herself, but that turned out to be false. Pinky merely wanted to do something nice for Gilda in hopes that the good deed would help her open up and become kinder to everyone.
So now we seen Pinky go from longing, to jealous, to kind hearted. We saw Pinky doubt realize she's capable of jealousy, we saw her doubt herself, and we saw her over come it all with "laughter."
I'm Kuras Daedron and I love Pinky Pie.
Personally I like Pinkie because she's pretty much a mystery. She's so open ended. Her true personality is still open for interpretation. I'm not saying she doesn't have personality, but I always get the feeling there's much more then she's letting on. I love how the fanfics actually expand upon that idea, showing her to know things, or understand them instantly when told about them, when the rest of them don't even get the basic concept.
ReplyDeleteWell that's enough of a rant on what I like about her a I guess.
Didn't really bother to read the other two, but mostly because I was turned off by someone having yet again seen ponies as a meme, then "ew girly" and then "omg it's actually good, what a twist!!"
ReplyDelete'cause pink and girly and moral-filled are always automatically bad and unappealing, right? :I
I originally found out about the show through Ms. Faust's deviant art account so I never really had any ties with 4chan, but it's like...okay, you're 20-something year old men watching ponies, so what? Is the fact that a show meant for little girls can be entertaining?
I know for a fact that girls don't marvel in how glorious "guy shows" are when they're, y'know, good, so why is it taking so long for this series' greatness to sink in?
Sorry for sounding dumb, I just kinda roll my eyes at the double-standard of it all, that's all.
@Anonymous
ReplyDeletetype-o, I meant to say: "is the fact that a show meant for little girls can be entertaining really so shocking?"
I agree that this show shouldn't be considered a meme. Only certain aspects of it are considered a meme IE 20% cooler reaction photos etc.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to my bookmark toolbar a true mark of distinction =P
ReplyDeleteI kind of wish he dove a bit deeper into RD's character, but he sort of answered his own hypothesis didn't he? She's arrogant and leaves everyone in the dust, but it seems that she would be the one who would seem lonely a lot of the time. I guess that must be why she sticks to her friends so well, even if she doesn't see eye to eye with them except for AJ.
ReplyDeleteI just read through all of his writings and I have to say they are very well done. They are very informative while at the same time entertaining to read. He went through exactly the same process and analytical approach I did. If anyone ever asks me why I like this show I'll have to point them to his first posting on the subject.
ReplyDeleteI do have one specific comment about this:
"In fact there seems to be only one pony who RD has not yet openly mocked and ridiculed with any real intent. Only one pony that has really resonated closely with her and earned her true respect.
Applejack."
This was actually one of my favorite things he has said. It's not something that I see often brought up in the ponydom, but I completely agree. Appplejack is one of my favorite of the cast. Part of it is because she keeps Rainbow Dash in check. Out of all the ponies, only the stubborn, earthbound, non magical one can actually challenge RBD and keep her under control. I've always been under the impression that without Applejack, RBD would be far more irritating towards the rest of the cast with her boastful and arrogant attitude. I think Dash's time with AJ is part of the reason she's no longer like Gilda.
@Anonymous
ReplyDelete"is the fact that a show meant for little girls can be entertaining really so shocking?"
Well, yes. Yes it is. And this is not a double standard it's only a steriotype and a prejudice. Cartoons aimed at little girls have been pretty much consistantly terrible up to this point, so, naturally, a lot of people misattribute badness to girls cartoons instead of bad writing. Attitude change takes a long time and I think you're expecting too much of people if you expect them to be all open minded.
@Anonymous
ReplyDeleteI guess as much as the RD/AJ point hasn't been talked by the fandom, all the shipping between the two (as friends or something more) just goes to show they really are regarded as pretty close. AJ is also frequently represented grabbing RD by the tail to prevent him from doing something stupid.
These articles were quite an awesome read, they represented pretty well the way I feel about the show in words I still hadn't thinked of. I'll surely point people this article when trying the explain the pony craze.
To prevent HIM? @ anon 2:32am
ReplyDeleteYeah, stopped reading at candy vag, fuck this HURR DURR SHE'S A TOMBOY SHE MUST BE LESBIAN shit. Do these people even know how personalities and sexual orientations work?
ReplyDeleteIt would be interesting to see the next episode's impact in Pinkie Pie's character development...
ReplyDelete~onery
plus: @anon 8:57 AM... you really should read the rest of the article then. You've clearly misunderstood the author's analysis. The author, Cosmic Space Frog, goes on to say:
ReplyDelete"It’s the kind of thing the internet loves dearly: a darkly humorous hybrid of sinister intent cloaked with childlike innocence. Strangely though, Dash gives the impression that she would wear this assumption like a badge of honour, a declaration of her own unique independence whilst still not fully committing to the idea."
End quote. CSF was most likely at this point The author introduces an aspect of RD that the internets have planted on her and gone on to try and figure out why this might be the case and also why this sticks more readily then the best super glue on the market (look at all the amount of Dashie shipping out there to other fillies for one...).
~onery
"CSF was most likely at this point The author introduces..." = "CSF was most likely at this point introducing..."
ReplyDeleteSorry for the spam posts btw. wish I could edit me prev one.
~onery
@Anonymous
ReplyDeletethin skins idiots who aren't open to discussion because one point offends them, how do they work?
great articles, well worth the read. he manages to be funny and entertaining while still getting good points across.
ReplyDeletewhat about FJ bronies? i mean if someone gets front page w/ ponies, they should totally go up on here!
ReplyDeletebtw, dudes pretty in depth with all this, and its pretty good.
@Anonymous:
ReplyDelete>read an article giving a detailed explanation of Rainbow Dash
>completely ragequit the second the words "Candy Vag" cross your line of vision without even stopping to read what might be next
For those that quit reading because of the lesbian implications:
ReplyDeleteI have to admit, I myself was really turned off when I first read that stuff. However, it's all done very tongue in cheek, and he is very aware of how ridiculous the whole thing is in the context of the show. He makes it clear that it really is just the fandom interpretation of things.
Why is there so much hate on here?
ReplyDeleteI... I thought this show was about friendship...
:'(
If I were to change something about the articles, I would reverse the sequence on the description of Rainbow Dash. Emphasize the loyalty, the brash nature, and follow up the sexual stereotyping later. As it stands, it does tend to make a lot of people stop reading with an assumption things will get worse after starting in on the orientation.
ReplyDeleteWhoa, twice in a row - thanks for featuring my artwork again.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could sub in my character analysis over his, because I disagree with most of it (I know, I know. lolopinion).
ReplyDeleteIt was touched on by someone else, and I'll resummarize it in one or two sentences. Pinkie is NOT random, she simply forms connections differently than others. She has a clear logic to what she does, but often fails to relate it in such a way that others will understand. There is definitely more to her, but that was the part I disagreed with. I often relate heavily to Pinkie Pie, and can see reasoning behind her.
Hey everyone!
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the awesome feedback, you have helped to inflate my ego that little bit more.
I respect the opinions of people who were turned off by me talking about the whole Dash is a Dyke thing, but remember that I'm not setting anything in stone, and like it or not thats a part of her that sorta cant be ignored now.
And I knew the Pinkie Pie article was weak when I posted it, theres so much that an be said about her that I glossed over so I apologize for that.
Anyway, glad you are all enjoying my ramblings and I love all the constructive critisicm. I'll keep writing if you keep reading.
the Applejack analysis link leads to an analasys of the new episode, in which AJ is not brought up. something seems off...
ReplyDelete