Note: We are officially low on soapboxes. Please send in your stuff!
Community soapbox time, where opinions from around the fandom are dropped down below for you all to discuss and debate! Expect these posts normally when not late every Tuesday at 2:00 PM MST And now Saturday at 2:00 PM MST. To submit your own, see this post.
Note: These soapboxes do not at all reflect the ideas of EQD. They are an open forum for anyone to post whatever crazy theory they want. Even contrarian opinions everyone would consider bad are welcome as long as they are written with some form of clarity.
Headlines for the week:
- My Little Pony, or My Little Kitty and Puppy?
- Help Clean Up Google from the Cloppy Menace!
- S8 E5’s Confused take on Ageism
- Sparity - A Third Option!
- Would the series benefit by going back to its original structure?
And get your soapboxes below!
My Little Pony, or My Little Kitty and Puppy?
By: Nightmare Muffin
For far too long, and far too often, I’ve seen fans of the show giving these pastel ponies traits and qualities that seem far more fitting for cats or dogs rather than equines- such as putting them in bellyrubs positions, head nuzzling, tail wagging. I get that that’s artistic expression, and I’m all for it, but I can’t help but think that every passing day these little ponies seem less and less…well, like ponies. Even on the show, these ponies don’t really look, act or move in the way that ponies do; so much so that it's difficult to call or see them as ponies. This is a little concerning to me since g2 (Friendship Gardens) failed in the U.S. because the ponies seemed too realistic and kids didn’t want that, so that carried into g4, but still, why have the ponies look and act like other creatures if they’re meant to be ponies?
Help Clean Up Google from the Cloppy Menace!
By: Rayz
I've noticed something terrifying while searching around Google images for ponies. Even with safe search on, you regularly run into all sorts of cloppy imagery. Ponies with their butts raised or wearing skimpy clothing and saddles. It's something that will easily corrupt an impressionable kid and cause them to potentially seek out more.
Is this how we should be presenting ourselves? I feel like we need to clean up Google images. We need to report this cloppery and save the children. The human race depends on people breeding in the future, and having a bunch of people grow up attracted to horses would not be very productive there now would it? Please report cloppy images if you find them when searching for ponies on Google image search!
S8 E5’s Confused take on Ageism
By: Anonymous
So “Grannies Gone Wild” is a decent, non-impactful little episode, but I won’t deny that one of its few issues to me is the lesson. The lesson seems to be to not practice ageism: discriminating or having prejudice because of age. Decent, simple, and something we could all learn, if something we’ve kinda covered before with a problem that could be solved with talking sooner (but when can’t it anymore?), but my issue is that Rainbow doesn’t really need to learn that.
When she’s not trying to escape to the Rollercoaster or follow Applejack’s instructions, Rainbow Dash is having a fun time with them and supporting their actions as early as mid-way through the episode. She’s eating the same nachos as Granny Smith, she’s cheering for them at the Horseshoe contest, heck the only time she is straight-forward disgusted at their actions is when it involves finding dudes (take that as you will).
It feels like an episode about Rainbow appreciating elderly things/elder people’s desire for young things got smashed together with an “overly protective of her family” Applejack episode, and it just leaves the lesson feeling hollow when in reality she only demonstrated ageism when trying to pursue another personal goal or at the suggestion of her friend.
Side Bar: Anyone else find it interesting that FiM made Granny Smith a frail but nimble swimmer while EqG made her a bigger and muscular cafeteria lady? No real comment, just something interesting. More changes between universe I guess. Hope there’s more.
Sparity - A Third Option!
By: MegaSean45
When it comes to Spike's crush on Rarity, some of us want them to end up together, and some of us wants the crush to end; then there are the ones that think neither will happen. Well, brahs, I have a new solution: a third option! And this one seems more likely to happen!
There are people who can have crushes on two people at once, right? Well what if Spike gets a new crush? Most likely a new character! But in this case, this crush actually becomes a success! How will the episode turn out though? Spike hiding this from Rarity thinking she'd be jealous, or Rarity actually becomes jealous and messes up the relationship? THAT is up to the writers! Now Spike STILL has feelings for Rarity, but also with someone else, and of Spike and Rarity have a talk, and agree to stay friends, but maybe things could change when they're older! Now this option is probably the best one yunno why?
1. Spike can keep his options opened
2. Sparity is STILL alive!
EVERYBODY WINS! This is the BEST solution I can think of! Literately ANYTHING is better than Spike just keeping his crush on Rarity going, and have it not go anywhere. When is Rarity gonna learn her lesson from abusing his crush to have him do stuff for her?
Would the series benefit by going back to its original structure?
By: Nightmare Muffin
Since g5 talk is all the rage and all…..given just how many g4 characters’ plots and backstories are left dropped and/or not fleshed out (Zecora, Big Mac, Celestia’s 7 year characterization drought, background ponies, etc), or their progress in development backpedaled on in later seasons (a lot of the Mane 6), I have to wonder if the best way to go with the next generation’s animated series to do what they did with g1 and NOT have seasonal plotlines or a set cast to constantly focus on, but rather, have each be episodic and switch the ponies you’re telling the story with through each episode? No character goals. No mane cast. No overarching plot. Just back to basics that were tried and true for the MLP franchise through 30 years.
