Let's Define Sub-Culture and Talk About Bronies

Sub-Culture

So after posting my inaugural post, I realized that I should define what a sub-culture is in terms of this blog.

For the purpose of this blog, I am going to define a sub-culture as a group of people who gather in person, or online, for the purpose of creating, discussing, and promoting an idea, hobby, or lifestyle that deviates from the norm (and may make most people go "they're weirdos" or "what the hell?"). One feature as well that I should mention is that some or many of these sub-cultures delve into one another. For example, there are Bronies who cosplay, yet I also consider overall cosplaying as a sub-culture. 

Now that's out of the way, let's talk about a group called Bronies....

Bronies! Friendship is Magic...

I'm sure many people are aware of the television show for little girls called My Little Pony. I never watched the show when I was little, but I definitely had some of the toys, so I was a little curious when I heard that they were creating an updated show based on the original from the '80s and '90s.

I watched it, and I will admit I enjoyed it too. I definitely would have rathered watched the newer show as a young girl than the original. So I could see why it would be popular. But popular among guys between high school age to late-twenties? What?!

Yes. When Bronies were just coming onto the radar, many stated that the group of made up of men between the early-twenties to early-thirties who were unemployed and discovered My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic while watching cartoons during the day (with their young children). Here's a link to an article on Wired from the early days of Bronies: http://www.wired.com/underwire/2011/06/bronies-my-little-ponys/

Here's another too: http://www.wired.com/underwire/2012/11/my-little-pony-bronies-commercial/

What I find interesting that perhaps makes Bronies differ from any other fandom, is that Bronies have effected the show in terms of story and character.

Derpy Hooves - A Brony Pony

Once there was a pony used as a background filling character (just a body) and was drawn with crooked eyes. Noticed by fans, she quickly grew in popularity because of her DERP face and remains unchanged and even being bestowed with a name. Her name is Derpy Hooves. Don't believe me? http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/derpy-hooves 

Derpy not only has a name now, but she makes regular appearances as a background character, even getting called out by one of the main characters. If it were not for the response by fans, Derpy would not be Derpy in name and in appearance.

Another example that I enjoy is the inclusion of characters based on ones from films for adults (I'm talking PG13, and Rated-R films). Specifically, an instance of including The Dude, Walter, and Donny from The Big Lebowski (watch for them in the video below, especially at 0:20).

An inside joke for the animators? Or a treat for the adult fans of the show? With the existence of the Bronies, I think the Big Lebowski ponies were for the Bronies.

So what do Bronies do?

Just as any other fandom does - they create stories, costumes, music, videos, and they're own My Little Pony accessories. 

My favorite fan video is the Epic Cupcake Time - I don't know if it's because it is a spoof on the very manly men of Epic Mealtime who believe there's never enough bacon on anything and a little Jack Daniels in the form of a girl's show about ponies, or what, but here it is:

I don't know if it's just me, but for some reason when I click on it, "Gay Bacon Strips" pops up on the video  - you can move it and it does not express my views. 

Alligator Tub also came up with a sequel to their Epic Cupcake time which I have here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQ0JahhFkts

There is also a large amount of music work on Youtube by Bronies. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtHJ8lFUrWI&list=PL78A0B97AB38213F9

Costumes and cosplay are another big aspect. It is here that I will mention that a good amount of Bronies are in fact girls (some of the girls of the same age group as the guys sometimes call themselves Pegasisters to differentiate themselves from the "stereo-typed" Bronies). Why do I mention this? Well, a lot of the costume/cosplay are done by the Pegasisters. (Also a side note - I will be doing a future post on cosplayers).

Here's a link to the website I found this picture on to see more examples of the My Little Pony cosplay: http://nerdgirlfashion.wordpress.com/2013/10/01/my-little-pony-cosplayers/

So You're Still Curious About This Phenomenon?

If you're still curious about these ragtag group of people, just type "Bronies" into Google and you'll find a plethora of more information. 

There's also a wiki page for Bronies too: http://bronies.wikia.com/wiki/Wiki_Home

And if you're in the mood, there are documentaries on Bronies. 

The most recent is Bronies: The Extremely Unexpected Adult Fans of My Little Pony. I posted the trailer for it above. So definitely check it out! And if you so happen find yourself in the mood, check out the series too!

In the Beginning...

Let Me Introduce Myself...

If you haven't wandered over to my profile (even if you did, there's not much there), my name is Liz. Currently I am living in the wild terrain of Montana as a MFA candidate in the Science and Natural History Filmmaking program at Montana State University.

That's me in case you're wondering. 

So, Sub-Culture of the Week...Why?

Let me be honest. This blog is a class requirement. I have tried to blog in the past and abandoned ship because I became bored with them (even though when I began them, I didn't that would happen). I did consider reviving one on archaeology sites, but decided against it. Who knows, maybe down the line I will. 

Anyway, I am an avid reader of Wired magazine, especially on-line, and one of my favorite things about the company is how they bring different sub-cultures to light by either mentioning how they are affecting the way people approach subjects or writing full on articles about these sub-cultures. 

I wish there was a compendium of all these different sub-cultures (maybe there is one, maybe tropes.com?). There are so many that exist, each with just as interesting people in them. From Bronies affecting the production of a child's cartoon show to hackers having their own conventions with games such as "Spot-the-Fed," to Real Life Super Heroes that have inspired films and comic books just as how they were originally inspired by them.

Sub-Culture of the Week is going to take a look at one of these different communities each week. From the fascinating, to the inspiring and to the strange.