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ashkirynSo, first of all, in case some of the readers of this post don't know me that well, I'm AshKiryn here on LJ, but I'm more well known to my online friends as Kiryn. I'm keeping this challenge public, but I'm open to friend requests; in case if you want to get to know me better, most of my other posts tend to be visible only to my friends. And I'm starting this off with a confession: yes. I am a 'pegasister', and I love the newest revival of My Little Pony, which is Friendship is Magic.
I'm not really all that embarrassed by this, despite the fact that I'm now 21 years old, and my younger sister, Lys, continuously makes fun of me for being a fan of the show (but she still bought me a Fluttershy T-shirt for my birthday on Saturday, so I guess I still love her :P). Now, I don't think she makes fun of me because I'm an adult that's watching a cartoon (and if that is why she does it, then she's a hypocrite). No, it's because of this stigma that's attached to My Little Pony specifically, and really all things that could be classified as shows for little girls.
Because, sure, Lys and I watched some of the old My Little Pony shows and movies when we were little kids, and had a few of the pony dolls that we played with---just like how we used to have Barbies and Bratz dolls and the Care Bear stuffed animals (my favorite was Cheer Bear, for the record). We also watched Pokemon and collected those cards and the Yu Gi Oh cards, played with our neighbors' Hot Wheels cars and tracks, and were obsessed with The Lion King and 101 Dalmatians. We were, in short, little kids. But it seems to me that, for some reason, My Little Pony in particular is like cotton candy: sweet and sugary and good when you're a little kid with no real taste buds, but with hardly any substance, and that becomes something that makes you sick when you get older (at least, that's my relationship with cotton candy---blech). And for the most part, that's probably a fair assessment---I really don't remember all that much about the older versions of My Little Pony, and I honestly don't care enough to go trawl through the Internet to find out.
But I think Friendship is Magic is different.
Sure, it's still quite cheesy, and sometimes a bit heavy-handed with explaining the life lessons the characters are learning, and it's not afraid to poke fun at itself, and it's still essentially My Little Pony. But what I think sets Friendship is Magic apart from any of its predecessors is that the characters, and consequently the story, have been written far more realistically in the hands of Lauren Faust (and I sincerely give her so much credit for doing this, even if I don't care to be a fan of the other cartoons that she's worked on). What Faust does so well is that she starts the characters off as stereotypes, and then through their friendships, slowly evolve them and defy expectations by making them into nuanced, complex characters that aren't always perfect, that aren't even really always friends with each other. Faust shows the audience that it's okay to get mad at your friends and to disagree with them, and to be radically different from them, even to the point that you wonder why they're even friends in the first place, but that you can still love them anyway, faults and all. This show is really about learning to be true to yourself, and to love who you are, messy, flawed, imperfect, and still growing and experiencing life, really, as you are, and that you'll make your true friends that way. And I think that's a really empowering, kick ass message to be sending to little girls in particular, but also really to everyone.
Which brings me back to my actual topic---inspirational characters. Because while I think that My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic as a whole is an inspiring and empowering show, there's really one character that makes the show for me, and that I think is the most empowering of all the characters:
Yes. This is Rarity.
Now, if Lys was mind-boggled by the fact that I watched and loved Friendship is Magic to begin with, it was nothing to how bewildered she was when she found out that Rarity was my favorite pony/character on the show. (At this point, she had spent a few days with a friend of hers, who made her watch a couple of the episodes (specifically, "Bridle Gossip"), so that she knew a little bit about a few of the ponies.)
And Lys isn't the only one to have had this reaction---most other people don't really understand my love for Rarity, or why she's my favorite. And I can understand that, really---most people prefer Twilight Sparkle, who's really the main character of the show, and is the anti-social bookworm who has to learn how to make friends (heaven knows that I can relate to Twilight), and Rainbow Dash is probably the most popular character on the show, who's brash, tomboyish, and the athlete (even Lys admitted to liking Rainbow). I've observed most bronies tend to favor sweet Fluttershy, or else people like Applejack, who's the other tomboy, and is honest, down-to-earth (no pun intended), hard working, and devoted to her family, and then still others favor Pinkie Pie, who's almost endlessly cheerful, bouncy, and fun, and whose greatest joy in life is putting smiles on people's faces and breaking the fourth wall.
And then, there's Rarity. She's the fashion diva, prone to dramatics, can't even stand getting the slightest bit of dirt on her, ranges from neurotically OCD to organized chaos, if she's in her creative zone, and her biggest shortcomings are vanity and occasional fits of selfishness. Just look at her. She's practically type-casted from the beginning to be that one really annoying damsel in distress that you have to break your neck to try and save, and that never ends up contributing anything, right?
Wrong.
Does Rarity get kidnapped? Yes, she does (specifically in the episodes "A Dog and a Pony Show" and "The Secret of My Excess"). Is she physically weak, unlike Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie? Yes, she is. Does she hate dirt and getting her mane messed up? Yes, she does. Is she the girliest girly girl to have ever been a girly girl? Yes, she is. Is she a helpless damsel in distress? No. No, she is not.
"A Dog and a Pony Show" is what cemented my love for Rarity. In that episode, she gets kidnapped by the Diamond Dogs, who drag her underground, whereupon they tell her that she is their captive and they want her to use her magic to find them gems, to dig them up, and to drag a cart around. While Spike gets the rest of the Mane Six organized in a rescue attempt, does Rarity try to break free or physically try to fight them off? Nope.
Instead, Rarity does something even more amazing. She plays to her strengths; she uses her wits to manipulate her captors, and she ends up driving them batshit fucking insane. To the point where, at the end of the episode when the 'rescue party' shows up, the Diamond Dogs are begging them to get Rarity away from them, and Rarity ends up taking all of their gems with her. And do you want to know how she did this? First, she complained. Then whined. And then cried. Basically, she annoyed the pants off them, emotionally manipulated them, and then freaked them the hell out. All by doing quintessential "girly" things.
Speaking as someone who is physically disabled, do you have any idea how much of a fucking empowering and amazing message that is to send out? That just because you're ladylike and girly, it doesn't mean that you can't take care of yourself, that you should play to your own strengths, and that being physically weak doesn't have to be a bad thing?! And in general, in an age where it seems that being a tomboy is the cooler thing to be, that it's okay to be yourself, even if that means that you're a gigantic frilly frou-frou ruffles and lace girl?
It's seriously awesome.
In the second instance of her kidnapping, Rarity's being held in the paw of a gigantic dragon that's destroying Ponyville. But does she let that faze her? Hell no. For fuck's sake, she scolds him and yells at him, even though she's at his mercy and he could crush her to death. Dude. Rarity is fierce.
There's so much more about her character in general that I also think is empowering. For example, she owns a boutique, loveloveloves fashion, and makes all of the clothes and outfits in her shop. But the way Faust has her come off is that this is simply Rarity's form of creative expression, her artwork, that just so happens to be clothes and fashion. And that's awesome, especially when you think about it, because she's a successful businesswoman, and unlike Applejack, who's apple farm has been in her family for generations, she had to work from the ground up.
And as I stated before, Rarity's flawed. She can become quite vain, though her heart is always in the right place, and she comes back down to earth before too long and is repentant (and nor is she the only character that suffers from this: Rainbow Dash in particular can suffer from this, and even Applejack, Fluttershy, and Twilight to certain extents get hit with it). And as far as her bouts of selfishness goes, I think Rarity's just quite realistic in that sense. See, each main character gets an Element of Harmony, and Rarity's is Generousity, which oftentimes has her struggling to please everybody around her, with her own desires teeter-tottering that balance. So, yes, she struggles between being selfish and a doormat in a lot of episodes---but really, aren't most people like that?
There's a reason why I started off with Rarity on this list of Inspirational Characters----it's because I think she's the most empowering of all recent fictional characters, and is especially refreshing in the wake of the horrible influences of 'heroines' like Bella Swan. I love Friendship is Magic, and that it's a show full of empowering female characters, and I love Rarity so much, and she's become one of my most favorite characters of all time, and I will defend her with my dying breath.
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Date: 2012-07-31 06:08 pm (UTC)As for the post, I can't say I agree or disagree, since I haven't actually seen the show, but I think it's so amazing how you take a character from a children's show and give her so many layers and depths. Obviously, *you're* not the one giving them to her, you're just pointing them out. I, personally, kind of love children's cartoons, but sometimes the characters are a little flat, one-sided and unchanging, which is boring. The way you talk about Rarity here makes my mouth water because well-developed characters are kind of like non-sexual porn for me. XD
If I ever have time, I'm going to definitely have to start watching My Little Pony. I mean, Tara Strong is on it. And I have so much love for Tara Strong. <3
I'm definitely going to be looking forward to your next posts. :D
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Date: 2012-07-31 06:41 pm (UTC)Then the entire Friendship is Magic is going to be non-sexual porn for you, because I think that all of the characters who are given even the tiniest bit of screentime are incredibly nuanced and well-developed---two of my favorite characters only really show up in one episode each, but God do I love them anyway (Fancypants (<33333) and Filthy Rich, for the record). A few other FiM characters are going to show up on this list (Rainbow Dash and Princess Luna, at the very least), though literally I could put them all on. But I'm going to try and have some variety, though if I end up needing to fill spots, I know where I'm turning to. ;)
Obviously, I would highly recommend watching it. Both seasons are on Netflix instant watch, and I'm fairly sure that they've uploaded them all onto youtube. And Tara Strong is indeed amazing on the show.
Thanks! I can tell you that you'll have some Supernatural characters to look forward to as well, eventually! :D
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Date: 2012-08-07 12:35 am (UTC)But! It's cool reading your entries, and I'm cheering you on to completion! ^_^
I loved playing with Hot Wheels cars when I was a kid, too! 8D Them and Barbies. I think I only had two MLP dolls that I remember; my favorite toys were actually the Littlest Pet Shop animals. :3
*Pinkie squee*
I'm on episode...17? I think? of FiM, and I think mostly because of that heavy-handedness you mentioned, it still hasn't caught my interest except for the fact that it's super-fun to reference in my writing.... Still don't really like Rarity, either, BUT I did appreciate reading your evaluation of her, I can see why she means so much to you. ^^ The thing I like most about Rarity is the businesswoman aspect, the fact that she does successfully run her own shop.
Side-note: I ran into people on DevArt who seem convinced that the Mane Six are either teenagers or ageless. I was like, o.O Because in addition to Faust or someone stating somewhere (I think) that the main characters are in their 20s, it just seems obvious to me. The little tiny baby ponies (Apple Bloom [WHO HAS GORGEOUS EYES, BTW 8D] & co.) live with their parents, but all the main characters except maybe Applejack live on their own. Again, Rarity runs a shop. Teenagers do not own and manage stores all by themselves. How are people getting teenagers out of this stuff?!
/end rant XD
Btw, how are you getting the images to show up in your entries? If you're using the "img src" tag for pics hosted on other sites, that's...not good...it sucks up a lot of their bandwidth. It'd be better to download the picture, upload it to your own storage space if you have one, and img src from that. (I wish I could do that with my LJ sometimes, but my Angelfire accounts, attempting to protect me from this exact direct linking issue, won't let my pictures show up anywhere except on my Angelfire pages. *sweatdrop* I wish there was a way to specify that it's me direct linking from my own storage, and not some unauthorized stranger, but as far as I know there's not....)
Anyway, good start to your blogging challenge, I shall be catching up on reading your other entries! :D
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Date: 2012-08-07 12:51 am (UTC)R-GIRRRRRRRRRRRRRL. "A Dog and Pony Show" is episode 19! JUST A LITTLE FARTHER, AND THEN MAYBE YOU'LL SEE! ;)
Yeah....I've always figured that the Mane Six are in their 20s too. Ip told me once that they were preteens, and I was like, o.O Because...that just doesn't make any sense to me at all. I mean, I get that really pony vs. human aging is different, but relatively speaking, I think that they have to at least be in their late teens, early 20s. So don't worry, I totally feel you on that. Hell, I'M 21 now, and even that still seems young to be running your own successful business.
Uh...there's a button on LJ, near where you do the LJ cut? And I've just been clicking on that, and it inserts the image for you. *scratches head*
Thank you very much, and I hope you enjoy the upcoming entries! :)
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Date: 2012-08-07 01:34 am (UTC)Lol, ok; I'll try to make it to episode 19 when I can. :)
O.O Really? Because I looked at the URL of the picture and it was some wikia site, but I can't believe a site like LJ would so blatantly endorse direct linking.... I'll have to look into this. Because if I can link to pics without having to steal bandwidth, that would be fantastic. Maybe I can post those AkuSai cut-and-paste screenshots I made that have been refusing to let me turn them into decent avatars. 8D
I hope you finish~! ^^
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Date: 2012-08-07 02:14 am (UTC)ON THE OTHER HAND, I have discovered that Basic users can now make polls. 8D 8D 8D This is fantastic.
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Date: 2012-08-07 03:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-08-07 03:08 am (UTC)