DerpyFast
@Blackblade360
I haven’t heard of the controversy, but here’s my take:
I haven’t heard of the controversy, but here’s my take:
The fandom responds best when things are authentic to the show, with “respectful” being a matter of personal taste. If the shows do something really touching, or just really good, then even the perverted side of the fandom will generally try to be more respectful. Case in point: when Sleepless in Ponyville aired, there were a few weeks where no one could bring themselves to draw ScootaDash art. And it took awhile for anyone to want to make porn of Pear Butter.
I also think enabling is better understood now. On the original /co/ threads, there actually was an effort to shame people for lewding the show. There are levels of weirdness, and when less weird people do something ironically, it enables the people one level down to do it unironically. Someone makes a PG-rated joke, in enables people who want to make 14+ jokes. Someone posts a screencap of a pony with bedroom eyes, and it enables someone to draw a pony in lingerie. Some people draw some porn for shits and giggles, and it unlocks a new fetish in people below that level. Repeat for a few years and you get the depths of depravity that this fandom has produced. When Lauren Faust said that ponies reproduce “the mammalian way”, she unwittingly enabled the production of clop, because hey, it’s authentic to the lore. I’m kind of surprised that the showrunners teased a potential incest ship with MarbleMac.
I think G5 is taking the character relationships a lot more seriously. Zipp and Pipp have a very authentic relationship with their mother. Queen Haven and Alphabittle feel like two adults that are in a relationship. And Misty and Alphabittle share a really serious scene in Father of the Bridlewood. So the idea of Zipp, Pipp and Misty becoming step-sisters feels realistic enough that shipping them crosses the line from “taboo” to “just plain gross”. Also doesn’t help that Misty is recovering from a pretty realistic portrayal of abuse.
@TheQuietMan
It’s a narrative thing that reminds me of a certain incident involving Bluey. One of the animators drew a “cuck chair” in the parents’ bedroom. By firing the animator, the narrative goes from “Bluey has this unwholesome thing in it” to “A man lost his job for trying to tarnish Bluey‘s wholesome image”. I think it’s completely understandable for G5 fans to want to present themselves as “Not like the people who invented the Pony Jar”.
It’s a narrative thing that reminds me of a certain incident involving Bluey. One of the animators drew a “cuck chair” in the parents’ bedroom. By firing the animator, the narrative goes from “Bluey has this unwholesome thing in it” to “A man lost his job for trying to tarnish Bluey‘s wholesome image”. I think it’s completely understandable for G5 fans to want to present themselves as “Not like the people who invented the Pony Jar”.