Pony Venting Thread

@Beau Skunky  
No disrespect to your brother, but I believe he was lied to by our government. I have friends and family that have served in war too and I wish they hadn’t been deceived into it. They simply have not been about “protecting our country” in any war since WWII. The Military Industrial Complex is a war-for-profit organization that makes money off of our loved ones putting their lives at risk, being traumatized and dying. Please don’t confuse criticism of our government getting us into these wars with criticism of the individuals that they trick into taking part in them.
 
@ILoveMyoozik  
But sometimes the show does have political messages and stuff. I think The Times They Are a Changeling (which has a title that’s way too similar to the other one I mentioned) gives a fantastic political message against racism and xenophobia. And same with the premiere and finale of Season 8.

Really does suck that they blew 5 new episodes in under a week, with probably more to come, for their final season D:

@UserAccount  
Even if it was, then I doubt that it was all intentional.
 
@Jarkes  
Dude, don’t post that here, even if it’s put under spoilers. Wait until the episode premieres on Discovery Family. Please edit that.

@Jarkes  
I think everyone knew that would happen and I give the writers of the show a lot of credit for saying “fuck ‘em” and doing it anyway! :)

@ILoveMyoozik  
I’m not sure if the percieved message in To Change a Changeling was intentional or not, but I’m pretty sure it reflects the point of view of the writer in a way that indoctrinates kids to believe that military aggression is good so long as it’s done by their own country.
 
The Times They Are a Changeling to me certainly had an intentional message that I find to be very true and well done. And it came right at a time when America needed to hear it too. The Season 8 premiere and finale also reflect the message with the character of Neighsay.

@UserAccount  
I took it as “total pacifism doesn’t always work and sometimes you DO have to resort to violence”. Whether people take that as a good moral or not (I think it’s good), it’d be pretty hypocritical for a show that regularly solves conflicts with violence to say anything else :P

@Badumsquish  
But I felt like certain very specific real world connections felt way too clear and I’d disagree with the message when the connections are made. If it felt more parallel to something individuals have control over, like stopping a big bully when he’s trying to beat up a little kid, I would’ve agreed with it and felt like it was an appropriate message for a cartoon. But instead it felt political and like the message was about what our governments do.

@UserAccount  
I’m sorry but I’m calling BS on that. The message was supposed to be that you have to defend yourself because peace or pacifism won’t work oftentimes. Whoever wrote that episode didn’t make it with the real world in mind or to indoctrinate kids like that.  
I doubt that the writer was projecting their own thoughts on socio-politics, and I HIGHLY doubt that they made it for the purpose of propaganda. I think you’re reading too much into it.

Reminder that UserAccount is a troll and shitposter despite what he claims, so it’s best to not take anything he says seriously.

@ILoveMyoozik  
That’s the way it felt to me. It wasn’t a well handled message, because they should’ve showed him that his desire for violence was super wrong and that despite the fact that it’s sometimes inevitable, you need to do everything in your power to prevent it and lament how horrible it is that you sometimes have to engage in it. Instead, they were like “Yeah, fighting and violence are awesome!”
 
@Jarkes  
Am I seriously not allowed to have a conversation about anything without people saying this? I don’t see how making comedy image macros means that I’m a troll. All of my opinions on the forums are my real thoughts, but I do sometimes make joke images that I don’t seriously agree with.

@UserAccount  
What I’m saying is if you didn’t like the message, then that’s fine, but don’t say that it’s “pro-military propaganda” or none of that, because whatever nuance it had to that, it was unintentional.

@ILoveMyoozik  
Well, it’s the way it felt to me. I didn’t say it was necessarily 100% intentional, but it is the venting thread so I ranted about the way it came off. And I think that even if it’s by accident, it can serve as propaganda by not challenging kids to ever question if the “good guys” are sometimes in the wrong in things like this. Instead, they made it very one-sided, which is going to effect how kids think about the lesson.

@UserAccount  
If that’s the case, then it’s the viewers fault for interpreting like that, not the writer.

@ILoveMyoozik  
Not if the viewers are tiny little kids who have never thought about these themes before. When you’re writing for them, you should make sure the message is clear and not harmful.

@ILoveMyoozik  
Y’know, it’s weird, alot of the show’s messages get misinterpreted.
 
Like “Feeling Pinkie-Keen,” was misunderstood as “anti-skeptisism,” or “pro-religious,” and such. It seems like “Leap of Faith” was written to be a counterpoint to it.  
Then “Dragon’s Quest” was seen as “racist” for portraying teen dragons as jerks, so later they added nicer dragons like Ember.  
Some even interpreted “Keep Calm & Flutter-on” as being in a toxic-relationship, and such.
 
Heck, let’s not forget how “Miss Magazine” misunderstood the first two-part pilot as “smart-shaming,” and such, which Lauren Faust herself had to rebuttal.
 
There was a funny parody fan series that made fun of that aspect of the show/fandom titled “What I learned today,” which reinterprets every episode’s moral in hilarious satirical ways. I don’t know if they still make it.

@UserAccount  
If you really think that 4-9 year old girls thinking an episode about colorful bugs fighting a giant mole monster = I want YOU to join the Army, then I think you got your head in the clouds there.

@Beau Skunky  
Yeah I know and honestly I think it’s pretty dumb.

@ILoveMyoozik  
I’m just imagining Thorax’s face on a “I WANT YOU” Uncle Sam poster.

@ILoveMyoozik  
I’m not saying they’ll take it that way, I’m saying that it’s part of a systemic problem in America that prevents people from critically examining issues and that it’s just one small example of a problem with our society.
 
I think anyone writing for kids about war owes it to them to give them something like The Butter Battle Book, a very controversial message of peace that makes kids critically examine the world around them to see when we ourselves might be in the wrong. I think turning out an episode like To Change a Changeling perpetuates a societal woe, even if it’s just one tiny part of it.

@UserAccount  
Good to know that you just revealed that you’re just projecting onto an episode.
 
Bottom line, To Change A Changeling is an episode where it tells you that there are times where you need to stand up for yourself and not be peaceful, that’s all.

@UserAccount  
I would assume their reasoning for not using a big bully beating up a kid is they won’t want to be able to be outright accused of telling kids to beat up bullies in school. Not to mention, the big monster is more fun and exciting :D

@ILoveMyoozik  
I don’t see how I revealed that. What I did say was that the problem is much deeper than a single episode of a TV show.
 
The message as you just stated it is still bad to me and not a good lesson for kids. It rewards Thorax’s brother’s evil desire for violence and fighting. To me, his brother was an evil character and should’ve been banished from the community, because he was trying to cause conflict throughout the whole episode. The lesson that starting conflict is never okay and that it’s only justified to partake in it with the goal of ending it really needed to be said stronger.

@Badumsquish  
Well, they could’ve done this episode with completely different characters to tell a lesson like that. Put the monster with Spike, Rarity and Fluttershy, have Spike get picked on by Garble for being as sissy as a pony, then have the bug attack the dragons and Spike, Rarity and Fluttershy save the day and Garble learns that ponies are not sissies, it’s just that they’re good creatures that want as few innocent creatures to be hurt as possible. You avoid the bad messaging of To Change a Changeling by not having political figures or the military get involved.
 
Another idea for doing the episode well: Thorax’s brother decides to attack another village before they can attack his and the other Changelings realize that there really is a time for violence… so they beatup Thorax’s brother. And as sad as Thorax is about it, he says “You were going to hurt those innocent ponies, we had no choice. You were right about one thing, sometimes we do need to fight, but violence is not justified simply because another Changeling is the one doing it. Unlike you, we don’t only care about the hive, we care about every innocent creature as much as any other! I’m sorry that you’ve become too evil to comprehend that it doesn’t matter where you live or what type of creature you are, every life matters!”

@LeoNero  
Now I want to see someone actually draw that lol