I feel it’s necessary to preface this article by stating that I am not a brony. I’ve met a couple, and I don’t exactly…get it. It’s like relishing the days when you had easy access to a playground butt-kicking. That said, after seeing the message the show carries, I might join them now.
There’s an inherent cowardice within the mainstream media that stops writers from venturing anywhere into territory that contradicts leftist narratives. While there might be some bravery, any divergence into territory that might run contradictory to ideals the leftist cause célèbre puts forth ends with a flurry of online activism from the social-justice obsessed and, in some cases, marches in the street, culminating in someone getting fired or some policy change. Ideals that separate you from the Hollywood herd have consequences.
Apparently, the makers of the show “My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic” feel that this social Marxism is beyond foul, and made a two-part episode to get that point across. Entertainment industry protocol be damned.
The message wasn’t subtle, either. It was a full-on direct strike against the so called “equality” movement that emanates from today’s academia-washed social-justice warriors, making references to everything from Stalin’s Russia to attacking today’s need to fit in.
I’ll Prove I Watched This With a Plot Synopsis
(Warning: Spoilers ahead)
“The Cutie Map, Parts 1 and 2” synopsis: The main-character ponies view a town on a magical map. Sensing it may have a problem that needs solving, the ponies travel to the town. It instantly gives the characters an uneasy feeling. All the ponies there have Stepford Wife smiles and are far too pleasant to one another. More than that, the defining pictures that adorn the flank of every pony in the MLP universe, called the “cutie mark,” were all replaced with a black equal sign.
Right off the bat, the ponies that inhabit the town make it clear that equality, not individualism, is the path to true happiness. They tell the main characters that they have given up the things that make them unique, because uniqueness causes animosity between ponies, and thus discord. The main characters meet the leader of the town, Starlight Glimmer, who soon takes them all up to a cave that holds all the cutie marks of the village inhabitants.
Springing a trap, Starlight Glimmer steals the cutie marks from the main characters, replacing their marks with the black equal sign. The main characters are quickly thrown in jail until they have properly resocialized into the correct kind of thinking. After one pony tricks the leader into thinking she has listened and believed, she secretly discovers that the leader hasn’t given up her own cutie mark.
After the leader has been exposed, the town revolts, reclaiming their cutie marks and thus their individuality. Using their reclaimed unique skills, they rescue the main characters’ marks and thus their powers, while chasing the villain into a mountain cave system, where they lose her. The show ends with the now-unique and fun-looking village having a party.
To children, this message is clear. It’s better to be yourself than to be the same as everyone else. What they won’t realize is that the show uses many references to the real world to do it.
Thank God, It’s Not All My Little Pony
For instance, the first episode includes a song-and-dance number where the village sings about how great being the same is. During the song, the Pegasus “Rainbow Dash” flies in the air slightly above the others, and two other ponies guide her gently to the ground. This is very reminiscent of the story of Stalin showing a young leader how to keep his people under thumb by cutting taller stalks down to the same height as the others.
Other examples include loudspeaker propaganda with messages like “you’re no better than your friends” and “difference is frustration” blasting repeatedly throughout the village. People who deviate even slightly from imposed rules are thrown into jail for resocialization.
“Equal” is a word that is constantly thrown around during the two episodes, and the writers were clear to paint the word, and even the symbol, with a very sinister brush. A good baker is kept equal, so her muffins equal the deliciousness of muffins from the worst baker in town. The baker laments her muffin’s awful taste, but is glad that she’s no better than every other pony.
The real-life parallels go on, but the real crux of the message comes from the portrayal of the village’s leader, Starlight Glimmer, who personifies today’s social-justice warrior. Using fabricated issues as scare tactics, she keeps her fellow ponies in line with fear and guilt.
Forced Utopia in My Little Pony Land
One of the most telling moments of the show is when the main characters are imprisoned for social reconditioning. After a night in prison, Starlight Glimmer leads the gang out to the gathered villagers to pressure them into giving up their old life. The gang resists, and one pony, Applejack, says, “You can’t force no pony to be friends. It don’t work like that.”
This prompts the villain to tell the crowd, “It’s alright, everypony. This is a perfectly normal part of the equalization process for those who haven’t…quite seen the light yet.” She then has the ponies escorted back into jail after saying, “We’ll try again tomorrow once you”—at this point the camera switches to first-person perspective, as if Starlight Glimmer is talking directly to the viewer—“have had a bit more time to consider our philosophy.”
Starlight Glimmer is a controlling idealist who employs strict rules but follows none of them herself. This is very reminiscent of many of today’s radical feminists, who preach equality while they practice dominance. Her tactics go so far as to include forcing celebrities to promote her cause, organizing marches, and singling out for ridicule anyone who drifts too far out of bounds. She and her village live in a utopia, but it is her utopia.
Individuality Means the Most Happiness for the Most People
She relies on her village’s fear that disagreement may end friendship, but her entire plan begins to unravel when the main characters show that disagreement does not have to equal hate, and it’s more fun to be friends when you are honest and open.
Nuances aside, the overall theme is quite clear: social Marxism is bad, and individuality is the true key to a good friendship and a happy society. It’s the message that everyone has a uniqueness that they should be proud of, and that robbing yourself of it to fit in with everyone else might make equality, but it’s a hollow existence.
Normally this kind of messaging is found in political speeches or cringe-worthy movies made by political interest groups attempting to entertain. I never thought it would come from an admittedly fun and entertaining children’s show. I actually found myself laughing out loud at some of the humor just as much as I “whoa’d” every time the show made a blatantly negative reference to equality. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I hope My Little Pony sets a trend.
If you want to view the two-part episode yourself, gather the kids, or shut your blinds and hide under a blanket, then click here. I encourage you to do so, even if it costs me my man card.
