The first time I heard of the bronies was only a few weeks ago. If you’re new to the term, it refers to bros who are fans of the animated series called My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Yes, seriously. They’ve organized conventions and everything.
A bro of mine clued me in after he noticed his wife watching a documentary on Netflix about the bronies. At first, he thought it might have been something like a Saturday Night Live parody and, if I were in his shoes, I probably would have thought the same thing. So I decided to check out this documentary for myself, and it inspired me enough to watch a few episodes of the actual show, also on Netflix.
I can’t honestly say that I became a brony, and I doubt that I’ll ever be one, but there is one thing I have to admit: I get the whole brony phenomenon now. I really do.
For one thing, the creators designed the show from the beginning to be entertaining for both little kids and for adults. And they did an excellent job, both in the writing and the animation. Of course, it’s not the first cartoon that appears to be for kids on the surface, but still contains lots of subtext. One of the first of these was the Rocky and Bullwinkle show, which I remember from my early childhood. I had no idea why, at the time, it was the only cartoon that my parents liked to watch, too. All the puns and other gags just went over my head while I enjoyed the story.
Another thing that lots of people – including myself – like about this show is the values it teaches. The leader of the pony gang (named Twilight Sparkle) is the one who learns the most about friendship and sharing through each of the other five ponies in her circle of friends. I especially like the recurring theme in the series about the five “Elements of Harmony” represented by each of those friends. The elements are: honesty, loyalty, generosity, laughter, and compassion.
Sounds exactly like the ingredients that a bromance should have, if you ask me. You go, bronies!
Later,
-The Blog Dude
