Written
Analysis 1
Taylor
Alexandria Carroll
Popular
Culture
Professor
Garey
4/6/2016
The topic I chose for my written analysis is the My Little Pony franchise and fandom. The
My Little Pony franchise was created
in 1983. In 2010, the series was rebooted into a show called My Little Pony Friendship is Magic. This
series spawned a large line of toys, movies, and even an entire fandom of adult
fans. These fans are called bronies. This massive following has propelled My Little Pony into the realm of popular
culture.
My Little Pony relates to popular beliefs such as the importance
of friendship, honor, and loyalty. However, it has also broken many popular
stereotypes. It has challenged the belief that males cannot like a show that
deals with multicolored ponies, love, diversity, and friendship.
My Little Pony relates to myths with the fact that it
deals with mythical creatures. The main characters range from unicorns to
pegasi, and even dragons. The show has dealt with many other mythical creatures
that have been the focus of legends for centuries. I believe this inclusion of
myths is a mix between supernatural and secular. They clearly attempt to blend
real life creatures and fantasy elements.
In many episodes of My Little Pony, icons are featured as
special guests or cameos. Some background characters featured that have been
considered icons in the past are Weird Al Yankovic, and John de Lancie. Weird
Al Yankovic was popular in the 1980s, and made parodies of popular songs from
that era. He plays a parody of himself in My
Little Pony, as a character named Cheese Sandwich. John de Lancie played
the popular character Q on the show Star
Trek. He currently plays a character named Discord on My Little Pony.
In conclusion, My Little Pony has cemented itself into
popular culture in a number of ways. The relation to popular beliefs, myths,
and icons is very apparent. I believe My Little Pony will continue to be a part
of popular culture, growing with the generations to come.
References
Browne, R. B. (2005).
Profiles of popular culture: A reader. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press.
C., B. (2015, April
27). The History of My Little Pony. Retrieved April 06, 2016, from https://www.shoutfactory.com/editorials/the-history-of-my-little-pony
Petracca,
M., & Sorapure, M. (1998). Common culture: Reading and writing about
American popular culture. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Truitt,
B. (2012, November 26). 'My Little Pony' plants a hoof in pop culture.
Retrieved April 06, 2016, from
http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2012/11/26/my-little-pony/1725375/
No comments:
Post a Comment