I’ve been watching some interesting television shows lately,
mostly Season 14 of Big Brother, which has proven that indeed people will watch
other people sit around and talk loosely about nothing credible as intelligent
banter Whenever I watch an episode of Big Brother, I wonder why I continue to
watch, seeing that the whole purpose of the show is to be deceitful,
manipulative, and play people’s emotions against one-another. Truthfully, it is
the worst of humanity under a strangely oblong-shaped architecture of a
“house”. So why is this show
so intriguing to the average audience? I’ll explain here.
The
most surprising thing about Big Brother, is the fact that the show is almost as
old as I am, meaning that it’s been on television longer than any new-age
reality television show known to man. Despite the Real World, there is not
other show that has lasted longer, that is relatively labeled reality
television. Unless of course you label such shows as Jerry Springer as reality
shows.
Nay,
I enjoy the curiously shallow individuals of Big Brother. I’ve watched the show
on-and-off for years, and have even started watching the Big Brother After Dark
Live special programming on the Showtime 2 channel. I’ve noticed over the years
that this show may very well outlast the Survivors, and out Amazing Races that
make of the standards of reality television, simply because human are
relatively vindictive by nature, and have no problem to watch stronger
personalities overrun and overpower weaker personalties. We love competition,
this is true, but we love even more the way one overpowers another in a battle
of physical strength and athletic skill. We love when one-sided victories
happen, and how the weak and meek are pushed around by the entitled and strong.
Why is this? Sure, we root for the underdog, but the underdog must always be at
top peak physical fitness. For example, calling the Red Sox the “underdog” is a
bit of an overstatement, get it?
Watching
Big Brother, I’ve learned more about my personality than I ever had watching
other psychological shows, especially my all-time favorite, and sorely missed
reality show “Solitary”. Granted it was as fake as most reality shows, but it
was still quite a fun escape from the norm, that’s why television has sucked
though, all the good shows go off the air, and the shit seems to linger.
I’ve
noticed most people rather watch shit, than watch a compelling drama, a high
stakes adventure, or a MENSA-rated Mystery. Sitcoms are just a prime example of
just how terrible most shows have become, even the “Big Bang Theory” has lost
much of its zen. “Eureka” going off the air not even a week ago from the time
I’m writing this, and although it’s cited for a second season, “American Horror
Story” may very well go the way of the likes of “Terra Nova” and “The River”
(Although I was not a fan of “The River”, it was still more interesting than
most reality shows, especially Big Brother.)
Speaking
of which, back to Big Brother: Season 14 is quite intriguing, at the time I
have not yet watched the first live eviction, but it seems almost obvious that
Frank is going to be evicted. The
coaches this season are actually past famous houseguests, including former
winner Boogie. I’m sure someone out there is all excited to see this, and Bless
you, truly because you do enjoy the show, but do not be aggravated when I say
that this show is not particularly my cup of tea. I’ll watch it, mostly to see
just how sick and twisted that people can be. In a year where everything is
Obama vs. Romney, and television just sucks until Fall, it is fun to
occasionally watch a show like Big Brother, so it does indeed have a purpose on
television.
Pretty
much, I don’t have anything important to say about Big Brother, other than it’s
full of imbeciles, well, mostly imbeciles, backstabbers, and relentless
assholes, and that alone makes it an exciting show. Big Brother is pretty much
a show I love to hate.
Now,
onto the second little rant and topic for this editorial post….Bronies
For
years on the Internet, there have been estranged groups, particularly ones that
make mockery of pop culture, particularly on You Tube, and 4 Chan, which now
have pretty much become one-in-the-same. One particular social sect of the
whole that makes of the internet counter/subcultures, are Bronies. Bronies are
men who enjoy the show My Little Pony: Frienship is Magic, which was originally
created in the mid-80s/early 90s, and has been recently created for teleivison
by Lauren Faust. For some reason, of all the MLP incarnations that have
existed, the fourth, and most recent is the most popular of the series
inception. Friendship is Magic is quite the exception to the My Little Pony
series, seeing as it’s very modern, and socially more relevant. Though most
Bronies will claim there are many underlying/adult-themed messages subliminally
hidden, the only adult-orientated parts I’ve noticed about this show was
actually not subliminal messages, such as sex or violence, but that it comes
off as rather mature, in the sense that most of the characters are not actually
childish, and seem to be set on course with their chosen professions.
Bronies
hold something called Bronycon, which will normally coincide with the release
of a new season, and it has grown from several hundered people to over maximum
capacity of two thousand plus. Why are full grown, masculine men obsessed with
this show? I believe there are many individual reasons for the men who actually
are obsessed with the show, most are stupid, or shock value, or some
deep-seeded issues, but really, it’s just a cartoon, and placates to the
average maturity of the adult male, which I sometimes feel is great when they
are a bit less mature, great comedians are born out of stupidity, but also it
gets extreme at-times.
The
Sociology aspect, and what I’ve ascertained from mere observation is that most
Bronies are entived by the writing, being that the show is quite well-written,
and it gives off a nostalgia of when classic cartoons were funny, and done with
a bit of slap shtick comedy, and seeing that most of the men and women that
work on the show have worked on other hit shows of the late nineties/early 00s
like Powerpuff Girls, and Dexter’s Laboratory, these are obvious truths, but
what about the sociological impacts? Perhaps there is some deeper meaning
behind the show, not so-much controversial, as I’m sure when I was a kid,
Powerpuff Girls appealed to both sexes, but that indeed this is the loss of
gender-based entertainment, which is both good and bad. Most girls can enjoy
what was once solely men’s television, or male orientated television shows,
like Monster Jam, NFL, NHL, MLB, etc, that the female counterparts to such
shows and sports have been rather lost in the ratings. I do believe that most
people that, especially women would rather watch the NBA, rather than the WNBA.
This is not so-much because of the women athletes themselves, because I believe
they are only in the WNBA because they are the best of their state, but rather
because there is no gender bias in sports at all. Women in the crowds at home
games are just as rowdy, if not sometimes more than men, so it becomes equal
rather than segregated.
The
same rule applies to men: if a show solely based towards women is uptaken by
males, it becomes less gender-based and more entertainment-based. Men who watch
this are either in-tuned with their sexuality, meaning either they are
straight, but do not care if they watch something, or do something that may
come off as homosexual, or they simply do not even see it as a gender bias.
The
real controversy of the Brony subculture, is that these shows are also based
towards young children, and may be an undertone of sexual perversity on the
part of the viewer/adult male fan. There may even be a bit of underlying
pedophiliac behavior on the part on some of those who call viewers that fall
into the Brony subculture. Now, do I believe most people who enjoy My Little
Pony: Friendship is Magic are perverts? No, I believe most people watch it for
personal reasons, and most do not find it to be sexually-based, or perverted,
although the same could be said by any counter/subculture that there are indeed
perverts, or sexually-prompted individuals in every and all forms of
entertainment. Those people would make any form of entertainment perverted, but
at the same respect, they are usually just as creative as the rest of the
culture. Sadly, since this show was originally anchored towards young children,
and mostly for them to buy Hasbro products, which is both postivie and negative
I suppose, but what sickens me mostly is that for the children who did enjoy it
cannot enjoy the show as much because of this particular group. Then again,
that falls under parents watching their children online when they’re searching
for information on this, or any other show that falls into an adult-themed
subculture as well.
So
Bronies being what they are, a subculture, both unique in their views, obsessed
with their ponies, and breaking the gender barriers further, are nothing
serious, they are mostly harmless, and really have both pros and cons on their
reasons for enjoying MLP: Friendship is Magic, which there are more than I can
list here. I believe that if tis gives people enjoyment, entertainment, and it
is a pro for both the men who enjoy this show, and the writers, stencils, and
voice recording artists have a job. Basically Bronies will buy up, write about,
and even study/discuss all that has to do with My Little Pony, which is fine,
to-each-his-own, whatever floats the boat, tickles the pickle, etc. but what I
cannot understand for the life of me, what exactly does any of this have to do
with the Malacast Editorial? Simple, it involves the Internet, television,
conventions, and even merchandise, it has everything to do with the Malacast
Editorial!
Is there really an uproar for the
love between a man and his pony? Should no guy love Fluttershy? Should no jock
admire Rainbow Dash? Would the world suffer if a dude feasts his eyes on Pinkie
Pie? Okay, enough with me attempting to be cute, because whether or not you’re
a male, a fan of this show, and above the age of eight, it’s all perspective.
The real controversy overall is that there is no controversy, but more a
surprise that Bronies, and their Bronycon has become so popular, that it may
sweep the underground counter culture of the Internet. Then again, if I’m
talking about it already, and a tad late I might add, then it has already
sailed its ship, and it’s five seconds of fame have already blurred across the
Internet. How sad, but really it’s not. Comicon move over, because I’m sure
that My Little Pony’s fanboys, with their Bronycon may very well soon challenge
you in the way of convention fame. Just kidding, it’s not very doubtful, but
time will tell just how deep the Diamond Dog hole really goes, and if the likes
of Equestria topple the panels of DC and Marvel.
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