My Little Brony: The Friendship Fandom (Esther Galletta)

Introduction
The term "literature" has a broad definition that has been expanding over the years to match the evolution of media technology. Traditionally, when print sources were the sole media for authors, only written classics in the form of books or poems could be considered literary works. However, as technology has developed, new types of writing, such as written works posted on the internet rather than published, have been experiencing harsh rejection as legitimate forms of literature. For example, the National Endowment for the Arts published a report entitled "Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America" in which the organization states, "For the first time in modern history, less than half of the adult population now reads literature, and these trends reflect a larger decline in other sorts of reading." The report fails to account for alternatives to traditional literature, particularly electronic forms. It assumes that only print sources hold legitimate reading material, and an increase in reading from electronic resources represents a decrease in reading overall. However, this is not the case. Literature is generally defined as "any written works, especially those considered of superior or lasting artistic merit." Why, then, should literature exclude blogs, graphic novels, or unpublished novels? Even films, television shows, and video games have scripts and should thus all be included in the modern world of literature.

Works that fall under this definition of literature, particularly the ones which remain prominent long after they have been released to the public, sometimes generate such a response from their readers or audiences that a fan community forms. These fans contribute their skills to the community in many ways, one significant one in many fan communities being remediation. Among fan communities, remediation generally manifests itself "when a text is presented in another form of mediation." In other words, the fans produce their own art and fiction based on the text, analyze the text and create theories about certain aspects of it, and make merchandise that resembles it. The development of the internet helped facilitate the distribution of these items and ideas from the creator to the rest of the fan community. However, the internet has also helped proliferate the presence of haters and the often-despised spoiler culture. Thus, the internet has become both a blessing and a curse to any fans following a show or any other kind of text. The most useful aspect of the internet to fan communities is likely its ability to spread ideas at the click of a button or its facilitation of easy communication between the fans themselves and between fans and the creators of the texts. Currently, one of the most prominent presences on the internet among fanbases is the fan community of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.

Most people think of any generation of the show My Little Pony as being a cartoon made for young girls with the intent to get them to buy merchandise based on the characters in the show. Until recently, that was generally an accurate description of the series. However, in 2010, a new television channel called The Hub began to air a new, rebooted version of the cartoon, considered the fourth generation of the series, called My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. The new show gained an enormous fanbase early on in the first season that continues to grow as the show prepares to enter its fourth season in the winter of 2013. This fan community is one that other fanbases view as an incredibly strange phenomenon because of its demographic characteristics. Although the intended audience of the show is little girls, the majority of the large fanbase consists of young men, generally between the ages of fifteen and thirty. These fans have become known as "bronies" and partake in the same behaviors that other fan communities display. They create incredible amounts of art based on the show, go to conventions to meet fellow bronies and purchase each other's homemade merchandise, and argue over who the best character is or which episode best represents the series. Bronies are also quite different from the members of many other fanbases as well. MLP:FIM has had a significant impact on the lives of many bronies, and it has influenced them to make friends with each other, act as a support group, and generally change their lives to emulate the morals and ethics presented in the show. Bronies have come to be known as kind, charitable people who are making a difference in the world and changing it for the better. This is the main reason that even many haters of the show are willing to look past the oddity of grown men watching a show intended for young girls and simply accept the benign effects of the show on its fans.

Authorial Intention and Interaction
Ever since the creators of FIM learned that they had gained a loyal fanbase of bronies, they have regarded interaction with their fans as a priority in producing future episodes. Communication between the creators and bronies has led to specific changes in the show itself. Two characters in the show exemplify this kind of interaction. The first of these characters is Dr. Hooves, a pony whose cutie mark is an hourglass. Originally, this pony was a no-name background character. However, bronies, many of whom are fans of the television show Dr. Who, began theorizing about the pony being a reference to Dr. Who, and FIM's creators chose to adopt the name Dr. Hooves for the character. This pony has made appearances as both an earth pony and a pegasus pony, which could also be a reference to Dr. Who taking on new forms. The other character that was influenced by bronies is the pegasus pony Derpy Hooves, often referred to as just Derpy. In the very first episode of the series, there was a pony in the background of one scene who, due to a glitch, had eyes pointing in different directions. Bronies named her Derpy, and she quickly became a fan favorite. Because of this, the creators of the show began to place her in the backgrounds of many different episodes, challenging the viewers to find her in these episodes. Finally, in the fourteenth episode of the second season and much to bronies' delight, Derpy gained a speaking role. Along with putting her in the spotlight, the creators decided to use the name the fans had given her. "Derpy was originally named 'Ditzy' in the episode's production and was portrayed as 'ditzy' by the writer, Amy Keating Rogers. Rogers was requested to rename the pony to 'Derpy' as a 'tip of the hat' to fans." The creators continue to involve bronies in determining which elements of the show should appear more often and which elements are unpopular enough to exclude in future episodes. This is perhaps one of the main reasons that the show is so popular. Interactions between fans and authors is always important, and the creators of FIM have made it clear that they care about their fans.



Lauren Faust, the developer of FIM as well as the creative director and executive producer for seasons one and two, was particularly involved with the fans throughout her time working on the show. She was always willing to answer questions about the show and to participate in charity events that involved bronies. Sometimes she even combined the two by asking bronies to donate certain amounts of money to good causes before she would answer questions about the show. She also posts much of her original artwork to her DeviantArt page for bronies to browse and purchase. Her main media of contact with fans is her Twitter account,  through which she directly responds to fans' questions and concerns about the show. She also attended several of the most popular brony conventions and sat on a panel to answer questions and interact with fans. Faust left the show after the second season, and although many bronies stuck with the show through the third season, some are disappointed with the change. One commenter on Faust's FIM Wiki page, Ghostkaiba297, says, "Hasbro is lost without her. The Season 3 episodes were all right in my opinion, but they didn't seem able to impress many or 'follow her original style.'"   Many bronies joined the fandom due to Faust's involvement in the show (she had been involved in several other highly popular shows before FIM), and some believe the show has decreased in quality due to the loss of Faust's authorial influence and intention. Despite this, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic has retained a stable fanbase (no pun intended).

Interpretive Disputes
Relatively few bronies are simply casual fans of MLP:FIM. Most bronies are avid viewers who watch the newest episode as it airs and immediately after its conclusion begin to discuss the events and developments with each other on the internet. Naturally, a fanbase that is so attached to its text is prone to form strong opinions about it and argue vehemently with other fans who hold the opposite opinion. This has led the brony community to become torn on several decisions that the creators of FIM have made.

Equestria Girls
On June 16, 2013, the first feature-length My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic film, Equestria Girls, began playing in theaters. Leading up to its release, the creators of both the show and the film released images, information, and merchandise based on the upcoming movie. The brony community exploded into arguments over the premise. In the film, the ponies from the show pass through a portal into the human world and become humans themselves. Many bronies were outraged by this for several reasons. First of all, many thought the human character designs were too sexualized. The human designs are extremely skinny, and the characters all wear short skirts. Second, as MLP Forums poster Dark Qiviut states, "The plot summary is hideously shallow and doesn't sound sensible or plausible." Most bronies who opposed the film upon its announcement criticized this aspect of the project the most. They viewed the creation of this film as a desperate cash grab with a plot that is too banal to warrant a full-length movie. A third criticism centered around the lack of similarity between the central concepts of the show and the apparent concepts of the film. Many bronies feel as though the movie does too much to stray from the tone and environment of the show.



On the other hand, many bronies decided that this reaction to Equestria Girls was the perfect opportunity to show the angry fans what it really means to be a brony. Many of them cited past leaks that had seemed like bad ideas but turned out well in the context of the episode from which the leak originated. They also started using the phrase "trust the writers" in forums and memes. As EvilCadence44 says on Unleash the Fanboy, "I'm looking forward to the special because I have faith in the crew at DHX...We know the show runners care about what they do, and will do their best with whatever Hasbro throws at them." Bronies continued to argue about whether or not the movie would be a decent addition to the FIM franchise, and many decided after viewing it that it was worth giving it a chance. It is understandable that bronies would be taken aback by such an unusual premise from the creators of FIM, but it also makes sense that bronies would trust the writers after such a good track record with the show.

Derpy Hooves
When the creators of FIM decided to finally give their character Derpy a speaking part in the show, they chose to make her voice match the characteristics which bronies had come to know and love. In other words, because the character was clumsy and silly with  cross-eyes, the voice was made to sound dopey and amusing. Bronies loved everything about her debut as an official character in the show. They frantically began making memes for her and posting the clip of her talking on every forum and fan website they could find. However, parents of children (the intended audience, remember) who watched the show were infuriated. They believed that the character was making fun of mentally challenged people and was highly offensive. This pressured the creators to change the character's voice, correct her eyes, and remove the name "Derpy" from the scene. Rather than making everyone happy, the parents appreciated this change while the bronies were outraged. Mentally and physically disabled bronies came forward to say that they did not find Derpy offensive, but altering her character completely is offensive. Some of these bronies saw Derpy as a hero who represents them and gives them hope and encouragement. Others viewed the changes to Derpy as disrespectful of the people she represents. On the Tumblr protest page Bring Back Derpy, poster hollyjollypanties says, "They fixed 'discrimination' with discrimination. As a mentally and physically handicapped person, it makes me upset that the 'core message of friendship' doesn't extend to the disabled." The changes remain in every official copy of the episode, but bronies have passed around clips of Derpy with her original voice and appearance and will likely always regard this version as the true Derpy Hooves.

Remediation
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic has been so popular since its debut on television that the creators and fans alike have been producing numerous types of new materials based off of the show. In addition to the movie Equestria Girls, Hasbro has licensed several series of FIM comics, books, toys, clothes, accessories, and other merchandise. Bronies have been responsible for an incredible amount of remediation as well. They create fan fictions, fan art, homemade merchandise (including plushies and jewelry), and remixes, compilations, and original songs based on the show. Many forms of remediation from both bronies and Hasbro have been extremely popular and have become an essential aspect of the brony fandom.

Comics
In 2012, The first issue of the first series of comic books based on FIM was announced. The brony community erupted with excitement at the idea of consuming more official FIM stories outside of the show. The artwork was especially enticing to the fans. The pictures were elegantly drawn with vivid colors and intricate detail. Though the style appeared somewhat different from the cartoony visuals of the show, bronies could not wait until the comic hit the shelves. When it did in November of the same year, they were not disappointed. After reading this first issue, Amazon.com reviewer Stancet said, "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic kicks off its new comic book series in a way that promises not to disappoint. Being a grown Brony and always hungry for good children's fiction, the very first issue makes me feel like I'm living the TV show and loving every moment of it." IDW, the publisher of the comic book, stated that this comic was its most successful publication for the year of 2012. Due to the success of this comic series, Hasbro plans to release several other comic series based on FIM. The brony community is likely to be receptive to these releases as well, especially considering the fact that they are always looking for more original FIM stories to experience.

Fan Fiction
Bronies have written every imaginable type of fan fiction based on FIM (often extremely loosely). Unlike many other fanbases, however, the most famous brony fan fictions are sweet, well-written stories that stay true to the characters of the show while presenting completely new stories and characters. Arguably the most famous of these fan fictions is My Little Dashie, written by ROBCakeran53. This story is in itself a remediation of remediation, as it is based on a series of images also based on FIM. My Little Dashie tells the story of an unnamed brony who discovers his favorite character from the show as a filly in a box on the street one day. She has no memories of her life in the pony world, and the brony who finds her raises her as his child. They grow very close over the years they spend together, and they cannot imagine their lives without one another. One day, the rest of the main characters from the show pop up in their home to take the pony back to her home world. Her brony "father" must accept this change in their lives, because he realizes it is for the best. The ending is bittersweet. The brony is happy to have met, raised, and loved his favorite pony, but he is torn apart by the fact that he will never see her again except on the television. Bronies went wild when this fan fiction was posted on the internet. Commenters posted endlessly about how much they loved it and how it made them cry. DrahcirAloer says, "I have read this so many times and shed manly tears each time. It is a wonderful premise and very well executed." No_space says, "It is absolutely flawless in every way, and I feel like I'm going to still be crying over it tomorrow." This fan fiction remains one of the most popular in the FIM fandom today. In addition to providing bronies with a touching story to share with each other, it has allowed bronies to be open-minded about future fan fictions rather than disregarding them as rubbish.

Fan Art
Bronies produce all kinds of fan art as well, from music to paintings. One form of fan art that is unusually popular in the brony community is graffiti. One of the more famous brony graffiti artists is Shinoda, a sixteen-year-old brony who lives in Trelew, Argentina. Like many other brony artists, his main goal is to prove to people that any kind of art can be beautiful, even if it is based on a cartoon or is in the form of something people usually do not appreciate. His work serves as a source of inspiration to other bronies, the majority of whom think very highly of his art. Commenter Jose says Shinoda's work "is simply amazing," and another commenter, Helsaabi, says, "It's really great work!" Shinoda helped brony graffiti become a mainstay in FIM fan art and has inspired many other bronies to create art of their own to share with the community.

Brony Lifestyle
A vast majority of bronies have made My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic a part of their lives to such a great extent that few other fan communities have. One prominent example of this is the existence of the Golden Rule of Bronies, which is to love and tolerate everyone no matter what. Bronies have chosen to adopt this rule into many aspects of their lives, not only in situations involving the show itself. They feel led by the principles and morals in the show to display kindness and tolerance rather than resort to anger, hatred, or retaliation when faced with adversity. The graffiti artist Shinoda is a shining example of this. He turned to graffiti when he decided he wanted to share the concepts of love and tolerance with the world rather than brood in the adversity he faces in his life. When asked why he chooses to do this by making art of FIM, he responded, "I like the characters a lot, their way of living is so fun, jolly and colorful. Besides, the message that the show gives has helped me a lot to improve as a person. [It's] showed me another way to see life." In addition to major changes to attitude and behavior, FIM has also influenced many bronies to change the way they talk. They adopt the terminology in the show to their everyday conversations and interactions. For example, instead of saying "everybody," they will say "everypony," and while performing a fist bump with each other, bronies will say, "Brohoof!" This mode of speaking has been especially prominent on the internet. In fact, there is now an extension for both Google Chrome and Firefox which, when installed, will find certain words and replace them with the "bronyspeak" equivalent on every web page to which the extension is applied.

Bronies have also formed a strong bond with each other through the show. It functions as a connection between people from all walks of life who feel like they understand each other because of their love of the show. One brony, who goes by R.S. and is heavily involved in brony meet-ups and conventions, says, "The show just has this effect on people. It manages to inspire a community around it." Bronies have come up with all sorts of ways to meet each other and make friends, whether they choose to do so through forums, comments sections on fan fictions, or conventions.

Another aspect of the fan community of FIM that sets them apart from many other fanbases is their heavy involvement in charity work. In order to follow the moral codes of the show, bronies provide financial and physical help to those in need. One of the most well-known and successful brony charities is The Brony Thank You Fund, which gained tax-exempt status on April 30, 2013. This charity is a popular target of brony donations and uses the funds it receives to help other charity organizations in need, especially ones centered around children. Bronies also participate in local community service to directly impact people and spread the word about their love for the show and what it has done for their lives. Benjamin Grant, a brony group organizer in Charleston, SC, views this kind of charity as "a fantastic opportunity for us bronies to do some great things." Considering bronies' extensive willingness to provide help for those in need along with their strong sense of community and moral code, the brony community is perhaps one of the most benignly influencial fanbases of this generation. They inspire friendship, spread kindness, and react to hate and adversity with love and tolerance. If the brony community continues to expand throughout the world, it is possible that bronies could band together and combat complex issues with their combined resources and positive attitudes.

Additional Resources
Brony Memebase

Equestria Daily

D.C. Area Brony Meetups

FIM Fan Fiction

FIM Wiki